I was first introduced to Shy Watters in the summer of 2016. Since then, I have been a long-time…read morerepeat (and happy) client/customer up until recently. This review is in reference to her shockingly poor customer service, not the salon itself or any of the other stylists.
Due to COVID-19, appointments could no longer be scheduled using the app, clients were required to e-mail stylists in order to schedule, completely understandable. On August 12, 2020, I had an appointment scheduled for 11:00 am, upon arrival at the salon, there was a notice posted on the door that Shy had a personal emergency and would have to reschedule. I live about 30 minutes away from the salon, and although disappointed that I wouldn't be getting my hair styled that day as expected, I was more concerned that my stylist was ok and in good health. I emailed Shy before driving back home, I said I hoped that everything was ok and to please let me know when I could reschedule.
A few days pass, it's now Saturday, August 15, and I haven't received an e-mail response, so I decided to call her other location, Fells Point, because I'm not sure if Shy was still experiencing an emergency and I didn't want to be a bother. I was able to get an appointment with another stylist at the Fells Point location the very next day, perfect! It's Sunday, my service appointment went well, to my surprise Shy called the stylist who serviced me and told her to give me a 40% discount, it wasn't unexpected, but I appreciated her doing that.
Later Sunday evening, Shy emailed me and apologized for the cancellation, again appreciated the personalized customer service. We emailed back and forth about my current style and discussed ideas about what I wanted to do next. During the conversation, Shy informed me that she'll be back to work fully starting the first week of September and that online booking would be back up as well.
Fast forward to August 21, I happened to be browsing the app and noticed that a few September dates had opened up - one of those dates being the 9th, so I thought maybe she opened her book early, but I wasn't sure so I decided to email her for clarity - I desperately needed an appointment for September 4th as I have an event to attend on the 5th, so I emailed her to see if she had any availability on that day, as since the beginning of the pandemic, this has been our primary source of communication. Her auto-reply says to give her 24 hours for a response, again me not wanting to be a bother, I wanted to give her ample time to respond.
On the morning of August 25, I decided to call the Federal Hill location, because I really need to secure an appointment for my upcoming event. A woman answers the phone and I'm greeted with "Shy Watters Hair Studio," I asked "hey, is this Shy," she responds "yes, may I ask who's calling" and in a jokingly manner, I responded "hey, this is Nickole don't mean to stalk you," and then the line immediately disconnects. I'm thinking it must be a mistake, Shy wouldn't hang up on me, what would be the reason? I'm just calling to get clarity on her availability. I called back 45 minutes later just to be sure, and received no answer. And to date, she has not replied to my email from August 21.
I'm writing this review as a buyer beware, yes, the salon is great, Shy does do great work, that is not up for debate. However, the way that she handled the situation was poorly done and in bad taste. I have never experienced such terrible customer service. Unfortunately, I will no longer be able to support her salon or brand. Hanging up on customers (unwarranted, might I add) is unacceptable and unprofessional.
Treat your clients with more respect.
