October 10, 2008

Tabitha, can you come take over?


OK, I'll admit to watching WAY too much TV. One show in particular has captured my attention lately. Tabitha's Salon Takeover on Bravo. Tabitha Coffey from season one of Shear Genius goes in & revamps flailing salons. She straightens out the management, cleans the place up, lights a fire under the back sides of lackadaisical stylists, and totally re-vamps the salon all in the hopes that the owners can keep their heads above water. I LOVE this show. I love Tabitha.


But (you knew there'd be a "but" didn't you) my obsession with Tabitha & her perfectionist tendencies may have a detrimental effect on my finding a salon I truly like & a stylist who's perfect for me. Tabitha does not handle poor customer service well. She demands her salons be immaculate. She does not stand for any kind of nonsense. That's probably why they can charge at least $35 to $50 for a shampoo, cut, and style at the salons she's taking over.

I live in a much different world apparently. I paid $22 for my wash, cut & style...including tip. There was only one stylist there. No receptionist. I had a 9:30 appointment. Got there at 9:27 only to have the single stylist (who was sitting at the reception desk collecting money from a client) say nothing to me at all and then usher a 5 year old boy back to have his hair cut.


I was a bit put off, but figured maybe she was just behind. I sat in the minuscule waiting area in a little chair that was touching the chair next to me occupied by a teenage girl. There were only 4 chairs available & all were practically on top of each other. The girl next to me spent the next 15 minutes looking over my shoulder at the hair mags I was flipping through.


When the family was done & I was ushered in for my cut, the stylist took the blow dryer & blew the hair off the chair so I could sit down. I should note that the hair on the floor (from the 5 year old) was left where it was, so I put my bag up on the counter.


She asked me what I wanted done & I explained my predicament to her. Then I showed her the adorable picture of Julia Stiles with shoulder length wavy hair. She said that would work & she draped the cape over my shoulders. That's when I suggested she wash my hair first as it still had product in it from last night (I did schedule a shampoo, cut & style). After she cut it, she asked if I wanted it dried & styled...uh, again, I scheduled it that way.



The cut is good (no mullets or odd colors regardless of my dream, although I look nothing like the picture above...I guess I could get if I wanted to spend hours with a curling wand & blow dryer), the finished product is cute, Husband likes it (he never has an opinion about my hair unless it's completely contrary to what I'm going for), the stylist was really very nice if a bit flaky. So, what to do? Go back a second time & hope customer service is a bit better and the place is cleaner? Or do I keep hunting? It's not like I get to the salon often. I could just keep salon hopping. Little BIL told me his best friend's mom has her own salon in her home, but she smokes in the house & that's a deal breaker for me. I cannot see going to have my hair done & coming out smelling like an ash tray. This is so frustrating. Maybe I'll just take Husband's clippers & shave it all off......

8 comments:

Kork said...

Talk to the owner and let them know your frustrations. Just because you live, as you put it, in Po-dunk, does NOT mean you have to put up with bad customer service...

I'd let them know that your time is valuable and if you schedule an appointment, you should at least be told if they're running behind, so you could perhaps run to the bank etc instead of sitting around...

Eh...what do I know? I'm not much a "sit back and take it" kind of person...I've been known to blow up at folks a time or two in my history... :D

FarmWife said...

I'm pretty sure the two or three stylist that work there own it together...including the one who did my hair today.

Unknown said...

I would forget about that salon and find another one. Getting your hair done should be a pampering experience, not a trial. S

Brando said...

Drive to my little town we have some new girls here, and I adore them.

I can get you the number. They are both stylish (gives me hope that I can be too, Friendly, and professional.

Gail said...

Forget salons! I have discovered if the wind is blowing you can go outside, cut your hair and let the wind clear the mess. I just cut away what doesn't feel right. I have also cut my hair in the dark head down over the toilet...just flush when your cut is complete.
Surprisingly, it does not look too bad.

emily said...

I'd go somewhere else. It's a service you're paying for, you may as well get it done right, well, and peacefully.

emily said...

I'd go somewhere else. It's a service you're paying for, you may as well get it done right, well, and peacefully.

Anonymous said...

Where did you go?? I have to know! I feel bad now, is it one of the places I told you about??