I went to see Kristen for the first time almost a year ago. I had a horrible experience but felt too bad to leave a negative review because she is very young, sweet, and timid. However, a couple of recent experiences made me decide to write a review because I don't want everyone being fooled by all the positive reviews like I was. Even if Kristen was the best stylist in Dallas, which she is not, it would not be worth the insane amount of time and trouble it takes to be her client.
Kristen uses her cellphone for business and never answers or returns calls, but I had just moved to Dallas and was determined to get an appointment based off her Yelp reviews. I got in touch with her after several weeks of failed attempts and got an appointment a few weeks later. At the time Kristen was working out of another salon, and when I arrived around 10 AM all the doors were locked. I wondered if I even came to the right place because no one was there and there was nothing to indicate that Blondes & Blowouts was located inside, but I wasn't going to give up after working so hard to get the appointment, so I stood outside waiting around 15 minutes before receiving a text from Kristen saying she would be late. She arrived around 10:30 saying her car broke down and she had to take an uber. Okay, totally understandable.
So we begin my appointment and the whole time she has another client there who her assistant is working on. He approached Kristen constantly and I did not feel like she was focused on my appointment. Additionally, he did not seem knowledgeable as he was asking her about every single step and she had to leave me sitting there several times to go do things for him. I started feeling bad for the other client as I'm sure she scheduled an appointment to see Kristen, not her assistant. Kristen proceeded to tell me about a negative Yelp review she received and how horrible this client had been and how she was not in the wrong at all. You would think with all her 5 star reviews she wouldn't be so caught up on her ONE bad review (at the time), but she continued to defend herself to me. I initially felt bad because she seemed genuinely upset and she is a very nice girl. Then, a woman came into the salon claiming she drove an hour just to speak with Kristen. She was a regular client and needed an appointment, but could not get ahold of Kristen for months. She seriously asked Kristen "do you not want to do my hair anymore?" and Kristen replied nonchalantly like the customer was being ridiculous for thinking that. After the client left, Kristen talked to me about how crazy she was acting, and I agreed. I'm not one to act like that in public even if I was truly upset with my stylist, but I can see where the woman was coming from now.
My appointment lasted several hours, but since Kristen spent half of her time with me helping her assistant with her other client, she had to reschedule my haircut. My highlights looked pretty good but nothing extraordinary. I returned a few weeks later and sat in the salon waiting room around an hour. I had the first appointment in the morning and Kristen hadn't even arrived at the salon yet. Two more clients showed up and I heard them check into the front desk for their appointment with Kristen. After over an hour had passed I finally told the receptionist I had to leave. I knew in addition to waiting over an hour, my appointment would take forever and I had better things to do with my day off. As I was leaving, I saw her pull into the parking lot. Maybe some clients are alright with being treated like this by someone who they are paying, but to me it's not worth the hassle. There are plenty of quality salons in Dallas with talented stylists who will actually respect your time and not make scheduling appointments such a nightmare.
This week I received a phone call from someone named Nicole who was calling "Kristen's clients" to let them know that Blondes & Blowouts is offering 15% off until Christmas. Obviously Kristen is not booked for the holidays, one of the busiest times of year for a salon, so she is having to call every client she's ever had and offer large discounts for her services. I also received an email from a salon called "Bourne Blonde" saying that their clients have been getting calls directing them to Kristen Brown's salon. Don't know what's up with that, but the whole thing is sketchy and makes me believe that she is somehow trying to scam her way to the top. read more