What am I looking for in a consultant?

I am choosing to partner with an active, certified consultant for the following reasons:

• If I am paying for the brand name- I want the whole shebang. Superman is NOT going to be happy if I come home with not-quite-Sisterlocks, but I paid quite-a-deal-of-Sisterlocks money.
• Certification, in general, means that the person has gone above/beyond to have their work/knowledge tested. When I was working in my academic field, a certification made you more valuable because it implied you took extra time to learn and maintain a skillset. I realise this won't be the case for EVERY consultant, but I have to start somewhere.

Aside from those two things, I also am looking for the following items in a consultant:

• Salon environment
• I would rather have someone else shampoo/braid/bundle my hair prior to re-tightening services; at least in the beginning. I am not going to put my head in someone's kitchen sink. Period.
• Consistent business hours- since I will be driving from a distance, I want to have maximum flexibility with scheduling services versus working around one's job schedule.
• I would also like the option later down the line to have styling services performed.
• A salon environment makes me feel my consultant is committed to providing Sisterlocks (TM) services. Again, no guarantee of these things, but I have to start somewhere.
• Of my short list of consultants, two own their salons. Additionally, both the salon-owner consultants have multiple Sisterlocks (TM) certified consultants on staff. I would prefer for just one consultant to complete my establishment. However, for re-tightenings, the option to schedule with another consultant in the case of a scheduling conflict (vacation, family priorities, schedule completely booked, etc) could come in handy.

• She wears Sisterlocks (TM)
• I want someone who is on this journey; not just a traffic director. I find that my pediatricians who have children are more insightful than those who are not parents (or parents yet). They just "get" the emotional side of it when you have a feverish infant. I feel the same will be for my consultant when I am going through frustrations of fuzziness, unruly teenage locs or slippage/unraveling.

• Experience
• I have a feeling my hair may be on the "it will take longer to loc" side of the loc maturation spectrum. That being said, I want someone who has been around the block enough times to choose the best pattern, retightening schedule, etc for me.
• At the same time, I don't want someone whose experience has caused them to become "set in their ways" that they refuse to hear my concerns and may not take time to explain to me "why" I need a certain parting size, etc. The combination of my genetics, habits, lifestyle, etc make my hair unique- I would like my uniqueness to be appreciated and factored, not just steamrolled over in the name of  "I know best. Don't ask me any questions."

I think that sums things up- did I miss anything? For those of you who are currently loc'd, what qualities did you look for (or overlook and now regret) in a consultant that you found highly important?


Stay tuned! I will share my detailed decision making chart/grid in a few weeks (fyi, the link won't work until then)!