Shocked that hairdresser cancelled my appt because I was late!

[Adnerb95]

1st time at a new hairdressers this afternoon. Appointment was at 4:15pm for a cut and blow dry. I work 20 mins away, left in plenty of time but there had been an accident and so major traffic delays. I ended up arriving at the salon 8 mins late to be told by the stylist that she wouldn't be able to do my hair now, because she had another client at 5pm"and the turnaround is very tight".

I was almost speechless - never had that response before on the (rare!) occasions over the years when I have been a few minutes late.

It got worse. I was desperate to have a haircut so suggested that we forget the blowdry and I just have a dry cut. "We don't do that" . "Well, why not do a wet cut? That way, there is still plenty of time, since you won't be blow drying my hair, before your next client"

"We don't do that"

.??????????????.

I think this is not only ridiculous but completely unreasonable or is it me?

I have emailed the owner in advance of posting a public review to give her a chance of responding. In the meantime, I have now booked with another salon for a couple of days time (checked their policy - "we wouldn't cancel an appointment unless a client was at least 15 mins late")

Not only do the first salon have a very disgruntled customer who will certainly not recommend them, but they have lost my business for the next 4/5 years, probably. I was looking for a replacement for my lovely hairdresser of the last 7 years who has left for Scotland. So pretty naff commercial decision as well.

Phoning the hairdresser might have been polite, but op would still have been late. Mobile phones have increased poor timekeeping IMO.

I once had something similar. Was trying to catch a train, and was 8 minutes late. The bastards set off without me! Fuming.

I have long thick hair and the blowdry alone takes at least half an hour. Maybe she judged how long it would take when she saw you on the day and knew she would be running late so it was easy to refuse.

You weren't 8 minutes late though, more like 10+.

Are you OPs hairdresser?

I dont get this...you were late, hairdresser had another person booked and i expect a walk in when you failed to come. If she cut your hair she be late for next person. It be more than 8 minutes after you sat down etc. Leaving a review on this makes you petty.

Is cutting, after the blow dry, the norm? No one has ever ever cut or adjusted or done anything to my hair, after the blow dry.

I've never had anyone saying:
"oh goodness I missed a bit", or
"oh goodness that doesn't lay right"....."

Sorry your fault for being late. She can't do your hair in less than the allocated time slot. If it were a train or a plane you would have missed it. It's not really that different.

Leebee, there was a rather condescending hairdressers like you near me and they recently went out of business. It's now a hipster barbers avd they don't do appointments at all - blokes just drop in, have what they like, and go.

You are not painting the ruddy Cistine chapel here or running El Bulli. You're cutting hair for local people who are paying for a bit of niceness and understanding. FFS.

The hairdresser 'scoldings' sound like woman on woman nastiness to me. Can you imagine a bunch of bloke treating each other like that in public?

My hairdresser always cuts my hair, blow dries it, then cuts it again. So I can understand the reason for refusing a wet cut.

I'm glad you've decided against leaving a bad review. You were late, you didn't know their policy on lateness, and it didn't work out. Just put it behind you and move on.

...8 mins

People who are late often lie a bit to make it sound innocuous.

Basically, showing up 10 mins late for a first appointment is bad luck or bad time keeping, and I actually respect them for not seeing you, so the next customers (domino effect) won't all be seen late.

You can avoid being late by leaving extra time, if you aim to arrive at 2 on the dot, the slightest thing would make you late. That is poor time management

Write the neg review, I for one would see it as a recommendation!

Hairdresser should have said 'so sorry, we're so busy it will be tricky to do a decent cut in the time, you've come all this way as well, let's get you a coffee and let you draw your breath and then we can rebook you'

Much less sullen. Much more grown up than 'teaching customer a lesson'

I work in the NHS and I certainly won't see anyone who is late unless they are 99 or very disabled - reasonable exceptions, we have back to back appointments and if someone is almost 10 minutes late we run later and later all day and out other patients complain especially the last one who has probably waited an hour.
I can't imagine the hairdresser is any different if they are fully booked.
YABU you have an appointment start time and it isn't the hairdressers fault you were stuck in traffic.

As Pickachew said, the appointment was towards the end of the day. They may close at 6pm, in which case the 5pm appointment would have had to have been rushed, through no fault of their own.

Despite what some PPs have said, if you're travelling by car or on public transport, sometimes you will be late due to accidents/ delays etc, even if you allow yourself plenty of time to get there. However, if you arrive late you have to be prepared for your appointment to be cancelled. Disappointing and a bit annoying, but just the way it is. So I think YABU to be so angry about it, glad you're not going to leave a bad review.

I've never been to a hairdresser where they discuss my lifestyle prior to the cut. At the end when they ask if I want "product" on my hair I might say "no, I won't have time for it at home anyway" or accept if I feel like it.

In fact many hairdressers lately seem not to have hair magazines anymore, only OK, Hello etc. My theory is that they don't want to waste time discussing style and fussing over you.

I've been turned away from a central London hd once for lateness. I was caught in a huge downpour and waited at the Tube for a few minutes. I could have walked and sat in soggy clothes for an hour. I could have anticipated and had an umbrella etc. I didn't make a fuss but it was mega annoying, the bastards.

I've often had to wait longer than that for my hairdresser to be ready for me. Never get offered a cup of coffee either.

YABU as you were late, although if there's an accident it can't be helped.

I refuse to go to salons that insist I have a blow dry. I have curly hair that doesn't take kindly to the hairdryer and, as it's my hair, I think I get the final say about what happens to it!

NHS is a bit different though. They are very efficient short appointments and there simply isn't the slack. But even then a receptionist could be professionally pleasant and offer to rebook.

It's one of those things OP. One of those annoying things. But ultimately not worth the headspace. Shit happens.

You're frustrated because you are not by nature and practice a tardy person. At all. They don't know that about you and sounds like they've made the assumption you are. Which is why it has really bothered you.

But there are plenty of other hairdresser's you can go to and be your usual punctual self. Strike them off your list (it will forever be an annoying place for you now) and choose somewhere more flexible.

I think you're right not to leave the review though given that you've not actually had a haircut there.

You had missed more than 10% of the appointment.

I'm a dentist oils generally see someone 10 minutes late even if only a 15 minutes appointment, the only time I would refuse to see someone 8 minutes late was if they had a habit of being late.. buses are late if there is only 1 bus an hour it's not reasonable to expect anyone to catch the earlier bus, some people do seem to run their whole lives late and it's really annoying,

Overall on average l see people within 5 minutes of their appointment time however sometimes I have to squeeze in extra patients with pain.

I think she was petty after 8 minutes but patients arriving late for first appointments is a nuisance as there is still all the paperwork to do first checking medical history etc which is why we ask them to come early to do paperwork.

Have taken all comments on board and I do appreciate that schedules can be easily thrown out by one late appointment. (I work in a profession where our appointments are somewhat more lengthy and therefore it is easier to allow some "wiggle room")

That is why I offered an adjustment to the treatment ...

Love the way some posters were obviously filming not just this incident but my entire life so they know that I was NOT just 8 minutes late, but at least 10 minutes! They also know I am always late. Apparently.

Anyway, the new hairdressers seem to have a very sensible lateness policy so I shall stick with them.

Not that I am planning on being late ever again, for anything, for as long as I live as there are clearly Mumsnetters who are able to avoid all cancelled trains, road closures and acts of God and arrive on time, 100% of the time - perfectly manicured and surrounded by a recently polished halo no doubt.

Sadly, and in spite of my hatred of lateness (yes, really)I am unworthy to wash said Mumsnetters' feet as in the last 30 years, I have previously been late on a couple of occasions at the hairdressers.

The new lovely hairdressers also do wet cuts, I checked.

You're right ovenchips

That's the attitude I should take.

I wouldn't use that salon

How harsh!! I've had to wait 20/30mns at times at doctors, hairdressers...8mns was really petty.. You had taken the right measures to be on time and couldn't predict the accident so people who say you should have been on time are pretty harsh.

I wouldn't leave a bad review there though.

You were late, she needed to make sure that her next client didn't suffer. You asked her to do half a job on you, I'm not surprised that a professional wasn't happy to do that. You would be wrong to leave a nasty review, the salon was being professional.