I'm regretting trying this place after the ownership change, and my experience was bad enough that I strongly feel a review is needed to give anyone considering this location a heads up, and maybe this can be a learning opportunity for this business going forward.
I came in needing a simple trim on my ends and I was told Stepan was going to do my service. It was extremely awkward from the very beginning, and by the end I was left both shocked and annoyed at what I just sat through. I already washed my hair before I left my house so it was still wet and ready to get trimmed, and when he asked what I was wanting done, I said I needed a trim and I didn't want more than an inch taken off.
It was awkwardly quiet the entire time he lethargically was trimming my hair. I'm sitting in a chair having an emotionless mute cutting my hair and all I can say is it was AWKWARD and UNCOMFORTABLE. I tried to start a conversation by asking about the new branding/remodel and if the old stylists still worked there, but he directed my question to another employee and that was the end of that.
Once he finished cutting my ends, without saying anything, he handed me a mirror, and all I kept thinking was what is wrong with this guy?
I then said to him these exact words...
"Looks good. Can I get my hair dried? I know it's an extra cost--that's fine." (I already know how Fantastic Sam's' pricing is, so I knew a blow dry/style costs additional to a cut.) Stepan gets a brush out and starts "drying" my hair--if you could even call it that.
I cannot express enough how much it felt like he #1, doesn't know what he's doing, both in blow drying hair AND how to be a hairstylist professional in general, and #2 doesn't know or care how his entire demeanor comes off to people sitting in his chair.
After the halfa**ed effort to dry my hair, he put the dryer down and that was it. I'm sitting there looking at a half dried mess of hair not even parted the way it should be (nor was I even asked a very basic/standard hairstylist question of: How do you want your hair parted?), and that's how I was supposed to walk out of there. A half-dried mess. I couldn't get away from this guy fast enough. I got to the register and there was a male and female there. They could clearly see I wasn't happy and asked if everything was ok. I said no, not really, and do they actually have people leave there looking the way I did?
They stated that the drying/styling service was additional and I said I knew that, and I told Stepan already when he was done trimming my ends I was fine to pay the extra charge to have my hair dried. I was not expecting to have a misunderstanding of what "drying" meant to these people. Stepan came over to the counter and said he dried me that way because to do it the way I was wanting, it was an additional price. I already said I was ok with paying the additional cost, and Stepan said he didn't hear me say that.
This guy has major communication issues. I'm pretty sure I made it clear I was ok to pay more to get my hair dried, so I'm not sure how he didn't hear me, but I'm now realizing this guy not only has a communication problem with people to actually have dialogue with them, he isn't listening to them either.
The male and female at the counter offered to have my service completed the way I was wanting, but I did NOT want to get in Stepan's chair again. It was bad enough to sit through the first time, and I was not wanting to go back to someone who was being defensive with me and making me feel like I was the one who was wrong with what just happened. I paid and left and I will NOT be coming back.
Stepan has horrible people skills, and by the end of it, his disingenuous apology followed up with comments on how he already apologized so what more do I want, and his annoyance that I was as unhappy as I was, I literally could not get out of there fast enough.
Stepan needs to figure out how to humble himself and be more open to ways he can improve himself going forward to avoid another situation like this one.
AVOID THIS STYLIST.
To the new Fantastic Sam's owner:
Hire people with the personality and level of professionalism ANYONE would expect of a hair stylist. It's not good for business to have people sit uncomfortably in a chair with a "stylist" that has zero conversational skills, zero "people skills", and ZERO LISTENING skills, because this entire experience was caused by the most unexpected noncommunication between the hairstylist and the person in their chair. read more