I got my hair braided by Marie for a couple of years before she sold the place. I was skeptical of…read morethe change in ownership at first, but I figured I would give it a try. My first appointment went well, I showed up and got right into a chair at my appointment time. I got exactly what I asked for in braid color, size, and length. The hair quality was great and the knotless braids were installed well. No itchiness, burning, or pain. I was pleasantly surprised. The second time went equally well, although they did not have the braid color I asked for (#4), I was still happy with the result. The hair quality and braiding were both well done.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I decided to make an appointment to get my braids removed. I usually do it myself, but I simply didn't have time because I was going out of town and I was really ready to have them taken down. Past ready. I call the business by phone. I called three times. The first time it just rang. The next two times I got an open line and then a click like someone hanging up. I finally gave up and tried to book the appointment online. I was so excited to see two available morning appointments. One was in half an hour. I live close, so I booked the appointment and then headed over to the salon. When I get there, there is a huge chain on the door and all the lights are off. Mind you, this is a Saturday and it is 2 hours after they claim the business opens. I grab my phone to call, and I see a message that my appointment has been canceled. I thought that was strange. Why do they have availability listed if no one is even there? What if I had been a walk-in? Anyway, I proceed to go online and book the next available appointment in an hour and call again. Mind you, there is a car next to me with people literally buying, selling, and consuming some kind of free base drugs in the car. I really don't want to sit in this parking lot any longer than I have to.
This time a man does pick up my call. I let him know I am there for my appointment, but there is a lock on the door, and no one there. I also explain that I see that my appointment was canceled, but I have rescheduled for the next appointment and want to make sure someone will be there. He tells me that they canceled my appointment so I should not have come. I tried to explain to him that I made the appointment and almost immediately started driving there so I did not know about the canceled appointment until I had already arrived. Again, I have a new appointment, will someone be coming? He then has the audacity to tell me that I should have called first. Now I am not happy because I tried to call them 3 times and got hung up on twice. He says I was not hung up on, but they did have a bad connection when I tried to call earlier. Oh, so you are aware that I made several attempts to call and you still tell me "I should have called"? So I go back to whether or not someone will be there that day to remove my braids. He says she cannot take a same-day appointment because she already has a client in the chair. Sir, do you not understand that I am standing in front of this business right now and it is closed, padlocked and the lights are off?! This was where the lies started.
Even if I was willing to put up with the disorganization and lack of communication, the lies pushed me over the edge. When I pointed out to him that he was bold-faced lying he said "Oh, I misunderstood when she said she was already with a client, but no one is available today". Mind you, throughout this conversation, there is a woman's voice in the background speaking another language to him. What I believe happened was she told him what to say - i.e., she was already with a client - and he repeated it but, she did not know I was at the shop. You're just going to lie like that? That broke me. In their defense, they did offer to make an appointment for me for the next day. As I pointed out, I was going out of town and I needed them out that day. Even if I had time, I was not sure I would ever be using that salon again. Unfortunately, in my experience, San Diego simply does not have the best hair braiding options.
I was really happy with the previous owner of this salon and I was happy with the braids I got after ownership changed hands. I have no problem at all with the quality. As other reviews have pointed out (and I advise you to reorganize these reviews so that they show you "most recent" reviews first), this place is just disorganized and has very poor communication. I would add that they are more than willing to be dishonest in their business practices.