As stated before in my previous review, I have had the pleasure of Jonathan being my barber for quite some time. Jonathan has been my sole barber for over a year while at Lincoln Square, and I followed Jonathan from his prior barbershop. I am not complaining about his skills. The last time I went to get my hair cut by Jonathan, Friday June 8, as usual the haircut was good. On Saturday June 9, I booked my follow-up appointment with Jonathan for tomorrow, Friday June 15 at 2pm. I received my confirmation email, and now I'm all set...or so I think.
Today, Thursday June 14, I received a text message from Jonathan stating that "the system double-booked me". Apparently, another client booked the EXACT date and time prior to the time that I booked, so although I have a confirmation email and I received a reminder email yesterday, my appointment (not the other client) needs to be cancelled. Jonathan then stated that I could book my appointment for the same day, but at 11:30am. It wasn't ideal, but I agreed to the time. He told me that I would have to book it quickly. Within minutes of receiving the text message, I saw the available time, tried to book it, but the system wouldn't allow me to book it. I informed Jonathan immediately, and he told me that he would look into it. He then informed me that it appears that someone else booked the appointment and that there's nothing he can do. I felt like his empathy when I was told "I guess you didn't book it fast enough."
I informed him that I had an event to attend on Saturday morning, which is why I book a week in advance for that Friday evening appointment. I was then told by Jonathan that he doesn't have "favorite clients". I wasn't sure what he meant by that. I figured that as a loyal customer who gets a haircut from Jonathan religiously, every single week, there would be some sort of accommodation since this was not my fault. I booked in advance, I followed protocol, and was even willing to rearrange my schedule for this apparent scheduling issue that was, again, not my fault.
While expressing how inconvenienced I would be because of this, Jonathan proceeded to tell me that "it's all business". When I told Jonathan that I wish I were informed prior to "the day before" so that I would be given the opportunity to make other arrangements, he kindly informed me that he only checks his schedule one day in advance. I thought to myself, how convenient for me.
I have been quite accommodating as a customer for many years. In the past, I have gone to the shop, sat there for 20 minutes, and then another barber would let me know that Jonathan isn't there (this was after a scheduled appointment), I would text Jonathan, and I would receive a "oh, my bad, I had an emergency, sorry for not telling you". I have gone another time, running a few minutes late, parked right outside the shop, and was told that he can't see me. I have gone and he's running late with other customers, and I would just sit waiting, not complaining, and just add more money on the meter for my car. Other times I would get texts asking if I could come earlier or later because someone cancelled or he has an emergency, and I would be accommodating.
I tried to be the customer that I would want to have. I never went to YELP to complain about any and every little inconvenience. I believe that this situation was not handled with any level of professionalism, and as a paying consumer, I feel that this should be known. read more