I had been looking forward to visiting this salon for several months and finally booked my first appointment for Enchanting Hybrid Twists. Unfortunately, my experience did not meet the expectations I had for a premium salon.
My appointment was scheduled for 3:45 p.m., and I arrived on time only to find the front door locked. After waiting a few minutes, the stylist herself came to unlock the door. To my surprise, she was still finishing with the previous client, and my appointment did not begin until approximately 4:15 p.m.--30 minutes late. I was disappointed that no one reached out by text or email to let me know the appointment was running behind.
The receptionist remained downstairs for much of my my appointment, explaining that it was too hot upstairs. Because of this, there was no one available to unlock the front door, greet clients, answer questions, ect. It also meant no one was available to communicate the delay when I arrived. Additionally, the music in the lobby was extremely loud and did not create the relaxing atmosphere I expected.
When I was brought back to the shampoo area, I was immediately struck by a strong odor throughout the salon. It honestly smelled like a dirty diaper, and it was unpleasant enough to make me feel nauseous.
The hairstyling service itself was satisfactory, but the overall customer experience continued to fall short. Whenever the stylist stepped away to gather supplies, there was no receptionist upstairs to assist clients. At the end of my appointment, I was placed under the dryer and the stylist left the room. The dryer became uncomfortably hot, and because no staff member was available, I had to get up and figure out how to adjust it myself.
Finally, when it was time to pay, I was informed that the credit card machine was down. Since my appointment had already started 30 minutes late, that would have been the perfect opportunity for someone to let me know in advance so I could have been prepared with another form of payment.
For a $169 service, I expected a luxury experience. While my hair turned out fine, the lack of communication, poor customer service, and overall organization made this a disappointing first visit.
Edit: When I was told the card machine was down, I explained that my debit card had recently been stolen, so I needed to use tap-to-pay. The receptionist said I could either use Zelle or the card on file. I chose Zelle, scanned the QR code, and received confirmation that the payment was sent. I waited several minutes for her to verify it, but she said it had not appeared yet. Since my appointment had already started 30 minutes late and my parking was expiring, I let her know I needed to leave.
About five minutes later, I noticed I had missed three calls and returned them immediately. The receptionist informed me that she had charged the card on file because she had not yet received the Zelle payment. I explained that this was not authorized, as the card on file belonged to a family member, not me, and I had already paid through Zelle.
The receptionist responded that I "shouldn't have left," despite me explaining that I had to leave, waiting several minutes for the payment to process, and being told goodbye before I left. Since I returned the call within five minutes and the salon had both my payment information and my contact information, it would have been more appropriate to wait for me to call back before charging someone else's card.
To the owner's credit, she called within 10-15 minutes to confirm the Zelle payment had been received and that the duplicate card charge would be reversed. However, I was left having to reimburse my family member while also waiting 5-7 business days for the duplicate charge to be refunded. I'm essentially out $338 for the next several days which is insane. Unfortunately, I was required to keep a card on file to book the appointment, and because my own card had recently been stolen, that card did not belong to me. read more