Christol salon and Spa

My hair was poorly cut. My scalp was burned bad. It was bad for a $300 job. I did not get what I asked for. My hair was wash then had permanent dye added. I’ve been wanting a hair cut my hair for a while. This was a huge Disappointment!

Review: CHRISTOL SALON SPA has managed to make a memorable moment a NIGHTMARE! My daughter went to Christol Salon Spa for a consultation PRIOR to scheduling an appointment so that the stylist could see & feel the texture of her hair to ensure that having her hair dyed "Ombre" (darker roots graduating to blonde ends) would not damage or cause her hair to break off. The stylist assured us that she had done this process several times and there had never been an adverse issue with the color treatment. She explained to the stylist that she had a semi-permanent black dye in her hair that was about 2 months old. On August 18th, the day of the service, 4 hours after her appointment time I received a phone call that my daughter's hair was ruined and had to be cut off. I was shocked when I arrived at the salon minutes later to find my daughter's hair had to be cut 4-6 inches. When she arrived at the shop her hair was below her shoulders and now on one side it is chin length & on the other it is to the bottom of her ear. There were some places in the back that had to be cut as short as 3 inches from her scalp. I spoke with the owner Christol & she still expected us to pay for 1/2 of the treatment. Christol nor the stylist ever apologized or showed any empathy. I told her that both my daughter & I were devastated and Christol callously told me, "you shouldn't be because her hair is not that short". Christol then told me that she would rather dye my daughter's hair back to black since I was unwilling to pay for "all the products that they used" so that my daughter wouldn't walk out of the salon with their color treatment. I'm not sure how that resolution could help because that would cause her to use even more unpaid-for product or was she just being condescending? They charged my daughter $80 and showed absolutely TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Christol’s black dye comment was INSENSITIVE & HEARTLESS. The following day was the 1st day of my daughter's senior year in HS & the very last thing she did before she fell asleep that night was cry. We relied on Christol Salon Spa as professionals and felt we did our due diligence by visiting the salon for a pre-consultation, however, we are very disappointed in the poor service & feel as though we are due an apology & a refund!Desired Settlement: That Christol Salon Spa & their stylist ([redacted]) or owner (Christol) REFUND my daughter her $80 cash that she paid & that going forward they treat their customers how they would want to be treated with consideration & respect. That Christol Salon Spa discloses the risks involved with getting a color treatment on your hair & allow their clients to make an educated decision if they choose to take that risk with their hair or not. I honestly feel as though in addition to the refund they owe my daughter an apology and some type of compensation for the pain & suffering she has endured as a teenaged female whose self-esteem & confidence has been damaged!!

Business

Response:

September 24,2013

Dear **. [redacted],

This letter is in response to **. [redacted] complaint of August 27,2013 with the Revdex.com. We are deeply empathetic to **. [redacted] concerns, however, find the allegations embellished and unfounded. Christol Salon and Spa has been in business for going on nine (9) years and is an established company that provides personal, quality and professional service to all clients that patronize our establishment. We take pride in quality customer service and support our community.

On Saturday, August 17, 2013, **. [redacted] and her daughter visited Christol Salon ad Spa for a Color Consultation for a color correction service. We were delighted to have them come to our salon as prospective clients. A consultation was provided to **. [redacted] and daughter, [redacted] on August 17, 2013 by our Stylist, [redacted]. Stylist [redacted] has exceptional cosmetologist credentials and has been in the hair care business for over twenty years. She provided a thorough consultation with **. [redacted] and her daughter ([redacted]) regarding the color process service. During the consultation we learned that the client was trying to achieve a light blonde color with dark roots like the singer Ciara latest hairstyle at that time. She showed Stylist [redacted] a picture and she examined [redacted]'s hair and Stylist [redacted] noticed that she had black hair that was color treated and asked her when was the last time she had her hair colored. [redacted] replied three months ago. Stylist [redacted] told her that her hair will not be as light as the picture she showed her, to get that light from black you have to gradually go up from dark to light and removing the existing black out of her hair will slightly alter the texture but we have not had clients whose hair had been broken off as a result of this process. Also, it was noticed that she did not have a relaxer and her hair was a little brittle and dry on the ends so she may need to get a haircut to add shape and get rid of the dead ends of the hair especially after a lightening process. She acknowledged that she did not have a relaxer and we felt confident in moving forward with the process. She was also aware that she may need a haircut for shape and style (especially after a lightening process). Stylist [redacted] informed them the same day that this step will definitely require a double process depending on what [redacted] hair could take due to the fact that color does not remove color so we would need to pre lighten the hair first to remove the black and based on the results of the strand test is how she would proceed. We also let them know that we are not promising that her hair will get to a level 10 (lightest blonde) hair color that she wanted because we are removing the darkest color of all colors and the process timing can be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. Additionally, they were advised that hair color requires a lot of maintenance and before we start a color process she should make sure that this is something that she can commit to.

We quoted the $200 as a starting price and depending on how many processing we would do that day will ultimately determine the final costs based on the results of the strand test and what the professional stylist (Stylist [redacted])determined her hair can handle. The pricing also included the shaping and style; however, the final price would be based on how many processes were required to obtain her desired level. Once again, the $200.00 was a starting price and during the consultation, we also focused on home maintenance care hair products so that she would be knowledgeable of what recommended professional salon products she should use for her hair prior to [redacted] getting this service and making an appointment for the service.

An appointment was made for **. [redacted] with Stylist [redacted] on August 18,2013, The day of the service a strand test for 20 min was performed with equal parts of Wella Blondor Powder and Koleston perfect 20 volume developer. After the strand test, her hair lifted to about a level 7/8 and the hair was still in great condition. Once we completed the strand test, we then proceeded to use Wella Color Touch mild Demi- permanent hair color 4/0 to create the dark roots and we used the same formulation from the strand test on the mid shaft to ends for 25 minutes. After the timer went off we shampooed the color out 3 times with a Sebastian Drench Moisturizing Shampoo and then we used a color post treatment to seal the cuticle. After feeling the texture of the hair and noticing a sight bit of shedding, as professionals, we did not want to lift the hair anymore and we let the client know that it can be done at the next visit because we did not want to over process her hair for the desired lighter level that she was trying to achieve. After the per-lightened process had been completed, we then sealed and toned it with a semi-permanent cellophanes gloss treatment which is also a great source of protein for the hair while adding color but with no ammonia. Stylist [redacted] let her know that her hair may need to be cut after the process is over and she said OK. The client, with this process, went under the dryer for about 20 minutes. A rinse and moisturizing conditioning treatment was applied and client again sat under dryer.

After all color and conditioning services had been done, we blew dry the hair before the haircut and styling. Client agreed to a Bob haircut. The client agreed to the bob haircut and the mother came in very disgruntled. Stylist [redacted] explained the steps she had taking in the coloring of [redacted] hair. **. [redacted] requested to speak with management immediately. Artistic Director, Christol [redacted] was almost finished with servicing her clients and advised that she would speak with **. [redacted] momentarily.

**. [redacted] and Senior Stylist/Director Christol [redacted] met in the office and **. [redacted] stated she did not understand why we over processed [redacted] hair and she is not paying for any service. Senior Stylist Christol informed **. [redacted] that we took the proper steps to her daughter [redacted]'s hair to the color that she desired and as professionals we were not satisfied with how her hair felt after the first process so we would not want to proceed with another lightening process. We had informed the daughter that the color will be a little darker than what she desired but we did not want to over process the hair. Christol stated as she was explaining to **. [redacted] she continuously talked over her and told her she is not paying for the color and she would call the police. As a business owner/director, senior stylist, Christol stated that she did apologize to **. [redacted] for any inconvenience but she should pay at a minimum half price based on the products used, the styling and shape and in the consultation with Stylist [redacted] address all concerns regarding this process. **. [redacted] informed Christol as an owner she should just eat the whole thing and she kept yelling saying I'm calling the police and I'm not paying for anything. Christol said she was so exhausted with trying to have a conversation with **. [redacted] because she would never let her talk and she kept stating she would call the police so to keep matters down and not having other clientele involved Christol Informed **. [redacted] she would not charge her for the color process but she did have to pay for the other services. According to Christol, **. [redacted] seemed to calm down and obviously she was satisfied with paying this amount because she was no longer talking loud and over Christol and trying to get all the service free. She stated she needs to talk to her husband and stormed out the office.

After Stylist [redacted] completed [redacted] hair, [redacted] started taking pictures of her in the mirror and smiling and giving the indication that she was happy with the color, bob haircut and style. **. [redacted] bill was reduced from $200.00 to $80.00 due to the adjustment of the color process. **. [redacted] paid the $80.00 as her daughter continued to take pictures of he| hair and appeared happy when she left. We were of the assumption that **. [redacted] was satisfied since her daughter appeared to be happy and the $120.00 was reduce for the color process leaving a balance $80.00 for the remaining services. We felt Christol Salon and Spa showed good faith in resolving **. [redacted] concerns.

We did not discover that **. [redacted] was still not satisfied until she left that same evening; Christol received a notification from the salon Facebook account stating that **. [redacted] made a comment in the page saying how unprofessional we were and she would not recommend the salon to anyone. Christol immediately deleted it from our Facebook.

Based on the information that Stylist [redacted] and Senior Stylist/Owner, Christol [redacted] relayed to me, it is difficult for me to understand that [redacted] was adversely harmed while receiving services at Christol Salon and Services. [redacted] took pictures of her hair at the salon and she was happy with the services. Did **. [redacted] provide any of [redacted] pictures that she took at the salon on the particular day (August 18, 2013) of service to substantiate her allegations/complaint? I would say NO because I am of the opinion that [redacted] was happy with her hair when she left and **. [redacted] allegations are embellished and unfounded.

Christol Salon and Spa is a family owned business. We advocate quality and professional services and we are a community based salon that reach out to the community and give back to underserved, etc. We would never charge clients for services that weren't valid. Christol Salon and Spa absorbed $120.00 to demonstrate good faith effort to resolve her concern as a client and certainly would not jeopardize our reputation for any dollar amount and/or $80 00.

**. [redacted] has put un-favorable comments on our Facebook, providing false information to the State of Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and now the Revdex.com. It is confusing to us and should also be questioned byj you that in **. [redacted] complaint she never revealed/ mentioned the service started at $200.00 or more but she was actually charge $200.00 and in good faith Christol Salon and Spa discounted $120.00 basect on her concerns, even though we took all the proper steps to achieve what her daughter requested and that [redacted] was happy and very pleasant and never demonstrated any unhappiness, pain or suffering, lack of self-esteem or confidence regarding her hair when she left our salon.

We have showed empathy for **. [redacted] and cannot understand why these types of measures are continually being pursued by her. We provided the good faith mentioned by discounting $120.00 for [redacted]'s $200.00 service and apologized for any inconvenience. Although, we did not agree with her concerns we took appropriate steps to provide good customer services with a $120.00 discount and apology for any inconvenience for **. [redacted] and her daughter [redacted].

**. [redacted] allegations are disappointing, embellished and unfounded.

Respectfully,