How to go about getting the haircut of your dreams

                           I have terrible luck with hair salons. For prom, I went to a salon to get prettied-up to the 'big day', and three well-meaning elderly ladies gave me what 'they' called a french twist. Sounds exotic right? WRONG!! It looked more like one of those hairdos from the 50's and I went home, cried my eyes out, washed it all out and wore my hair down and boring. I'm sure if I got one of those hairdos now, I'd be more than ecstatic, but at 16 years old, I was too insecure and shy to pull off a beehive. A few years later, in my 20's, I got brave and hopeful once again and went to a Dominican hair salon with my mom, being new to salons, I did not know to ask for no blowdrying, or hairspray; neither of which I ever use on my hair. I walked out of there looking like I was about 45. These are just a few misadventures of my unassertive youth, but I can assure you each one carries quiet disappointment and tears. This should then explain why I spent the majority of my adult years wearing a ponytail. I wore it well, mind you, but nevertheless it got to be terribly boring. Therefore, when I found Evelyn, at Simply Bliss, it was as if I had found diamonds. 

                            Looking back it was a combinations of things that created the perfect chemistry and I thought I'd share it here so that you too can find your very own 'hair whisperer'. I'm sure there are many, but these are the ones that were relevant to me:

1. They must know hair. This is HUGE!!! My hair when cut short curls (especially in DC when it's always humid), when long it looks limp and plays dead. I know a friend whose hair has weight and falls straight no matter what length it is. All I can say is THIS comes with experience. I can't tell you HOW to find someone who has this skill. 

2. Bring a picture of a 'do' with someone whose hair type matches you. This is so important. I brought a few pictures of the type of hair I wanted. They were of all the same person, various views. If you pick a celebrity, it's often easy to find various perspectives of the same person on Google Images. The crux is that this person's hair MUST match your hair type. If you have no clue what I am talking about, do what I do, touch your friends' hair more often, you will become aware of how different hair can feel, but also how different hair can weigh. 

3. Talk in silhouettes. A silhouette, according to www.dictionary.com, a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, uniformly filled in with black. My silhouette, whenever I have gotten my cut in the past, has always been the shape of a capital letter A. I hated this shape on my face and thought because of the way my hair behaves that I'd be doomed with my 'A-shaped silhouette' head my whole life. But the day I began talking about NOT wanting an A-shaped silhouette was the day my hair cutter made sure my hair did not do that anymore, simple. This speaks to the importance of being able to clearly define your vision of both what you want and also what you don't want. 

 

Bad Customer Service.....Time for a Revolution (New Hairdo pics)

Someone asked me to post my new hairdo.....here I am.....I really hate pictures of myself so I had a hard time with this....my hair is without all the styling they do at the salon. 

But since we are on the topic of the salon, I think you'd find my adventure there interesting if not infuriating. I was so excited to do this that my 4-year-old son, who is usually attached to the hip to my hubby, asked to go.  He is not a very jittery child, at least not in public, so I never thought it would be a problem to bring him along.  I get there and I am greeted by 2 people. The cashier person and my hair stylist.  Immediately I am told by the cashier man that my son, who's 4, needs to wait for me in a different room and that kids are a liability and they do things differently there. In case you missed my last post, this is a spa/salon. I calmly explained that, he's ONLY 4 and won't ever willingly stay anywhere without me, plus, he will sit anywhere quietly just fine (which he did)..all he would need is a chair. 

As an aside, the more parenting you do, the more you realize the world is made up of 2 kinds of people, the ones with kids and the ones without. Through no fault of their own, people without kids have little patience with people who do. The cashier finally gave in once he saw my son start to wince as if he were to start crying if separated from me.  He got to sit a few feet from me at some nearby chair. 

When I made the appointment I was told haircuts are $40, period. I was decided on just getting the cut, using the $150 gift certificate I found the other day in the drawer, and saving the rest for two other haircuts; I'm thrifty that way.  The lady did a fantastic job on my hair and in my mind I'm thinking, "Finally, after 10 years,  a hair stylist that understands me and my hair type."  I won't go details here, but I have tons of hair salon "drama", from Prom all the way to the present.  Nevertheless, I was won over and would have absolutely come back in the future. 

It goes downhill as I approach the desk to pay. I express to the cashier man that I am very happy with my new do, blah, blah...all the fake pleasantries I hate. He begins placing all the products that were used on me on the counter and asks not IF, but which one I would like to purchase.  I'm thinking, "oh what the heck, just one....must be about $12 tops".  He starts to press keys on the screen for what seem like an eternity and hands me a refund for $50.  Wait a big ass minute I yell in my head.....I calmly ask him, "How much was the haircut?".  He reads off the receipt for me and says, the haircut was $70 and the hair serum is $30. (Plus I paid the hairstylist a tip of $15 and the hair washer $5......$120!!!! )  I tell cashier-guy  that I was told over the phone that cuts were $40 and he quickly retorts, "Yes, but you got Alicia, and she's our HIGHER TIER hair cutter".  Alicia was the only one there, I don't remember being given a choice between the TIERS? what a crock..... I walked out of there feeling completely cheated and fucked and very stupid.  I am usually ready to be cheated anywhere these days, but I was not ready for this.....so I really got F'ed

When I got home complaining about feeling cheated my husband explains that perhaps they charged me so high because of my $150 gift certificate and to just let it go for I did not pay for it anyway. I refuse to allow companies to use such tasteless practices to make money.  The funny thing about it is that I would have gone back again and again had they not been so sneaky and money hungry. They need to know gouging your customers does not make them want to come back. 

I called my mother, who I have never seen stand up for herself in similar situations and she tells me she would have raised pure hell in the store and even called the cops.  I love my mom, she was raging on the phone and it gave me enough resolve to write the company and complain through their online request form.  

Today after work I get an e-mail response from the company saying, 

"Dear Miriam, my name is Kathy XXXX,  the Guest Relations Manager at XXXXXX and I would like to talk to you about your experience here. Please contact me at xxx-xxx. My business hours are 9:30 to 3pm Mon-Fri.  Thank You, Kathy XXXX"

I will absolutely call her tomorrow, for to just charge 75% more than your stated price without as much as a warning in these times is simply robbery. 

Will keep you all posted. In posting this I hope to encourage others who experience bad customer service to speak up.  They work for us....and not the other way around.