I truly hate to be like this and am usually a super easygoing person, but this entire experience has left me pretty sour.
I think that a major key to doing business, especially when it's in something that alters how someone looks, is communication. Let the person know what they're getting into and what to expect, especially if it's someone who has never been to your business before.
That didn't happen here.
I decided that with my tax refund I would take my little sister to get her hair done. She had it bleached before a few years ago at a hair school in Lafayette and her roots had grown out quite a bit, so I already knew it would be a fairly pricey visit. I let her choose the salon and she chose this one. I recognized the name so I went with it. I was impressed when prices were read to me over the phone while making the appointment. I thought that that meant they would be straight forward with me, which is something I don't often experience in salons. Again, not the case.
I was just having my hair cut, while she was having hers cut and bleached. My appointment started before hers, but our chairs were behind each other so I could watch in the mirror. The stylist said that she told her from the beginning that it wouldn't all happen in one visit, but that's kind of what everyone says when it comes to bleach. It was what she was told at the hair school when she was going in with substantially more hair to dye that had been box dyed before and the color came out the way she wanted, so she wasn't worried.
My cut happened quickly, so most of my time was spent waiting on her. My appointment went great, Heather was really fun and did my hair so wonderfully. At this point I was more than satisfied with my hair and was already raving about the salon on Facebook.
They finished putting the bleach on her hair and let us sit in the back together. After a while I noticed that some spots were definitely not bleaching properly. They were still pretty dark, considering her hair is naturally strawberry-ash blonde. I was concerned but figured I wasn't the pro so I should just keep my mouth shut. After a while they needed the spot I was sitting in so I went back to the front.
Well I was correct in my concern. The dye didn't process evenly at all. When I saw her come out of the rinse with big bright orange splotches, I walked back to where she was. The stylist kept saying that there was nothing she could do without her coming in for another visit, and then kept asking if that was okay (as if she had any other options). My sister is very shy and was already very anxious about the appointment, so she was going along with it. I knew she was upset so I tried to ask some questions to better understand what was going on. The stylist acted annoyed with me for asking questions, so I backed off (I too am very shy and have social anxiety, so I was already out of my element speaking up at all but I wanted to stand up for my sister).
By the end of the visit I knew things were bad. I paid for the visit ($150) with plans to speak to someone about what could be done to fix it. I was essentially told that I would have to pay another $100 to fix.
I was upset and fought with myself a lot before finally contacting them. I felt like there was no reason a hair school could do a better job for cheaper and I really wanted some answers. My sister's hair had bright orange patches throughout and she was really upset about it.
The salon contacted me quickly and without even asking for it offered a redo. They said it had to be with the same stylist, which I was reluctant about, but it was explained to me that industry policies had changed and the level of developer they were allowed to use was decreased. I understood this, so I was hopeful that we would have a good outcome. Their exact words to me on the phone were "We can only do a redo at no charge if the same stylist works on her hair".
So she went in for her appointment today.There was some concern in the beginning, but the focused on the spots that didn't process properly. It still wasn't 100% but it was better than it was before.
Which sounds like it could be a good outcome. Until she goes to leave and they tell her she has to pay for the styling. At no point in the conversation about fixing the hair was it ever mentioned to me that only the color correcting would be covered, nor was it mentioned at any point in her visit. They just styled her hair without ever mentioning that it would not be included in the redo.
I am more upset than anything that I was not communicated with and that things were basically hidden from us until we made a fuss. If you insist on visiting this salon, make sure you question EVERYTHING. And if that's not something you're comfortable with, go to another salon. read more