I have been to this salon several times and had amazing service. But after today, I will never go back there again. I wish I could give them 0 stars. I had an appointment with Linda to have balayage done (brown to a golden blonde color). My hair is dark brown, almost black naturally, and very long (down to lower back). When I showed Linda a photo of what I liked, she immediately started talking down to me, saying things like: "your hair will not lift", "it is not going to turn out how you want it", "it will come out orange", "you must be realistic", etc. I think she told me I need to be "more realistic" about 100x. I completely understand that my hair may take several sessions to get it exactly where I want it. As I explained to her, this was not my first rodeo. When I told her that I had blonde highlights done years ago at a different salon (which came out absolutely perfect after one session), it was like she didn't believe me. She wanted to see a picture of it, and after I showed her, she continued to come up with excuses of why it still won't work today. I told her I wanted my base color to be dark brown, and she told me it would definitely come out orange. But then later on, told me she if she did try to get my roots lighter, they would come out the same chocolate brown as my ends (my ends are a little lighter than my roots). I told her that would be perfect because I love that color. Again -- excuses. I felt as if she was rushing me out because she saw the length and dark color of my hair and simply did not have the time or desire to do it. She asked me if I don't like the way my hair is now. OBVIOUSLY NOT IF I AM HERE FOR COLORING. Her tone was so rude and nasty. She finally got what she wanted, and I told her I will not have anything done today because I'm not sure what to do after everything she told me. She didn't even look at me as she said "nice to meet ya" and stormed away, leaving me upstairs, in the salon chair with the robe still on. I had no idea what I was supposed to do after that.
I explained what happened to my friend who recommended to have balayage done at Gerber. She was appalled and called on my behalf to complain. The manager Lorraine stuck up for Linda, and said there is nothing they can do for me. They are too booked because they are "that good." Give me a freaking break! She said that Linda walked away because she was frustrated and they were busy. Lorraine also brought up to my friend how my sister called earlier asking for a refund (which is not true). My sister was overcharged and simply wanted to clarify what she paid for. Lorraine never called my sister to explain anything, but didn't fail to mention the situation to my friend, who was calling on my behalf.
I work with people everyday as a nurse and I know horrible customer service when I see it. I do not work in the hair industry but that does NOT mean you talk down to me and making me feel stupid for wanting my hair to be lighter. She basically said it was impossible for people with dark hair to achieve what I wanted. I have been to Gerber 2 other times for coloring, and the first thing everyone always says is "It's not going to come out like that." But it came out just fine. They are negative and underestimating their abilities, but today I am appalled at the service I received here. It's a shame because the receptionists are so nice. Hopefully they can teach Linda and Lorraine some manners. If you have dark/thick/long hair, I would recommend you go to a salon where they have the training and skill to work with our kind of hair. read more