Nah. The overall 4 star rating this salon currently has needs some SERIOUS explanation and clarification. Allow me.
I actually want to support this business because there are talented stylists who work there, and they work hard. The stylists are also generally friendly and fun to be around. But after going here for 2 or 3 years, it is very clear the business owners haven't created a professional environment for those stylists at all. As a result, their commitment to professionalism is sorely lacking. I can cite actual conversations I've overhead the stylists having on the floor and past experiences that highlight all this, but instead I'll write about my most recent (and probably final) appointment which was today.
I called the day before requesting a specific stylist I liked, but the receptionist said she didn't know her schedule. So I was assigned to a different stylist. I asked about how long a maintenance visit takes (for a wash, dry, tightening tracks, and styling) and the receptionist tells me an hour. Training is clearly NOT a priority here. After the number of times I've been here, I knew that was a boldfaced lie, but whatever. The day of, my stylist hadn't arrived yet for our appointment but when they call her, says she's on her way. Alright. It happens, I guess? I've already made the trip down there by public transit so I decided to wait. After almost an hour, to accommodate her lateness, another stylist voluntarily washes my hair (I hadn't fussed or demanded this) and does the actual, literal least that could be done. Just some half-hearted lathering and careless rinsing 2 or 3 times. I know it wasn't this stylist's job, and I'm sure this person rightfully assumed there would be no compensation for washing my hair, so there was obvious resentment. But if management had a protocol in place for handling this kind of situation, this could have easily been avoided. Split the cost of services with the stylist that pitches in or something, I dunno. Either way, an understandable but still bad attitude should not have been taken out on me. And I shouldn't have to play a business consultant and an occupational therapist just to get my hair washed properly, yanno?
Anyway, after sitting under the dryer for close to TWO HOURS (because other appointments were of course squeezed in around me), it was discovered I still had visible residue and flakes in my hair... I don't have a skin or scalp condition, I was just due for a wash. You could actually still feel the product build up in my hair when it had dried. Exactly what did I do to deserve such poor and improper care? All I did was politely agree to wait for my stylist to arrive and wait quietly. By this point, I had already spent over 3 hours of my day waiting and being poorly attended to (my smock kept slipping so my neck had no protection against the hooded dryer heat, power surges shut off the hair dryer at least 5 times), so we just keep going. A total of 4 hours and $40 later, my style looked alright (the original sew-in WAS done really nicely by a different SE stylist), but I was exhausted and really not sure why my service was continually poor after, again, I have been more than polite and understanding. Same day, different lighting, I can still see flakes and excess residue from old AND new product. The goop used to lay my edges was clumped by my ear. FOR WHY?! Unacceptable. I really didn't deserve this. And it doesn't have to be so difficult.
I'm writing all this because it would be nice to see this place do well, but it seriously needs to do better. I don't entirely fault the stylists. They clearly aren't being held accountable and their management has no systems at all in place to support them. The owners clearly don't read these or any customer reviews, as evidenced by all the incorrect information on this Yelp listing. For example, the listing currently says they're closed on weekends, but they're really open Saturdays and Sundays (a nice bonus actually). But bottom line, though most of the stylists really are talented, the customer service skills at this salon seriously suck and I blame management for that. Service-wise, any extra styling service whatsoever (trims, deep conditioning even after a relaxer, etc) can have an upcharge. Also, the music played in the salon is generally loud and inappropriate, and all the eating and cell phone calls on the floor are out of hand. I once saw a roach crawling on the walls. The owners need to wake up because paying customers don't deserve to be treated this way and will, like me, eventually go elsewhere. Yes, you'll leave Suite Extensions with a nice-looking style most of the time if you're lucky (I've seen some that weren't), but you'll also leave with a headache because of the unnecessary hassle. read more