Since her appearance first on the Bravo reality show Shear Genius, sassy and abrasive hair salon owner Tabatha Coffey has become one of Bravo’s biggest reality television stars. After her work on Shear Genius, she began taping her own reality show, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, in which she visits troubled salons with often aggressive staff. Her goal is to turn around the entire business in a week – and in the process, Tabatha is not afraid to alert staff when they are out of line, criticize salons that are downright disgusting, and even instruct the owner that selling the salon is the best idea. For Season 4, Tabatha’s reality show has evolved once more, into Tabatha Takes Over, in which she branches out to a gay bar, a frozen yogurt store, and even a doggie daycare.
Tabatha Coffey is nothing short of obnoxiously opinionated. A native of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia, Coffey’s reputation precedes her at any location she takes over. After revitalizing many salons, according to a recent interview in the Hollywood Reporter, she believed that, “It was such a natural progression (to take over more than just salons). I believe business principles are business principles, they follow through. So, it was a great transition to now move into other businesses not just hair salons.” Tabatha often says that it is exciting to see a salon, or any other business, go from “rags to riches,” especially in this economy. Somehow Tabatha is almost always successful in turning around her assigned salon, and has an uncanny ability to revamp every aspect of the business, from the attitude of the owners, to the cleanliness of the staff, even to the way salons advertise.
As someone who watches the show regularly, I can never get enough of Tabatha’s “no nonsense” approach. Many of the salon owners and staff are simply out of touch with reality, and need the stern tactics of Tabatha to alert them to how idiotic their decisions are. In a recent episode, a salon owner yelled throughout the episode that she had lost complete faith in her staff, even after her staff had shown significant improvements. Tabatha did not even hesitate to instruct the owner to sell the salon immediately. In another recent episode it was revealed that a salon owner was living in the salon. Tabatha took it upon herself to help the owner find a place to live, and even got her discounts. In every episode, Tabatha’s unique ability to instruct and coerce business owners and staff is nothing short of remarkable.
Many critics and viewers are highly anticipating the newest episode in Season Four in which she takes over a gay bar that is in desperate need of a complete overhaul. Tabatha will be put to the test as to whether her tactics really can work on other businesses that have nothing to do with her passion: hairdressing. Tabatha even took on the tough assignment of taking over an entire beauty school. Be sure to watch Tabatha Takes Over every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern on Bravo.











I love that show…she sees the problem and fixes it!