I work at a salon that is in an upscale town, located on the second floor (not many walk-ins). As of Jan '10 I'll have been on the floor a total of 2 years. Although I have a small core of clientele, I am still building.

About a yr ago, a friend of mine was not happy at her salon so I told her to talk to my salon owner. Turns out she got the job. She has a full clientele. So she negotiated a high commission %. At the time I felt she was taking advantage of the salon owner but I kept my mouth shut since it wasn't my business.

Unfortunately, the owner ended up becoming very stressed out about essentially losing money on this stylist, so the environment took a turn for the worse due to the owner's stress level and negative vibe. Neither the owner nor my "friend" spoke with one another to voice their concerns.. my friend felt like the red-headed step child of the place due to the owner's resentment of her, and was not happy that she didnt get any new clients. The owner was frustrated because she felt she was constantly losing money, and all that. Both women cant deal with confrontation at all. What ended up happening was everyone was frustrated by the hodge podge way the salon was being run.. so we all pretty much became catty, negative.

One day when I was out sick, the two of them (the owner and my "friend") decided to move my station without my knowledge. I felt that my friend should have stuck up for me and should have said, "Lets wait til she gets back to work." But she didn't.

Then about 3 months ago, our assistant went on the floor. So we all had a mtg and I acknowledged that new stylist needed to build, but also said let's be fair since I still don't have a full clientele. Well this new stylist was getting ALL the new clients. I started hearing that my "friend" was going behind my back, siding with others about this issue.. and when the owner asked for her advice on how to allocate the clients, my "friend" told her "well if u ask me her time is up.. how long is she going to be under your wing". I feel like it wasnt her place to say such a thing about a co-worker, let alone friend!!?! Once I heard all this (from the owner) I decided to take a step back and switch into professional mode, rather than friend mode.  

Anyway, I need to know your opinion on a fair way to allocate new clients amongst a salon that has little to no walkins. There are now two of us that need to build.

And how do I get over these feelings of betrayal.. Am I over-reacting?? When I told her how I feel she said she is not apologizing because she did nothing wrong. She wants to move past all the salon bs, but I dont know if I can get over her two-faced attitude.  

guess what, your 'friend' is a b.

you boss needs a seminar

you need to take charge of your destiny.get out there and promote yourself! don't wait for people to be allocated to you, bring them in yourself. this friend of yours is doing exactly what she needs to do to succeed, this is a cutthroat business in a way.she did turn on you, and i wouldn't consider her a friend any more, but you can adopt some of that survival of the fittest mentality as well.coz there's gonna be another her in the next place,too.

i would definitely cease being the go between for the boss and co worker, they have their own issues with each other, and you're getting punished because of your involvement.stay in professional mode, and concentrate on building your client base up.hopefully one day everyone will be too busy to squabble.

Thank u! You are so right. I need to not be in the middle of ANYTHING.. And make it clear that I do not want to be a part of the gossip or cattiness. I need to take control of my own marketing/building of clientele, too.

It's been a hard transition though since she was the LAST "friend" I thought would do such a thing. I mean, at one point she referred to me as her best friend. I've been there so much for her both personally (guy trouble), and prof (helped her figure out how to approach the owner).. Yet this was the thx I got when it was her turn to step up for me. I'm glad I now know where I stand. The only thing is, she keeps wanting to be friends.. be like we were.

The owner ended up firing our receptionist for being too gossipy/spilling the beans too much.. I distanced myself from the receptionist when I started feeling her fakeness.. but she thought I was turning on her and took it personal.. thought I had a hand in getting her fired.. so she threw me under the bus when she was let go, by telling the owner not to trust me.. such bs. And my "friend" still is in contact with this ex-employee.

The whole thing is so ridiculous, but it bothers me that Ive been betrayed. How do I move on?