I've been a customer at the Ithaca Ulta salon for about a year, since moving to Ithaca. There are…read moredefinitely talented stylists here -- I recently saw Kaylee C., and she was excellent. I left that appointment really happy and specifically rescheduled with her because of that experience.
The issue is that the service at this location feels very inconsistent. One appointment can be great, and the next can feel completely different, so it is hard to know what to expect. At one visit, I came in just for a blowout, and it took about two and a half hours just to wash and blow out my hair.
Most recently, I was scheduled with Kaylee C. again, but the salon called the same day to say she was sick. That was completely understandable. They offered me another stylist at the same level and said he was very good, so I agreed to come in. I was there for a basic root touch-up, which was scheduled as a two-hour appointment. In past appointments, after getting my roots done, my hair has also been blown out and styled, not simply dried. This time, after two hours, the stylist told me near the end of the appointment that he had another client coming in and would not be able to blow out my hair. I left the salon with my hair wet after spending two hours there just getting my roots colored.
What was most frustrating was not just that the appointment ran poorly, but that there did not seem to be much effort to fix the situation. I spoke with a manager afterward, and while she acknowledged that I should have been told the stylist was slower and that he may not have planned appropriately, the overall response still felt focused on moving on to the next customer rather than resolving the problem for the customer already there.
That has been my main experience with this location: there are some very good stylists, but the consistency and customer care are lacking. When something goes wrong, the salon does not seem to have a strong "we'll make this right" approach. Instead, it feels like the priority becomes the next appointment, even when the current customer is leaving unhappy.
I wanted to like this salon because I've had some good experiences here, especially with Kaylee C., but after multiple inconsistent appointments, I would say you really do not know what kind of service you are going to get.
