Hair Care: Excellent, albeit on one visit.
Customer Care: Horrific.
Very strange.
The first time I went there, I was assigned to Jessica. Jessica was very competent and did an excellent Job on my hair, taking her time, dotting every I and crossing every T. She listened to my Wishes and fulfilled them and more. She was a bit pushy, though: She's one of a growing number of people who, instead of politely asking someone to do something, chooses instead to preface things with "I need you to..." which is of course a passive-aggressive way of turning a request into an order. Pretty lame. I make it a policy not to get into philosophical Arguments with people hovering around my head with sharp, pointy objects, so I didn't call'er on it, but I did make a mental note that this would be our first and last Hair Cut. I'm sure that many are rolling their eyes at me, and I certainly don't deny that I am old fashioned. But I do not presume to give others Orders, and I require the same fundamental Courtesy of them.
However, I will reiterate, in all Fairness: For those who want a good HairCut, and don't give a Rat's Ass about Courtesy, I would strongly recommend Jessica. It was just one HairCut, mind you, but you can tell when somebody knows their Business, and she surely does. Above all, the fact that ~ pushy or not ~ she listened carefully to my Wishes, listened also to her CoWorker's Opinions, and executed at a high level was very impressive.
The CoWorker in question was Karin ~ soft I, accent on the 2nd, as I understand it ~ who I found very engaging and very helpful in translating my male gibberish into Information that Jessica could actually use. For all I know, Karin, too, may engage in that obnoxious "I need you to..." business, but there's always that Chance. My Radar strongly suggested to me that a HairCut with her would be both pleasant and successful.
Alas, this is where my initially positive Impression slides rapidly into the Abyss.
When I called to make an Appointment with Karin, I was told by Teri, who identified herself as the Proprietor, that Karin was on Vacation, but she'd be happy to set something up for when she got back. I work the Night Shift, so I requested the earliest Appointment possible. Teri told me that Karin came in at 0900 but the earliest that she could be available would be 0930.
That half hour lapse seemed strange and a little irritating to me, and in light of subsequent events, I suspect that Karin is very much available at 0900 on some days, but that, despite my explicit request, Teri just kind of shoved me in there at the first available slot.
Yes. Not a very nice thing to say, but here it is: We set something up for 0930 on 08/06/16, a Saturday. I called back a few days later, because I, being something of a Dumb Ass, managed to forget what day it'd been for. The girl who answered the phone ~ not Teri, but I didn't get'er name ~ confirmed the Date...but then told me that my Appointment was with somebody else, not Karin. That...is a certifiable WTF moment. How in Hell do you get that wrong, that simple task of writing the Appointment down next to the correct name??
So we corrected the Appointment: Karin's Appointment. All righty, then.
The fateful day comes...And when I walk in at 0930...Karin's elbow-deep in a Perm. The lady's still in Curlers. Karin acknowledged me and said that it'd be 10 minutes. The Receptionist informed me that I could wait or that someone else could take care of me.
I managed to keep my Temper.
I told them to hold the Appointment, went next door to buy some lovely Rot Gut Whiskey, and thought it over...and decided that my first thought was the correct one. I left.
I don't expect the World to revolve around me.
And I know that they have a Business to run.
But here we have a situation where I'd gone out of my way for their benefit and convenience... And'd been thanked by their telling me that, evidently, they expected me to honor MY end of an Appointment, but had absolutely no problem breaking their Promise to ME.
I don't know about you, but I found that offensive, insulting, and disgusting.
I understand that Appointments run over. But that was part of why I made such a crystal clear point of requesting the FIRST Appointment of Karin's day. Teri ~ or possibly an errant schedule editor ~ did such a bad job of the simple task of assigning me to the correct person in the first place ~ despite clearly understanding who I was asking for, as indicated by her telling me that Karin was on her Vacation ~ that it now seems very likely that Karin WAS available at 0900, but just not that particular day.
Another day would've been perfectly fine: I didn't ask for any specific day.
My only requests were that it be Karin, and that it be as early as possible.
As I value things, I gave them an F. But to reiterate: Excellent Hair Cutting.
Karin? If you ever leave that place, please give a Call.
If your new Salon is in my area, I'll look you up. read more
