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.
