Have you ever walked out of a salon?

macherieamour

New Member
I did on Wednesday. I posted the whole story on my blog but I was just curious if anyone else ever just got mad and left. What was the reason?

Here is what happened at Vivid Salon on Wed:

I showed up to my appointment on time and sat in the waiting chair. The salon is nicely decorated. The “salon coordinator” walked right past me and carried on with his business. He spent a few minutes wiping down the window and chatting with some of the stylists in the back. Meanwhile, I start talking to another patron in the waiting room. She finally mentions to the coordinator, Bill, that I was there to see Sherree (sp?). He nods and asks me for my contact info.

So, the girl I was chatting with gets escorted to the back so she can be shampooed. After she leaves, I realize that its 12pm. I’ve been waiting for a half an hour. Mind you, my stylist has not come out and introduced herself. She hasn’t explained to me that she is running late. I understand salons run late, but I would at least like to have my presence acknowledged.

Another half an hour passes. I have officially been waiting for an hour. The owner of the salon saunters in and walks right past me. I would have liked a “Hi, I am ---- the owner of this salon. Who are you here to see? Oh, you have been waiting for an hour?? Well, let me get you started with so and so”. But no, she walks right past me.

At this point, I am fuming. I start talking to another patron sitting next to me. I tell her that I’ve been waiting an hour. She’s like, “Girl, you need to shout or say something”. I’m like, “THIS IS A BUSINESS”. I shouldn’t have to announce I’ve been waiting for a half and hour. She’s like, “well, my appt was at 1030 and I got in the chair at 12pm”!!!! Ok, NOW, I’m freaking out.
Finally, Sheree, my stylist, comes over and asks me whom I’m here to see. I’m like, YOU!!! She tries to tell me, “oh well, you came in late. I looked at me watch and it was 1150 when you showed up”. I was like, “NO…NO. I’m ALWAYS on time.” I couldn’t believe she had the nerve to tell me I was in the wrong.

So, she says, “I’m going to have the shampoo girl finish another client and then she will take you back”. So, I calm down and say ok. But then, I start noticing the way the stylists are working on the client hair. I see blow dryers and paddle brushes ripping through hair. I see hot tools on stoves. I see hair sizzling. I thought to myself, this is an UP SCALE salon??? That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After 15 minutes, I walk out.

Bill, the salon coordinator then calls me 10 minutes later. He asks, “What can I do for you”? I explain what happened and he’s like well can I book another appointment?? LOL, I tell him “no, thanks” and hang up the phone.

Full Story is on my blog but that was the gist of it:wallbash:What would you have done? Have you been in a situation like this?
 
Oh my, what a story! I'm glad you walked out, not only because of the poor customer service but who knows how much damage they could have done to your hair! :eek:
 
I would have done just what you did -- walked out. I've walked out of salons before when I've been kept waiting or didn't get a good vibe from the place.
 
I have walked out of a salon before because the stylist was taking too daggone long to get to me. I was in high school and I went after school. I got there at 2:30. By 3:00, I'm still waiting. When 3:30 rolled around, I was like "forget this", and went home. I feel like if I'm gonna sit around and do nothing, let me be at home with my cable tv and my snacks so I can at least be comfortable!

I'm sorry your experience at Vivid was terrible.
 
Naw, they did not deserve to even look at the hairs on your head let alone get their hands on them. No way Jose!!!! I am glad you walked out and please never return. That is not how you do business :( Plus, with the things you did notice I would have been scared anyway...
 
I'm glad you walked out, too. I'm surprised you didn't walk out sooner when you tried to tell you when you arrived. How'd she know, she in da back lallygaggin!? And also alot of times when there is a disagreement between stylist and client, the stylist usually takes revenge on the client's hair.
 
I have walked out of a salon before because the stylist was taking too daggone long to get to me. I was in high school and I went after school. I got there at 2:30. By 3:00, I'm still waiting. When 3:30 rolled around, I was like "forget this", and went home. I feel like if I'm gonna sit around and do nothing, let me be at home with my cable tv and my snacks so I can at least be comfortable!

I'm sorry your experience at Vivid was terrible.

Yes, if i wait 20 mins. then i'm gone...just bad customer service to me.
Like really, what was sooo unprofessional then the coordinator had the nerve to say 'what can i do for you':nono:. He should have said that in the beginning when he was too busy running his mouth. I agree with you cocosweet all the way...Thats the reason i don't do to salons i can't stand to wait for anything...I like to just walk in tell them what i want then, i gets done, and i'm out point blank.
 
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I walked out of a salon maybe 2 months ago. I was waiting for a wash and se. I mean 30 mins pasted and I was like no no no.. She walked out went to her car and was sitting and then her boyfriend came. I was like aww hell no.. I left I have not been back since. Shoot I can do my hair my self. I shouldnt have to wait for nobody but me.
 
I've never walked out of a salon, but then again I haven't went to one in years. Had I been in the same position as you, I would have done the same thing. Judging from your description of their practices, I'm sure your hair thanks you!! You've saved yourself from tons of heat damage!
 
I've walked out of salons lots of times, especially if i had an appt and they take longer than 20 mins to get to me. My time is valuable too.
 
For a walkin, I'll wait. For an appointment, where the stylist says she's running a little behind, I'll wait. For an appointment where I am ignored, I'm out after :30. My time is precious too and so are the dollars and tip that I am going to give to my backup salon.

I have walked out of a few salons. One because I didn't like the look of the hair that was walking out of the salon-- stiff and staticky and loaded down with oil sheen and grease. One because it was just taking too long to get to me. One a few yrs ago because the chick had attitude while doing my hair. I had A LOT of new growth and went in for a relaxer. She was sucking her teeth and sighing and 'ugh!' ing and slapping grease in my hair --for what, I don't know, I needed to be shampoo'd??? Anyway. I didn't want her hands in my hair, lord knows what she would have done to it so I said 'ya know what? Stop. Just stop.' She stopped, I got up out of the chair, grabbed my pony tail holder and my bag and said, 'no thank you' and walked straight out. No one stopped me but I heard one of the other stylists say 'what happened' and she said something I didn't hear but it contained MUCH attitude and I just kept walking out.
 
It's all in how they treat you, the GALLING thing is that they could have at least acknowledged your presence. I have been in salons where they are busy but at least they will try and explain and just reassure you that they are trying to get to you asap. You definitely did the right thing in getting out of there, customer service is a DYING art. I really don't think it exists anymore. Another reason to become a true DIY'er.
 
All hell naw!! I would've walked out after 15 mins of waiting. I guess I'm a little spoiled from going to the Dominicans where I never had to wait over 5 mins once I walked in. Plus they use expensive products, know how to care for my hair better, are cheaper, and move FAST!!! You try to help your brothers and sisters out but they treat us like dirt and over charge us like crazy!!
 
*standing ovation for Macherieamour*

Good on you for leaving that place! I can't believe the stylist had the nerve to try and tell you what time you arrived, like she'd been waiting impatiently or something!
 
I think it's great you walked out. Why should you give them your dollars when they didn't treat you well?:nono: If more people were to walk out maybe they would change their business approach 'cause they wouldn't have any customers. But seems like the whole event was a blessing, since sitting in the wait room gave you an opportunity to see what really goes on at the salon...heat, sizzle, heat, fry.
 
I feel like I shouldn't have to wait longer than 20-30 mins, IF and ONLY IF I have been greeted and it has been explained to me that the stylist is running behind schedule. Anything else, in my book, is unacceptable. I am not on their payroll. In fact, I'm there to give MY $$$. I have a stylist that I like to do my touch-ups. She starts at 7am. I do not schedule the appt unless I can get the FIRST appt at 7. I am quite impatient when it comes to unnecessary waiting. I feel I shouldn't have to wait unless you are putting me on your payroll or giving me a free 'do.

The harsh hair styling techniques and lack of hair care is a huge NO-NO. :nono: Upscale doesn't always equate to proper hair care. I can't believe that in 2007, stylists are still raking through ladies' hair and slathering on grease, gel, spritz, etc. It seems like some people will never let go of the fried, dyed, laid to the side method of styling. YIKES! :perplexed
 
Youdid the right thing, good for you. More of us need to do this when confronted with this type of shoddy service. They just KNEW you were going to stay, and you showed them that poor customer service was not going to be tolerated that day. :)
 
Ugh!! I'm still mad about it!!I'm glad so many ladies would/have done the same thing!! I should email them this thread!!!
 
Oh yeah I forgot to answer the question...lol. I almost did. When I moved from Long Island to Manhattan and after a year of going to the Dominicans salons. I decided to support my brothers and sisters and go to a black salon for once and give them one last try. So I found this salon mentioned on a forum. I called them up and set my appointment for a relaxer. The lady told me it would cost $60 which was a little higher than normal but I said what the heck I'll try them anyway. So I get there Saturday and there was only one stylist and one customer and all the other hair booths were deserted. First red flag!!! I was there for almost a hour and a half waiting on this *****!! She wasn't even doing anything to the lady's hair, most of the time she was gossiping and messing with the CD player. Meanwhile I was in the waiting area on my blackberry searching for info on Maribelle's(sp?) Dominican Salon which I heard was a good salon too. I actually called them and tried to get directions but the lady couldn't speak english well.

Finally this slow arse ***** finished. She permed my hair and later gave me an aphogee protein treatment because she said my hair was damaged. My hair came out nice and I was just about to give her a good tip UNTIL she said........your total will be $120. I'm like $60 + $15 equals $75.

Then the ***** said I was misinformed and that the perms were $85 and the treatments are $35. In my head :rolleyes: i'm like Aphogee only cost $15 from Wal-mart why the hell she acting like this some exclusive treatment. I told her I only had 80 bucks in my purse(even though I had more) and that it wasn't my fault that her receptionist gave me the wrong info. She then proceeded to curse out the receptionist and later agreed to take my cash. I walked outta there and said NEVER AGAIN!! Now i'm back to Dominicans and i'm loving it. :drunk:
 
I certainly have (many times). With the two great stylists that I have now, I would never expect to do a 'walk out' again. :)
 
Good for you :clapping: I think I would have been more pissed about them not acknowledging my presence or explaining to me that they are running behind more than the actual wait....and the manager is a clown..calling you after the fact when he didn't even have decency or the professionalism to speak to you when you were sitting right there:rolleyes:
 
Oh yeah I forgot to answer the question...lol. I almost did. When I moved from Long Island to Manhattan and after a year of going to the Dominicans salons. I decided to support my brothers and sisters and go to a black salon for once and give them one last try. So I found this salon mentioned on a forum. I called them up and set my appointment for a relaxer. The lady told me it would cost $60 which was a little higher than normal but I said what the heck I'll try them anyway. So I get there Saturday and there was only one stylist and one customer and all the other hair booths were deserted. First red flag!!! I was there for almost a hour and a half waiting on this *****!! She wasn't even doing anything to the lady's hair, most of the time she was gossiping and messing with the CD player. Meanwhile I was in the waiting area on my blackberry searching for info on Maribelle's(sp?) Dominican Salon which I heard was a good salon too. I actually called them and tried to get directions but the lady couldn't speak english well.

Finally this slow arse ***** finished. She permed my hair and later gave me an aphogee protein treatment because she said my hair was damaged. My hair came out nice and I was just about to give her a good tip UNTIL she said........your total will be $120. I'm like $60 + $15 equals $75.

Then the ***** said I was misinformed and that the perms were $85 and the treatments are $35. In my head :rolleyes: i'm like Aphogee only cost $15 from Wal-mart why the hell she acting like this some exclusive treatment. I told her I only had 80 bucks in my purse(even though I had more) and that it wasn't my fault that her receptionist gave me the wrong info. She then proceeded to curse out the receptionist and later agreed to take my cash. I walked outta there and said NEVER AGAIN!! Now i'm back to Dominicans and i'm loving it. :drunk:

$35 for a treatment:ohwell: Whatever lady!!! I'm glad you got out of paying that high price. That was very unprofessional of her to curse out her receptionist in front of a customer. She probably wanted to charge so much because she didn't have many clients that day and wanted to make her "money's worth". Just trife
 
I'm glad you walked out before she got her hands in your hair!

I threatened to walk out of a african braiding salon once because she was trying to hurry up and finish my hair by slapping some gigantic twist on top. I told her that I was not payin for that mess unless she fixed it she said no and then locked the door.:look:The other customers were shocked! So I procceded to walk around the salon and ask the other customers if they thought the four giant twist she had slapped on the top of my head were worth paying for. They all replied no! At this time which was about 5min later another one of the customers hair was finished and she had some were important to go. She aked that the door be unlocked so that she could leave. The braider said "No not until I get my money ,nobody leaving till I get my money." This started a huge argument before I knew it everyone was just a cussing and screaming. But it was not just about my hair anymore but the shops over all lack of customer service. After about 20 minutes of being locked in the salon I called the police and told the I was being held hostage. When I got off the phone everybody was like:shocked: 5mins later he police called back to confirm the address and I told them the issue had been resolved. The braider had pratically begged me to fix my hair for free!
 
Naw, they did not deserve to even look at the hairs on your head let alone get their hands on them. No way Jose!!!! I am glad you walked out and please never return. That is not how you do business :( Plus, with the things you did notice I would have been scared anyway...

Amen to that!!:yep:
 
After about 20 minutes of being locked in the salon I called the police and told the I was being held hostage. When I got off the phone everybody was like:shocked: 5mins later he police called back to confirm the address and I told them the issue had been resolved. The braider had pratically begged me to fix my hair for free!

:lachen::lachen::lachen::lachen:No, you DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it though - see! This is how you get better service - by DEMANDING it.
 
I would have walked out of there too. That's ridiculous and very unprofessional and a display of horrible customer service. And the fact that the salon coordinator didn't apologize to you and offer you like a discount or some type of compensation for not appreciatng your time is uncalled for. I would tell everybody I know to stay away from that salon.
 
I walked out of a salon this past January. I went to a Dominican salon downtown Bklyn and asked for a touch-up. The receptionist asked me when was my last touch-up and I told her 8 months. Well, she sent me to this young looking hair dresser who sat me in her chair, put a cape on me and based mostly the edges of my hair. She started putting the relaxer on me and something told me to look in the mirror. She had half of the relaxer covering most of my hair!! I told her what was she doing and she's like 'well, you said you had a relaxer 8 months ago!' I yelled '9 WEEKS!! DOES THIS LOOK LIKE 9 MONTHS??!!' I ran to the sink and had her wash that relaxer out and dry my hair. She really thought I was going to let her proceed with the relaxer. Once my hair dried I wrapped it up in my hat and left.
 
After about 20 minutes of being locked in the salon I called the police and told the I was being held hostage. When I got off the phone everybody was like:shocked: 5mins later he police called back to confirm the address and I told them the issue had been resolved. The braider had pratically begged me to fix my hair for free!

OMG, if someone locked me in their establishment, panic and anger would set in and I.Would.Go.Psycho!!! Besides being held hostage, that was also creating a fire hazard. I'm glad the issue was resolved.

I wait 15 minutes MAX for any appointment I go to, and that's only if I'm given a reason for the wait. Appointments are not 'suggestions.' I'd even be a little testy if a monk kept me waiting. :look:
 
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