QUESTION: I’m a successful hairdresser with a large clientele. I carefully schedule my appointments so I have adequate time with each person. My problem is clients who show up as much as a half hour late, with lame excuses I might add, and expect me to still do their hair. When this happens, it throws the whole day off and many times I have to call my other clients and ask if they will come in a little later.

Will you please say something about the importance of keeping time commitments? I’m concerned if I don’t take the person who is late that they may not come back.
~ Stressed Out Hairdresser



Dear Stressed Out Hairdresser,
I think many of us have experienced someone being late for an appointment and how that can throw off the rest of the day and impact plans you have with other people as well. My first thought is to get advice from other hairdressers who will specifically relate to your challenge. One of my favorite proverbs from the Bible states, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise” (Proverbs 19:20).

It might help develop a consistent policy about how you will deal with clients who are late. Maybe let them know that if they are going to be late, then they need to call you so you can see if there will still be time to do their hair. Let them know you will try to call your next client to see if they are flexible but if not then you will need to reschedule with them? You might lose some clients who don’t respect your policy, but since you are successful you will replace them and be better off.

There is another proverb I would recommend you consider as you have these potentially difficult conversations with clients who are late. Proverbs 15:1 states, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” Although they may be initially upset with you, if you are calm and respectful then there is a better chance they will hear and respond well to what you are saying.
I hope this helps!

Pastor Reese Neyland

r.neyland@live.com



Dear Stressed Out Hairdresser,
This is a problem we all face as professionals in this time of people trying to cram too much into too little time. And the traffic – let’s not get started on that! Most people are just being self-centered and not considering the bigger picture. That’s where you come in.

I would work up a policy and have a reward for being on time. Perhaps if they are on time the appointment could include some bonus, like a free hair moisturizing treatment thrown in. Also, a friendly conversation might be in order to establish your policy. Something like, “I don’t like to keep anyone waiting. My clients love this about my service. We support each other by being on time so no one has to be delayed. If you are going to be delayed more than 15 minutes, please call so I can shuffle things around or we can reschedule if I can’t make that work. I pride myself in providing a stress-free experience for all my customers.”

If someone shows up later than 15 minutes or so, and the next person is there, you go ahead and start on the next client and leave the late bird waiting.

Do all of this with a smile and without resentment as you are doing the best you can to take care of yourself and your clients. Without your personal angst, your stress will subside.

Rabbi Janet Bieber
jbieber1155@aol.com
QUESTION: The issue of marijuana for recreation goes against everything we believe in, although we’re okay with it being used for medicinal purposes. Just this past week, our financial planner asked us if we wanted to invest in the cannabis market. Of course we told him we absolutely do not. His argument was that it could make us a lot of money. Frankly, we don’t care because our portfolio is stable just the way it is. We are concerned that if this trend continues, we’ll have a nation of “potheads.” We can’t understand why there are those who think marijuana and other drugs can make their lives better.

Where do we go from here? Is our country doomed to a downward spiral?  
~ Drug-free Grandparents

Dear Drug-Free Grandparents,
I appreciate your concern about marijuana, but as a drug-free grandparent who would use it medicinally, let me help put some of your fears to rest. Many of us in our generation were told to believe that pot was a gateway drug leading to cocaine, meth or heroin or something even worse! Remember “Reefer Madness?” We have become more enlightened since then and now realize that while some are “doomed to a downward spiral,” most just use it to relax, sleep better or have a few laughs with friends. Compared to the consequences of too much alcohol, which is legal, too much pot mainly leads to giggling, eating too many chips and finally falling to sleep. Too much alcohol can lead to car crashing, shootings, domestic violence, etc.

I think it’s a good thing that it is legal in California. Now we can regulate what’s in it and tax it, which will help the coffers of our cities and our state. We can also use some of the tax money for rehabilitating those who are addicted to it in the way we do with the money that comes from taxing cigarettes and alcohol.

I don’t think people use pot to make their lives better. This world we live in is a very stressful place with even another world war looming in the background and smoking or eating some pot can help us escape for a while. And you don’t wake up with a hangover! Remember that even the birds like to get high once in awhile. Ever watch a bird wobbling around after eating too many berries? Or a cat with catnip?

Carolyn Young, LCSW  
cjymesalila@gmail.com

Dear Drug-Free Grandparents,
First of all, I applaud your choice of “ethical investing.” There are many investments in this world that, in my opinion, prey upon the vulnerability of others, including alcohol and opioid prescription drugs. This is not to say that each may not have their benefits when properly used. But there is the awareness, I believe, among some of these companies that the abuse of their products does result in increased profits in spite of the carnage those products can reap in individual lives. And since the goal of all business is to make a profit, in my opinion, there are some who are willing to turn a blind eye to the damaging affects of what they either produce or invest in.

So to see you take the courageous stand of moral principle over profits (derived from potentially harmful products) is both laudable and hopeful. We need more investors like you to make the meaningful choices and changes that benefits the good of society.

Regrettably, as you have probably already found, you may feel you stand alone on this particular issue and, as your financial adviser pointed out to you, you seemingly risk losing money from not taking this investment opportunity.

But that is the price of ethical integrity. Sometimes care and concern for the good of your fellow human beings ends up costing you potential money and leaves you feeling isolated and out of step with the rest of the investment world, and maybe even feeling a bit foolish because of that choice. But let me reassure you, that is not the truth.

Ernest Holmes, author of the “Science of Mind,” pointed out that we actually live in a spiritual and not a material world, that whatever we choose, be it good for ourselves or another, the Universe will rise up to support us in that choice. Money is merely “thought energized.” In that sense, money is neutral, neither good or bad. If we choose to close off one channel of how money comes to us, especially for moral reasons involving the good for ourselves or others, money will still rush to us through another. So you will not experience any loss. What is yours will always come to you. There is no limitation to the manifestation of our Good coming to us in the form of money except those limitations we choose or consent to, consciously or unconsciously. Indeed, as you have mentioned, your other investments are sound and I can say will continue to be so.

For others reading this, the thing is not to confuse condemning how money comes to us e.g. investing in a harmful product or enterprise, with condemning money itself. The two are not the same. You can choose to shut off a channel of how money comes to you for personal moral reasons. You should not choose to shut off the flow of money into your life by condemning money itself. Unfortunately, many people fail to make that distinction and face the punishing consequences.

Anthony Kelson, Religious Science Practitioner
anthony@apkelson.com