Giving 1 star because as a long time customer, first time going for color, I was left shocked and…read moreinsulted. I prepared ahead of time, had a babysitter come, left work early, and came with photos. Right off the bat, Sierra seemed annoyed speaking with a coworker. I showed her my pictures of inspo, that did not seem to help. I repeated that I was looking for "sun-kissed" natural looking balayage to add dimension (something we had discussed in a previous session.) I told her that I trusted her, whether it be full or partial balayage (whatever it's called in this context). When I spoke, it seemed that we both repeated ourselves and the communication wasn't making sense, because the photos of the women had middle parts and no bangs. I said I was just using the photos for the color, I didn't have an exact photo of my hair cut and color. We kept repeating ourselves and I did not understand where the disconnect was, so I asked if it would be helpful if we brought another stylist over to help both of us understand what the other person wasn't understanding. She seemed offended by that, and didn't ask anyone else to see what the issue was that was unable to be understood. I said I trusted her, just use the photos as guide, just not as blonde as the highlights in the right but I like the placement of both. We spoke for a good 15 minutes it seemed like before she said "ok, I think I got it, I'll go mix up your color." When she walked away I did not understand why she was saying "I do all my consultations like this", acting like I was coming at her? I never raised my voice, I repeated that I trusted her, used no foul language, like I genuinely didn't understand what the issue was. 10 minutes later, she comes back in a completely different demeanor and was like "I don't feel comfortable doing your hair. It felt like we were arguing." And I thought to myself, "is she serious right now?" I can understand someone being sensitive, I am sensitive myself, but we were most certainly not arguing. So without making a scene, I picked up my stuff, and walked out of the salon in shock.
I didn't feel like what had happened to me was right. I called the salon after I left and asked to speak to the Salon manager Melissa. She answered and said a whole spiel of the salon industry and how stylists can refuse service if they don't feel comfortable. She seemed annoyed, because as she was speaking she halfway said "hold on, let me finish" when I wasn't speaking at all- I had just been listening to her. I told her I understand that, but I didn't do anything.
She said that the photos I provided to sierra were "wildly different", and she couldn't color my hair because she didn't feel comfortable. So what does Yelp think? Do you think these photos are unreasonable requests, and look wildly different?
I have recommended Swank to friends and family in the past, but I will make sure to notify them of this absolutely horrific encounter from a mother who simply wanted some "me" time and to look summer ready. I'm astounded.