I wish zero stars were an option.
My daughter had just moved to NYC when she made an appointment with Monica. She brought a clear inspiration photo showing exactly what she wanted (Photo 1). Monica determined what services/processes were needed to achieve it.
After more than SIX HOURS, my daughter was charged $600 for the result shown in Photos 2-4.
Look at the photos. She asked for a rich, dimensional burgundy/wine color and left with bright, chunky purple/magenta sections throughout her hair.
During the appointment, my daughter repeatedly tried to explain what she wanted while Monica continued telling her that wasn't what she "needed" and spoke to her in a rude and condescending manner. As a young woman newly on her own in NYC, she felt intimidated, paid the bill, left in tears, and immediately called me.
Unfortunately, she had professional headshots the following day and was filming a television show the day after that. She had to cancel the headshots, losing her $150 deposit, spend approximately $400 making a last-minute trip back to the Washington, DC area, and pay her longtime stylist another $300+tip to fix it before filming. This $600 appointment ultimately cost her approximately $1,500.
Photos 5-6 show the correction. Her longtime stylist was shown the exact same inspiration photo. She simply looked at it, understood what her client wanted, and achieved it.
That is what you pay a professional to do.
What happened afterward is why I am writing this review.
For nearly a month, I tried to resolve this privately. I repeatedly called, spoke with both the assistant manager and manager, and emailed the owner. Management assured me she had received everything and expressed surprise that she still hadn't contacted me.
After weeks of being ignored, I finally posted about the experience on Instagram. The owner contacted me the next day.
Instead of an apology, I spent approximately an hour listening to excuses and attempts to blame my daughter. One of the owner's primary defenses was that my daughter "chose the color."
I've included a photo of that swatch, 4-99. Compare it to Photos 2-4.
More importantly, my daughter is not a professional colorist. She brought a photograph showing exactly what she wanted. Monica was the professional who determined the services, performed them, and charged $600. If a swatch or formula would not produce the requested result, it was the stylist's responsibility to know that and explain it.
You cannot charge someone for your professional expertise and then blame the client for not possessing that expertise herself when your work goes wrong.
When I explained how rude Monica had been, the owner actually suggested that perhaps we weren't accustomed to the different "vibe" in New York City. My daughter and I have both lived in NYC, but that's beside the point. Rudeness and condescension are not a New York "vibe." They're poor customer service.
When I explained that this had ultimately cost my daughter around $1,500, the owner pointed out that we hadn't paid her salon $1,500. Obviously. Had the original $600 service been done correctly, the additional expenses would never have occurred.
Ultimately, I was told that because products had been used, a refund wasn't warranted. After nearly an hour of excuses and blaming my daughter, the owner simply left the conversation, leaving the manager to tell me she would not be returning.
After all of this, we never received even the most basic thing:
An apology.
A bad color job can happen. Although... i'd say this one was beyond bad it was laughable, Only not to my daughter. What matters is how a business responds when it does. We were ignored for weeks, blamed, talked down to, and offered excuses instead of accountability.
Look at the inspiration photo. Look at what my daughter left with. Then look at what another stylist achieved using the exact same inspiration photo. The pictures speak for themselves.
I would never trust this salon with my daughter's hair again, and I certainly would not recommend that anyone else trust them with theirs. read more