A rotten thing happened to me at the hair salon (so I wrote this)

 (I wrote this after a miserable experience at a salon my husband and I have been going to for more than two years. The treatment was rude, insulting, and implied we were crooked and trying to cheat them. It was the other way around, but never mind. I have to get these things down on paper so I can cope with them. I will look for a new salon, and I plan to give them this statement as soon as I find one.)

I wish to report on the disrespectful way I was treated at my last appointment. Bill and I have been loyal customers for over 2 years, and so far we have always appreciated the quality of the service and the friendly and professional staff.

 In June, when paying for my cut, I mistakenly entered a $45.00 tip in the debit machine.  Though I asked for it, the owner would not give me cash back, but instead wrote out a card for a $40.00 store credit to cover my next haircut. He signed it and dated it, and I also kept the receipt for $85.00, which is what we had to pay for the cut. 

Since we are pensioners and have to count every penny we spend, this unexpected charge was a hardship for us and put us over our budget for the month, but at least I had the store credit for my next cut. I kept the card and the receipt for the $85.00 charge in my purse from June until September.

When I presented the card/receipt to get my cut in September, I was told by the owner that my husband had already used up the store credit! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Bill did not use the card and was not even in the salon during that time period, and the time before that he used the debit machine.

If he HAD used up the store credit, which he did not, I am sure he would have had to present both the card and the receipt for $85.00 (in my purse – he never touched it), which I assume the salon would need for their records. I don’t believe any business would honor a store credit without any documented proof. And even if it happened, which it did not, I would still have a credit of $18.00 left on the card, due to the difference between the price of our cuts (his was $22.00 and mine was $40.00). To completely use up the credit, which is what he was accused of, he would have had to defraud you TWICE. He only gets a cut every 3 months or so, so we would be looking at a 6 month period! This makes no sense whatsoever.

It would not even occur to my husband (or myself) to cheat anyone. It was an insult to both of us.  I sat there confused and embarrassed while the owner, who was very brusque and rude and would not even look at me, kept saying he “remembered it” (Bill using up the credit) and told me repeatedly I should “ask him about it”. He obviously doubted our honesty and integrity, not just mine but my husband’s, and this has never happened to us before with ANY business. It didn’t even make any logical sense. If anyone was being deceived and defrauded, it was us.

I realize that none of this was the fault of the stylists who were just doing their jobs, but this was embarrassing and demeaning treatment and was done in such a rude, abrupt way (in front of other customers) that it felt like an insult. When I told Bill about it, he was extremely upset and angry, and he had a right to be. You were literally accusing him of dishonesty, not once but TWICE! Or perhaps it was me you were accusing? In truth, you owed me the $40.00 credit, when you were claiming we owed it to you.

Customer service and respect for your clients should be the top priority of any business, but this was a dreadful experience and I walked away feeling terrible. I also believe it embarrassed the staff, who were completely blameless and just doing their jobs. It was done in a rude, dismissive way, without even discussing it with me. I left reviews on several websites outlining exactly what happened to me, which I have a perfect right to do. It is simply reporting, and a public service which I hope will be a warning to others. The money is not the issue -  it is our honesty and integrity. These should NEVER have been in question unless there was actual proof we had cheated you, and you had absolutely none.

Much as I loved this salon and was always pleased with the service, I will not be returning. I am taking my business elsewhere. I do not wish to encounter this man ever again, who no doubt would treat me in the same dismissive and disrespectful way and refuse to believe he was wrong. I hope my reviews stand as a warning to potential clients who may think twice about risking such shamefully bad treatment.