Hair stylist dilemma

[Chocoholic]

I've been going to a certain hair salon in town since my high school days. I usually have a particular stylist do my hair. Last month, I received a gift certificate for a different salon. I went to use it, and I found I liked the stylist who did my hair a lot better than the woman I've been going to for years. She did a fabulous job on my hair and this salon charges $15 less for the exact same service (wash/cut/dry) that I've been getting for years at this other place.

I really want to switch over to this new salon, yet I feel guilty about taking my business elsewhere when I've been such a loyal customer. I know it's my hair and money, but still. Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation?

[Nighthawk76]

I wish I could give you some advice, Kristen. However, probably since I'm a guy, I really don't care who cuts my hair. Maybe you could go to both salons.

[PunkyP0WER]

i'm kind of in the same dilemna myself. my hairdresser kate has been really terrific she's about my age mid-20's -early 30's and recently went on maternity leave. while she was gone i saw her substitute, ed, a man in his sixties believe it or not and i ended up liking him better. its even more akward because they work in the same salon. but he really listens to what i want to do with my look and hair where as kate would always turn down my ideas for my hair and do what she wanted instead, although it still turned out nice. any suggestions for homeriffic and i would be appreciated.

[Chocoholic]

Originally Posted by PunkyP0WER

he really listens to what i want to do with my look and hair where as kate would always turn down my ideas for my hair and do what she wanted instead, although it still turned out nice.

My current hairdresser tends to do the same thing. She'll also often work on someone else while she's cutting my hair, leaving me sitting there half-done. This new stylist I went to actually listened to me and focused on one customer at a time.

Also, this salon offers more services and specials than my current salon, which just does hair and manicures. I can get my hair and nails done at this place for the same price as a haircut alone would cost me at my regular place.

Still... I'd really hate to change after going there for so long.

[PunkyP0WER]

i felt the same way homeriffic and still don't know what to do. i went to see ed once since kate came back from maternity leave and felt lousy making up an excuse to see ed instead. luckily it was her day off when i saw him but i'd rather tell her the truth but in a way that won't hurt her feelings.

kate never really talked to me when she was doing my hair, she'd be talking to other stylists and like your dresser would wander off in the middle of doing my hair to either call her husband or she'd go have a cigarette. my appointment would be at 2 and i wouldn't be finished until it was almost 5.

like i said she hardly ever listened to what i wanted done, for instance i wanted my hair red because my eyes are blue and i have the right complexion and she refused.i told ed the same thing and he could hardly wait to do it, we agreed to change it to red for fall. and ed seems to charge less, our bill is significantly lower when we go to him.

i just feel very guilty because i feel like i'm doing something wrong. kate is very talented and a nice person but ed seems to really get me and my look and i find him more personable.

[InspectorExstead]

i used to go to the same hairdresser for six/seven years. my mom found her, and still goes to her to this day. she used to do my hair & eyebrows. but she never really listened to what i wanted & would cut my hair the way she wanted. i know she's the stylist & knows more about curly hair than i do, but it was always disappointing. so i slowly started going to another stylist & another lady for my eyebrows. and i got the cut/style that i wanted and the eyebrows that i wanted. i felt bad at first, because she would always ask my mom where i was, but then i realized...it's my money, my hair, and my eyebrows so they should look the way i want & i want to be happy with it.

homerrific, it sounds like this new place is quite a good deal! you can get everything done at one place, and for so much cheaper! there's nothing wrong with change. you're not obligated to stay with the same stylist forever. maybe you can refer a friend to your old stylist so she'll be kind of like your replacement?

punkypower, oy that is a little more tricky/awkward. lol. maybe you can find out what days kate has off & go in to see ed those days? and find a way to just gently tell her that you prefer the way ed does your hair. that's annoying when she doesn't listen to you though. it's not like you wanted hot pink hair. lol.

[dawsongirl]

Yeah, we just never went back. Not a word was spoken.

[dawsongirl]

Originally Posted by PunkyP0WER

like i said she hardly ever listened to what i wanted done, for instance i wanted my hair red because my eyes are blue and i have the right complexion and she refused.

Uh...who's the customer, you or her?


It's one thing to suggest a style or something based on your face shape, etc, but refusing to do what the customer is willing to pay for...maybe she's too lazy to do a dye job. lol

If she asks, just tell her that you appreciate Ed listening to what you want done with YOUR hair.

[so elektrikkxx]

I AM IN THE SAME POSITION AS PUNKYPOWER.

For the past two years I'd been going to this one hairdresser, Mariah. My hair two years ago used to be ridiculously thick and she thinned it down a lot, and it looked nice. I went to see her once every couple months so she could thin out my hair as it would grow but she would refuse to thin out my hair too much, telling me "It will make it stick out more and I just don't think it'll look good if your hair is too thin", so to achieve the look of flat, thin hair, I straightened it excessively to the point it ended up fried beyond belief.

In February, I decided to cut the back of my hair and leave the front long (something that a lot of people refer to as "scene hair"). I wanted to look like this (this is a picture of my ex, it's the best example I can find right now of what I wanted); http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...cf588a6e18.jpg

Instead, I ended up looking like Victoria Beckham from the Spice Girls, and I was very annoyed. Instead of looking like what I wanted, my hairdresser gave me the same haircut I see on plenty of middle-aged women. Of course, my hair grows fast and by now it is just as long in the back as it was before I cut it, but still. She would once again refuse to thin out my hair, so I decided to go somewhere else. I mean seriously, who is the customer, me or her? She also told me she thought my hair being long was "boring, didn't do anything for me". Isn't the customer always right?

Finally my friend suggested I go somewhere else, which I do now. My new hairdresser listens to what I say and does my hair the way I want it, even if it's not the way she thinks it should look. She was able to thin it well and now, it doesn't take much straightening to get it down to the flatness I want. My suggestion; if your hairdresser doesn't do what YOU want, then you need to take your business elsewhere. It's not your fault that they don't do what you ask them to do, but I can see at the same time how you'd feel like you're betraying them. It's tough, but remember, the customer IS always right


The only problem is, my original hairdresser charged $20 less and my mother is annoyed that I insist on a $35 dollar hair appointment. But I just got sick of hearing "You have thick hair, you'll have to live with it that way forever, and no good hair stylist would thin your hair." So I stopped caring about price.

[so elektrikkxx]

Ohh, and you might find this helpful.

http://www.wikihow.com/Leave-Your-Hairdresser