So after several months, I finally stopped going and went with another salon. Let me list some reasons I brought it down a bit.
- It became harder to book, which is great for business. So I'm happy for the guys, but I had to look at least a week out or more to get a time I wanted.
- It was ALWAYS running late. Every trip I took was delayed at least 30 minutes. Not sure if it's from too closely packed appointments, or from late customers, but the guy on time shouldn't have to wait on a regular basis.
- I'm not sure why, but Rob wasn't keen on shampooing. I asked one time, and got redirected to the hair vacuum cleaner. Second time I asked, it was kinda rushed, probably related to point above. The shampoo at the end of one of my favorite parts of a hair salon experience; not to mention, it saves me from having hair fall on me the rest of the day. And it's not like I minded the price or anything either.
- At the end of the day, if you want a more fashionable hairstyle with fade, this is your place. My cut is a little simpler. I can't justify the price for what I got back.
The owner responded to my updated review, and being someone who likes to respond, this is what I have to say:
"3/2/2017 Kaung,
Im not sure what prompted you to demote your review 10 months since your last service with us - but let me address below:
1.) Yes, we are usually fully booked at least a week out. Im not sure why we should be penalized for that in your yelp review. This means there are a lot of folks out there who value what we do and are deeply satisfied with what they get for the price.
2.) We communicate very clearly in the confirmation email that is sent when you book, that appointment times are approximations, that there are a variety of factors that can cause us to run behind (rarely ever more than 15 minutes), and that if you have particular time restraints we will do our best to accommodate. And if/when we run behind, we always send a courtesy heads up text which I noticed we did once for you. If you read the confirmation email, then that expectation would have been set.
3.) It is not that Rob is not keen on shampooing, you just didnt book a shampoo with your service. Once again, there is a detailed description of your service when you book an appointment. If you would like us to shampoo your hair, we would be glad to, you just need to book that so we have sufficient time and there are no aspects of the service that feel rushed. If we did squeeze in a shampoo for you once without you booking a shampoo, again, why should we be penalized for this?
Wish you the best"
1. Every strength can be a weakness at the same time. Like I said, I'm happy that you guys are having success and getting packed schedules. That's great. But as a customer, I want people to know that they'll have to make something in advance if they want a spot, especially if it's coveted slot like 5:30pm or something similar. They should know it's not a place where walk-ins or last minute appointments are likely. And that's a drawback for some people, myself included.
2. I guess I must have been unlucky to get all 4 of my appointments past the 15 minute period. Fairly certain 2 of those were in the 30 min range. I appreciate the courtesy text, but at the end of the day, I'm not sure what most people would do when they make an appointment a few weeks in advance (see point 1), and get a notice a few hours before their appointment that they have to delay things 30 mins. Again, it's the only option a business can offer, and I'm glad you do that, BUT a delay is still a delay. You are a high end salon, it's not SuperCuts or GreatClips. So my EXPECTATION as a customer for that higher standard is that I'll be seen pretty close to my appointment time. My EXPECTATION should not be to be to tolerate 15 minutes or more after my time, on a regular basis no less, regardless of what fine print says.
You could have given me a "it's something we're always working on improving for you guys" kind of line, but you threw fine print out as a response? That's cool.
3. This may be an oversight on my part, but I don't recall seeing the 10 minute add on sessions in the past. Maybe it's a newer development? If so, great. But in my situation, you could have easily told me from the first time, "Hey Kaung, I'd love to man, but seeing how we're already behind, can you book an extra time session for this next time?" Somehow it makes me think those sessions weren't available last year.
Sorry for being c-c-c-combo breaker, but I think these are valid enough points to illustrate to paint a fair idea of what to expect for customers. If they read all these things and come, then you won't have to worry about them whining like me. read more