I asked how I could find out exactly what I would be charged before coming in to get the service done. (A $50 charge applies even if you discuss the service with your stylist, and decide not to get it done. This didn't make sense to me - what if I wanted to know the prices ahead of time, before paying $50 for a consultation?)
I was misled to believe that if I came by, a stylist would take a moment to look at my hair and inform me of the prices of my treatments BEFORE my appointment. I didn't want to consult with the stylist (truthfully, I'd never heard of a salon charging $50 for a brief exchange with the stylist) because I already knew exactly which treatments I wanted.
(And yes, the salon charges $50 for a consultation. I read a review in which a client is discredited in a post in which a client complains of the $50 charge for consultations. If you call and ask for a consultation, you will be informed of the $50 charge. Try it, rather than reading the well-presented responses to posts on this website.)
I took an hour off of work to visit the salon in person during the slot of time that the receptionist told me a stylist would be available. She paid no heed to what she had informed me over the phone, and said that there was no way I could be given a price without either coming in for an appointment (a $50 charge automatically, without knowing what treatment you will be getting!) or scheduling a consultation (again, $50). I was miffed by this reluctance to, at the very least, offer me a quote on the treatments I was interested in. I was very thorough in explaining exactly what I wanted to have done. Nonetheless, the receptionist seemed to act as if my question presented a strange enigma. It was as if I had no right to know the cost of the treatments before I booked an appointment.
I was appalled by this blatant disregard of what I'd been told previously. I'd taken an hour off of work - in addition to a good deal of time spent on the phone discussing the treatments I was interested in.
I had come in person. I was preparing to spend at least $400 or $450 at this salon. Not only was I given no quote for the treatment I intended to have, but the reason cited was that the ""salon policy"" was to charge $50 for a color consultation because, according to the receptionist, the ""best salon for color in Atlanta"" - her words, to the best of my memory - ""can't have people coming in for a consultation, then going to other salons and giving them the information we gave them.""
I had been intending to have my hair done at that salon, up until that point. But that assertion seemed paranoid, almost eery. I just wanted a quote.
My general impression of the salon was one of haughtiness, disregard of customers, and, most importantly, hypocrisy.
I did not return because, out of principal, I do not want to give business to fraudulent establishments. I believe that I was deliberately misled. I have a right as a customer to know what I will be paying for a service before paying $50 for a consultation with someone who I may or may not choose to return to. I was led to believe that I would be given the exact prices if I ""dropped by
more