To feel scammed? Hairdressers

[NeverEverAgain11]

I've been going to the same chain of hairdressers for the last 6 or so years and always had the same service, balayage (colour) with a cut and finish - because they run promotions whereby if you book a colour alongside a cut and finish you get 50% off the colour)

When I first became a customer of theirs I'd pay between £130 and £140.

The last time I went, last year, the price had risen to £170 (ish)

DP kindly offered to pay for me to get my hair done this week as a treat. Upon booking under the same offer I always book under I was quoted £190 which felt steep but I only go once a year so it didn't seem wildly overpriced as a one off cost.

I felt bad about the price as DP doesn't have a huge amount of disposable money so I said if he paid £150 I'd pay the rest myself.

I booked for today and in the lead up had two calls changing the booking, the first call said they'd changed me over to a senior stylist for time saving purposes but said it would be at no added cost to me. Great.

The second call this morning they had to push my apt back an hour so I was aimlessly wandering around to pass time.

Fast forward to paying and I was charged £230.

I was taken aback and just paid on autopilot as there were two other customers waiting to pay and I didn't want to show myself up. I've felt increasingly annoyed/disappointed on the way home.

In hindsight I wish I'd have questioned the disparity between prices but it's too late now.

I feel like I've been scammed, as daft as that sounds. If I'd have known that would happen I wouldn't have bothered.

Am I being unreasonable or is this unacceptable?

Edited to add - I have shoulder length very fine hair. I only had about an inch taken off from the ends so I couldn't have incurred additional charges for having complex hair.

I think you have received very poor service for an awful lot of money, and if I were you I would be very unhappy with the overall look.

You should have been told of the long hair surcharge, and the Olaplex charge - that's very cheeky.

I think they should refund any charges you were not prewarned about. And they should recolour your hair.

Good luck!

People feel the need to be friends with their hairdresser in a way they don't with pretty much anyone else they purchase goods or services from.

I certainly wasn't trying to be friends with her.

In hindsight I'm realising there were several red flags I didn't pick up on at the time. I don't think the stylist I had was the "senior" person I was told I'd be having when they first called to reschedule the booking.

She was very young and I suspect a trainee.

You need to complain and get your refund. None of this is ok. Don't be apologetic, embarrassed or guilty. That's what they're banking on.

£60 for opalex when you weren’t told is disgraceful! I’m so grateful my good friend is a hairdresser and charges me £30 for a colour cut and blow dry ! These prices are astronomical

Go back and ask exactly what hell they charged for and sort this out.

I hope you get a resolution. It's awful to pay so much to feel better about yourself, to only end up feeling disappointed.
I think you're charges are extreme. My hair is maybe an inch shorter than yours and on Thursday I paid £130 for a balayage, root smudge, toner, cut and blow-dry and finish with curls. And that's with a price increase of £10 from last year.

Good luck on Tuesday!

You should have questioned it then and there. No good complaining afterwards.

I'm glad you challenged them. It was expensive, and I think very underhand to add on opalex without clearly saying that would increase price.

Having said that I think your hair does look lovely, but I've never had balayage so cannot advise if what you asked for was done correctly.

YUBU for not using words and saying “I was quoted £190, could that amount be checked please?”….

Im similar and have a 6 weekly booking, I dont get my hair coloured though and there is some grey showing but I'm reluctant to start colouring it due to the time and cost. I certainly couldnt afford £100+ per appointment!

At the moment I pay £25 per appointment for a cut and blow dry appointment.

I use a self employed hairdresser who rents a chair in a salon with other self employed hairdressers and she is fantastic with a very high attention to detail as well as a lovely person and after several years I have a great relationship with her too.

She does everything from washing my hair, cutting and blow drying so its a nice experience. Ive been to salons in the past and i had one person washing my hair, one person cutting and one person blow drying...felt like I was getting passed about!

I wouldnt go back to the place you went to and try and find a self employed stylist who will hopefully be cheaper. You can build a relationship with her and she can get to know you and what you like and make suggestions from a place of knowing you and not out of making a profit from you.

Time to move on I think.

I think it sounds like they have taken advantage of you as in all kindness it seems like you are the type of person that doesn't question anything. I hope you get it sorted on Tuesday.

For what it's worth I think your hair looked lovely but the important thing is you aren't happy. So please go back to the hair dresser and speak to them see what they say.
Then decide if you are sticking with your son or if you are shopping round.
I love my salon and have been going since she was a one woman set up (now she has a busy salon).
One of my number one reasons for sticking with her (and it.isnt.cheap) is the honesty and communication she and the other staff have. This covers add ins, pricing lists and what they can reasonably do versus what a customer asks for. Find a hair dresser who communicates.well and you feel you are having an actual 2 way conversation with.

Hair does not lift as well when olaplex is used. It's part of how it works to protect the hair. Olaplex is a massive rip off imo. You end up using more toners and purple shampoo to compensate for the lack of lifting. Purple shampoo is shocking for your hair

I do understand those of you questioning why I didn't say anything at the time. I'm neurodivergent and find it difficult to speak up on the spot with situations like these, it's only once I've processed what's happened I feel able to address it head on.

I found this photo of what I had last year (same salon just a different stylist) and I was so happy with it. I'll show them the photo on Tuesday. It's a completely different tone.

Totally disagree. Women are socialised to be compliant. Its completely normal to have time to think and then complain. Luckily all our consumer laws affirm this.

I had it once...it made my curly hair feel like straw. I didn't get the fuss

I like your hair now better- it's gorgeous- but I freely admit I know nothing about balayage!
It's quite hard to speak up when they keep adding small extras.

That is insane. You definitely should have questioned the price but honestly these days nothing surprises me when it comes to increased pricing. I don’t go to the hairdressers anymore - my hair is actually quite good and I don’t get it coloured etc so I feel really ripped off paying £70 for someone to trim the ends!!! I bought a great shampoo and one of those styling hairdryers instead.

OP, you are right to go back in on tuesday.
It's an ok job, not great.
You have lovely hair, but were mislead.
I think you should write down every single issue, including the senior/ trainee stylist...which was she.
Costs not being explicitly laid out.
Don't make it easy for them.
Spell out that you feel mislead, taken advantage of, for a very disappointing final result.
£230 is very expensive IMO.

Good luck.

I’m always so surprised by how much people pay for a cut and colour. I’m not in a big city and it is a small independent family business where I go; I had mine done last week and paid £85 including a toner. There are some in town that charge a lot more such as Toni & Guy for example, but I couldn’t afford my maintenance at those prices.

I get my hair cut and coloured in a ‘destination’ independent salon in a northern city. It’s £85 for the colour and £40 for a trim and style. My hair is the same length as yours and I have it curled with straighteners for the finish, and I often choose balayage. I think your hairdresser is EXPENSIVE.

I hope you go and speak to them about the pricing error.

Thats ridiculously expensive for what you got. I wouldn't go back.

Ask them to fix it - a decent salon will. The price is horrendous and £40 for olaplex ??

I always went to a salon local that was £150 ( last went about 18 months ago ) - I know it’s now gone up to £180. That was for hair about an inch or so past my shoulders. For this I had a full head of highlights , a toner and a treatment ( not olaplex but sold as me to be better ) with a root melt and a cut a finish . I actually got away with a year before needing anything because of the way they did it but they recommended every 4-6 months.

I then went to another salon that was just easier because it was near work. They told me I didn’t need a full head each time - first I had a half , toner , cut and finish. £90. Next time I asked for a root melt as I didn’t like the blocky roots . They said I still could just have half a head and a face frame. I hated it, it looked like really bad roots. So they changed it and added different toner , more highlights - for free because I wasn’t happy. A good salon would do this. I still wasn’t 100% so will be going back to my original salon next time. But I went to the original salon who said they could do they same as they always had but recommended I wait a few months as they don’t like to add bleach when it’s been less than 3 months since last time- so I’m shocked you were advised to go back sooner !

You have a lovely head of hair, OP, irrespective of everything else. Mine is also quite fine and looks no where near as nice as yours does.