| Judgemental Old Ladies in Salons |
[Jan. 6th, 2011|06:07 pm]
Nchanter
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| [ | emotional state |
| |  annoyed | ] |
So I'd been needing to do something with my hair for... gosh, months now. The color was beyond faded, the roots were about 6" long, and the ends needed to be hacked off. I had finally found a place in town that had NOT screwed up my eyebrows when getting waxed, and when I was in there for the waxing appointment, prior to the holidays, I won a 20% off (!) gift certificate for any one hair service. A stylish woman in her 50's (who I assume was the owner or head stylist) asked me if I had anyone that did my hair (since I had mentioned I was new in town, and was relieved to find someplace that could do facial waxes up to my standards) and I mentioned I had someone in the city, but hadn't been in a while because who wants to drive 30-40 minutes to get their hair done. I explained what I normally do with my hair, my reservations about trying someone new, and she said "Steph. Definitely Steph. She can handle purple." After a week of mulling it over I called and made an appointment. Because the process would take multiple hours, it wasn't until after Christmas that I could get into see her. I then had to move my appointment AGAIN because of the snowstorm and re-booking a canceled flight.
( More of the actual hair sagaCollapse )
2 Things about this experience bothered me though -- none of which had to do with Steph, or even that I had to go back in to get my color fixed.
While I was there on Wednesday getting the color fixed, we got into a conversation with one of the other stylists who was still in the "younger" age group (read: under 40) about the crazy things friends of ours had done with their hair, including color. I mentioned  water_childe's Technicolor hair, and one of the stylists in the clearly OVER 40 crowd said "Dear god, what does she do for work?" "She's a Nanny." "And people actually hire her with oddly colored hair?! I wouldn't, it sets a bad example for the children that coloring your hair like that is actually acceptable." Me and the stylists I had been talking with just gave each other "she doesn't not understand she stuck her foot into her mouth" looks.
The second thing was an encounter I had there today, while I was getting a facial wax (yes I was there 3 days in a row, the esthetician only works Th/F/Sa). Another woman, who was in her 50's and not quite so stylish, came over, looked at my hair, seemed to be trying to make pleasant chit-chat about my hair finally being the way I wanted, and said something to the effect of "This was all your fault for using non-professional products, and this is what you get." I didn't really respond, and she eventually walked away. While that even might be the case (and Steph assured me it wasn't the previous day, and even if my products caused it, I had warned Steph about what I had been using, and she agreed that we got MUCH Better color than we ever could have with the brand they use), you do NOT say that to a client, and certainly not someone else's client.
I will be going back, because I like the work, and the attitude, of the professionals in that salon that I patron, and the one that Gumby sees for his hair, but the other women there put me off. A lot. Next time I'm in there, I may inquire about who is the owner (I'm not 100% if it's that first woman, and their website does not have a listing of staff as some salons do) and might consider talking to them. If it is that first woman who was very warm and encouraging to my non-traditional self on my first visit, I'm pretty sure she would be annoyed at her employees behavior, if for no other reason that it's bad business.
I feel much better writing that all out. |
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excited
accomplished
sleepy