Who is the CF, me or the beauty salon?

[superdelooper]

Last week my DM was talking about getting powder ombre brows done. My friend had them done, and they are lovely, so asked friend for the salon details so I could contact them for DM.
I reached out to the salon via WhatsApp on Friday (there is no online booking or website) and someone responded immediately with details and an appointment time for this week (Thursday).
All good, fairly reasonable pricing and DM was happy to go ahead and get me to book. There was a £50 booking fee, which I paid, with the balance to be paid at the appointment.
Within an hour of making the booking DM realised she had forgotten about the blood thinners she takes and after a bit of google searching, we realised she needed at least a week off the thinners before she could safely have her eyebrows done. I reached out to the salon again and they assured me she would be fine to continue with the booking, even while still taking the thinners. DM is in her 70's and we didn't want to risk it and requested to cancel the booking. Salon again said it would be fine (these messages have since been deleted by salon) but I insisted we cancelled and apologised. Fine, booking cancelled. I then asked for the booking fee to be refunded. Salon refused stating this booking fee was 'non refundable'.
When we made the initial booking she sent a message with bank details and a note about things to do/not do prior to the appointment. It also stated there was a £50 'booking fee', no mention of this being non refundable.
Who is in the wrong here? We tried asking politely for the fee to be refunded as it seems like a lot to be charged for an appointment we booked and cancelled within an hour, DM would have been happy to pay a small admin fee but £50 is a quarter of what the eyebrows would have cost to have done.

Sorry but on a separate issue most reputable saloons insist on an allergy test to products a few days prior to event.
Ask if they will transfer £50 to your friend who had them done as likely they will need to be redone

£200 for eyebrows iz a joke.

More worrying is that she'd stop taking her blood thinners for a week to have them done and increase her medical risks.

I would threaten trading standards tbh.

Ok smart arse, what are they?

Technically, that's exactly what booking fees are for - but there's also real life and I think they're unreasonable if you booked and cancelled within an hour.

But as other PPs pointed out, feels like they're a bit dodgy. Whatsapp booking + going against medical advice, all are pretty big red flags. I'd just let it go, forget the £50 and use the rest of the budget on nice nails or brow tinting and shaping.

People need to stop being judgey about a woman in her 70s (or any age) spending money on brows. No matter what age you are, do what makes you feel good and spend your money how you would like

It's not a rip off
Mine should have been much more than that but I had them done as part of training under supervision
To be able to get up and not pencil eyebrows in every single day has been amazing, they've lasted great and they're incredibly natural which is why I went to someone who is expensive as she's the best

Do you get your hair tattooed?

You would hope that someone who's got to 70, and is on blood thinners, might have more sense than to come off potentially life-saving drugs for a cosmetic procedure. Makes it more likely that her funeral will be sooner rather than later - but hey, as long as her eyebrows are done who cares about risk of heart attack or stroke!

Whats wrong with using Whatsapp to book?

This lady isn't being a time waster, she has a very valid reason for cancelling and I think the salon are being unreasonable.

1. When are deposits ever refundable? It's the point of a deposit that you lose it if you don't follow through with the booking. That's why cancellable fully flexible hotel bookings cost more, for instance. By 70 the DM's mum would surely have learned what a deposit is and the OP also.
2. Within an hour of making the booking DM realised she had forgotten about the blood thinners she takes How was the salon meant to advise the OP on her mum's medical situation that they weren't aware of and her mum had forgotten about?
3. No idea about this, maybe you're right. But it doesn't make the salon the CFs.

@superdelooper and after a bit of google searching, we realised she needed at least a week off the thinners before she could safely have her eyebrows done.

Unbelievable. I would be a bit more worried about coming off blood thinners just for the sake of vanity. She's on them for a reason. Or would you rather she had a stroke or heart attack?

better self-conscious than dead

I agree. People aren't out on blood thinners for no reason. My mum had to stop taking hers for two days on two occasions before she had surgery, but I'm a bit shocked that anyone would stop them for a week to have their eyebrows done! Has she checked this is ok with her GP?

They were saying that taking risks with your health was pretty silly especially when you were 70

Why was she on blood thinners in the first place @superdelooper ?

This is so messed up. A 70 year 0ld woman willing to come off blood thinners just to get her eyebrows tattooed , and then fighting with the salon to get her deposit back after she cancelled and somehow trying to make it the salons fault for not telling her.

I run my own business and specifically use the words "booking fee" as well - as fees are non-refundable, where a "deposit" may be.

Why not just ask them to move the appt out a few days so your mum can safely go?

But you didn't know initially that they would try and persuade you - so why was your initial contact (after realising she had to wait a week) not "oh sorry, can we make it the week after so she has a week off of the blood thinners?"

You went straight to "can we cancel" - why?

Blood thinner medication is often quite important. It stops people, well, dying. Nobody should be coming off important medication to get their eyebrows done.

Any reputable salon would have done a pre treatment consultation prior to booking, and part of that entails asking about any health conditions or medication which contra indicates that particular beauty treatment. It doesn’t sound as though that’s been done, and the salon has deleted messages telling OP it will be fine - despite her now knowing blood thinners would have to be stopped. That suggests that they know they haven’t done due diligence, in which case they’re liable.

They won't know that. Call their bluff. Say you have a screenshot.

Possibly because coming off blood thinners for a week is potentially fatal and she needed time to consider ?

@BrownBirdWelcomesWhiteWave I’ve got tattoos yes, one that’s larger than both my eyebrows together cost £90 and still looks clear as day 4 years later. If you want to spend that kind of money on a few ink dots to fill in your eyebrows that’s your choice. It’s still a rip off.