My usual stylist was booked out for a week and I needed a haircut, so I decided to try somewhere…read morenew. Let me just say -- lesson learned.
I called and got an opening for the next day. I was told the haircut would be $60, so I booked it. When I arrived, I wasn't even sure I was at the right place because the business name didn't match. Turns out it's just a bunch of stylists renting chairs and advertising under their own names. The space itself is a weird little hole in the wall -- not inviting at all.
The door was locked when I got there, and my stylist was nowhere to be found, so another customer -- still in a robe with product in her hair -- had to get up and unlock the front door for me. That set the tone for the rest of the visit.
I tried to communicate what I wanted since it was my first time, but my stylist seemed far more interested in talking than listening, so I eventually just let her do her thing. Then we moved to the shampoo station, and the chair was absurdly small and uncomfortable. I mentioned it, and she just chuckled and said, "Yeah, it is pretty small." In the middle of washing my hair, she asked me, "Isn't this relaxing?" -- after I had just told her the chair was uncomfortable. Fluorescent lights blaring overhead, people chatting at full volume in a tiny space, and the world's smallest chair... relaxing is not the word I'd use. I just nodded so I didn't have to answer.
Then, while still rinsing my hair, she asked if I wanted styling. I was confused and asked what she meant. She explained that styling would be an additional $60 and would require washing my hair twice. I declined -- I wasn't looking for rollers or anything like that, just a basic cut. We finished up, went back to the chair, and she said she'd dry my hair so I could see the cut better. She roughly dried it, left it still damp, and the haircut looked like something straight out of the early 2000s. At that point, I just wanted to leave.
Before I could even stand up, she asked if I had Zelle. I said yes, but reminded her I was told they take credit cards. She said they do, but there'd be a fee and she'd prefer Zelle. I just paid it and got out of there.
I walked out into the cold January air with damp hair and ended up with a headache. When I got home, my husband asked me if it was raining outside because of how my hair looked. I just blow-dried it myself and accepted that this was a reminder: make the appointment with the stylist you trust and know that they are doing, even if you have to wait.