***UPDATE***
Stuff happens. I want to applaud Semion for making things right. Within a day of posting my original review he reached out to understand what happened, and together we worked through options for fixing the bad cut. Lucky for me, my hair grows back fast. Semion is excellent. Less then three days after the original debacle he was somehow able to make it look presentable. Not great, but presentable (i.e., I could go outside without a hat). Two weeks later he fixed it again and it now looks great. I also want to thank Semion for being receptive to my constructive feedback. This is what great business owners do. They listen to their customers and update their policies for everyone's benefit. While I did have one very bad experience, I will continue to return to Semion. Stuff happens, but he and his staff genuinely care about what they do, and that's what really matters. Thank you Semion!
*** Original 1 Star Review***
I'd like to preface this by saying this is a negative review of what I believe is a great establishment, and an ordinarily great stylist. By sharing my experience, my hope is no one else has to have an experience like mine.
A bit of background. For the last six months, I've been going to the Semion Barbershop in Stanley Marketplace, and up until my last haircut, I've always had a positive experience.
What happened:
I've had my hair cut a handful of times by Danelle B. In the past, she always did a great job. I've worn my hair the same way for years, and it's a pretty simple cut. Our appointment on Sunday started out like any other, with me telling her I just wanted a trim. I don't have a visible part, but when asked, I reminded her that I just push it forward and to the right with product.
[Details from original post edited for space]
First mistake, she gave me the wrong cut. I have no idea what led her to this, but she decided to give me a hard part, and that's not what I wanted. The second mistake was taking it from being the wrong cut to being a bad cut. It's pretty hard to really screw up mens hair. However, when you shave someone half bald, you really cut down options for repairing the situation. Again, I have no idea why she thought this was a good idea.
Okay, so every other time she cut my hair, she did a great job. On Sunday, she screwed up twice. How do we keep this from ever happening again.
What should have happened:
First:
Most other stylist ask, multiple times, prior to making a cut that will radically change someone's look. That simple act of communication would have prevented this whole scenario. I didn't arrive with a visible part in my hair. I didn't request one. She should have asked before doing what she did, because once done, it could not be undone.
Second:
Once the damage was done, she should have brought in the other stylist immediately. Once again, she did not articulate what she was going to do, and this led us down the path to a very very bad cut. And, since some of you are wondering, really how bad is it? It looks like I got sheared at the Dr.s office for brain surgery. No exaggeration. It's that bad. Bringing in the other stylist would have better allowed me to weigh the options, and potentially omitted the second mistake entirely.
Third:
Giving me a complimentary bad hair cut, and complimentary cut to fix it, is really doing the absolute bare minimum after the damage has been done. I get that "todays 'bad' haircut in two weeks is tomorrows 'okay' haircut. Yes, hair grows back. We can all be happy about that. However, for two weeks I also have to walk around in a hat, limit how I socialize, and explain to people I work with, that no, in fact, I did not have brain surgery. Though I'm half tempted to explain it away as that rather than relate this whole story again. Alternately, I'm half tempted to get the rest of my head shaved, so at least it's a 'style' and not just a ridiculous bad haircut.
Moral of the story:
Communication is key. If you screw-up own it, but don't try to be the one to fix it. Find someone who can address the problem from a fresh perspective and not make things worse. read more