I really want to love this wig shop. There are plenty of great reasons to stop by, but there are certain things that drive me crazy every time a wig-related issue occurs.
Pros:
- Excellent location in the middle of River Oaks - centrally located!
- Parking is always available in either the front or back lot.
- Good selection of wigs in-store. If they don't have the color you want, they can match you and have the order within a week. Large variety of lengths, colors, and price points.
- The 3 for 2 deal is wonderful - the perfect excuse to splurge on that "fun wig" without actually splurging.
- The wigs are much higher quality that the same ones that can be found on the internet, as they return defective ones to the manufacturer whereas online retailers have lower QAQC standards (if any)... learned this through personal experience with identical wigs from each.
- Experience definitely matters, and they are much more knowledgeable than other shops.
- Cookie and Billie are very sweet ladies, and they truly understand why you are there (regardless of reason) and how much confidence matters
Cons:
- The hours are terrible, as they open at 10:00 (or some other time when people are already at work) and close at 5:30 (so almost impossible to make it there after work, especially with inner loop traffic)... They will hurriedly assist you if you make it after 5:00 so they can close on time, so be prepared. Saturday is the best day to stop by for those with full-time jobs, but they still close really early.
- They say they will give you a call to follow up on ___, write down your contact information, but they never call - YOU have to call them if you ever want to find out the answer. Exclusion: they will call when a new wig is ready for pick-up. There is always a convenient excuse of 'started on it yesterday' or 'was just about to call you', but this has happened enough times and with varying requests that it is no longer the exception... it's the norm. Perhaps I just have bad luck? Be prepared to follow up yourself on status of wig maintenance, product requests, and for them to contact the vendor regarding ordering something that isn't in-store.
- The wigs are very expensive if you don't do the 3 for 2 deal, easily a few hundred dollars more than elsewhere for a high end wig. Buying just one will likely make your jaw drop.
- They do not have enough staff to attend to clients if you happen to stop by at a busy time (meaning they are already helping one other person)... You get the feeling they couldn't get you out of the door fast enough when this happens.
Recommendations:
- Make an appointment at a strange time - you will get 100% of their attention and won't feel rushed. This will make the experience much better as picking out the perfect wig takes at least an hour.
- Make sure to map out the location if you haven't been there before... it's at the corner of an under-engineered busy road (Shepherd) in a high traffic area. A missed turn will take 5-10 minutes to correct since Shepherd doesn't allow left turns after Fairview.
- If you have a full-time job, go on a Saturday. You will ruin your afternoon trying to get there after work, only to be shooed out before 5:30.
- Ask for a specific timeline for when the product/service should be ready, and complain if/when they don't follow up. These are expensive wigs, so the least they can do is respect your time.
I keep coming back because their wigs are high quality, and although the ladies are very kind, the poor customer service is nothing short of infuriating. Call me old fashioned, but a business should follow up on their own within a reasonable time frame to ensure they keep getting business - it shouldn't be the customer's responsibility to constantly phone for a status update. They did a beautiful job on cleaning up one of my wigs, as I could see and feel the difference immediately. Would still highly recommend Billie Jean's - but two stars off for customer service and difficult hours. read more
