Coiffures Hair Designs has been in business in the Donelson area for 54 years - clearly they are…read moredoing something right. Owned and managed by a dynamic mother/daughter duo, this is family business where every customer, if the customer elects, is treated like family. (No adoption papers required)
This salon was founded back in the era when ladies "had their hair done" every week, and the salon was the social hub for American women. I can remember going with my mother in the early 1970's to her hair salon, and all the conversations about children's ball games, music club, (mmmm... music club coffee cake!) and the goings on of the husbands and neighbors. It was a family, and those women back then, and the stylists of Coiffures today, really cared about their customes and what was happening in their lives.
Feedback and opinions from the adjacent stylist stations were encouraged, and any problem could be solved in about the time to it took to get a set and style, drink a Diet Coke, and flip through a magazine. On my visit this weekend, they also had brownies with Andes mints out for customers - oh, my!
The lead stylist at Coiffures did my hair and my bridesmaids' hair on my wedding day, and even though that was 20 years ago - I had a friend come across a photo from our wedding not long ago and comment on how lovely everyone looked.
I was in the shop this weekend for a visit, (I llive more than 30 minutes away, so this is not my regular salon), and saw customers of every age demographic chatting with stylists of every demographic as well. It's nice to see older ladies still getting "gussied up" for a family function, and to see the younger girls getting the latest cuts and color streaks added - all under the same roof. The family tradition also continues in that the younger daughter-in-law of the manager is also now a stylist, so literally Coiffures offers three generations of hair stylists... you just don't see that every day, folks. You're also likely to see a cute 20 something shampoo girl (yes, they still have shampoo girls), sporting a glitter tattoo for Breast Cancer Month.
On my visit this weekend they were beginning to get ready to be part of the first ever Donelson Art Crawl, shifting chairs around and placing art amongst the gleaming mirrored hair stations. In keeping with their "family" concept, the artists that the salon were featuring last night were all customers - and their watercolors, batiks, textile crafts, and jewelry were all cleverly displayed around the shop. It makes sense that a salon with such a long history would have a vast clientelle that could create such pieces on display. After chatting awhile, I realized the reason one customer finishing up looked familiar because she is a local news anchor. This isn't a place to drop names, but you get that folks "in the know" recognize the benefits of stylists with years of experience.
And it says something to me, too, that the lead stylist/manager is approaching 60 years of age, (she may hate me for saying that), but is still progressive and forward-thinking enough to be part of the first Donelson Art Crawl. The staff here is clearly up to the latest and greatest when it comes to style and things that matter.
In short, I know these people. And I would say to the yelper that experienced a problem last year - I know that if you were to have asked for a manager that visit, or called back the next day, they would have made it right.
I'm enough of a yelper that I broought up their site with that person's admittedly bad experience - and the owners immediately knew who that stylist was, and reported she is no longer a part of their team. Even the best companies will from time to time have an employee that just doesn't work out, and I think it's our duty as customers to let folks know. Sure, yelp is one way to do that - but I know even with my regular stylist... from time to time, something about a cut just needs to be tweaked. So I would say regardless of where you are, if there's a problem with a service-based business, ask to talk to a manager and let them know what you're feeling. Yes, it's a little awkward, but in the long run you will walk away happy - and the business owner will be better prepared to succeed as well.