Just come back from the hairdresser, I'm so upset :-(

[ComeAlongPond]

I know it's pathetic, it doesn't really matter, etc etc. But I've just been to the hairdresser and my hair is awful. They asked if I'd mind if a trainee did it, supervised. I said it would be fine, but it wasn't. They mixed up the colour wrong, so where I was meant to just have a refresh of the lovely chestnut brown that I had on before, now it's a kind of brassy mousy blonde. And I loved the length, it was perfect, but needed a trim. I asked for an inch, they've taken off a good seven inches, because the trainee cut it wonky and kept trying to fix it instead of asking for help. And it's right across the wave, so now instead of being wavy it just sticks out

I'm going back next week and they're going to redo the colour at no extra charge and hopefully fix it. But there's not a lot that can be done about the cut, unless they take off even more which I don't want.

I know it's terrible to be upset about it, so vain, but it's really upset me and I keep crying My hair was the only thing I really liked about myself - I'm kind of short, too skinny, small boobs, funny teeth, tiny round head, but I had really nice hair and now it's short and horrible.

What's worse is I only went in because there's a special occasion next week that I wanted to look nice for, and now I wish I hadn't, it literally looked better with roots and split ends!

Sorry for the rant, I know it's a silly thing to cry about, but DP isn't back yet and he'll only say it looks lovely regardless.

Oh my goodness, that feedback form must have been the final straw. Agree with everything the others have said, appalling and demonstrates a total lack of supervision. Hope you can get your money back.

Thanks CareerGirl, that's really kind of you.

Consonant, I am shocked that they'd do that to a 9-year-old! Poor you.

I don't think he can, Savoy! He's saying all the right things but I think in his head he's a bit

Sorry Ethelred, x-post, didn't mean to ignore you!

When you do contact them, make sure that you point out their sneaky little trick of bringing over the feedback form ready filled in form for you complete before you could see the end result. Maybe they had guessed that the colour would be wrong and it was significantly shorter than you wanted, so were hoping you would just sign out of politeness so they could turn around and say that you had signed to say it was great if you did turn around later and say there was a problem.

If it was me, I would make a point of saying that you didn't fill in the form for 4 reasons:
1 - because they had already pre-filled it with very satisfied so you needed a new one - they must have known that you were not satisfied because they offered you a free re-colour - and therefore they should have provided you with a blank form
2 - because you were so upset and shocked by the way your hair had turned out, you just wanted to get away from there and back somewhere private, you didn't feel up to discussing it in public and potentially feeling emotionally blackmailed into agreeing that it was OK (which given they had already tried to trick you with the form, who was to say they weren't going to do that?)
3 - what value do the forms have if they get pre-filled anyway?
4 - you wanted to go home and see what the damage was in private, not with them all fussing over you, and you were worried about how you were going to rectify the problems in order to look nice for your event

Good luck - and remember, they are the ones that are massively in the wrong for not supervising their trainee properly. The trainee should have called someone in to check once she had taken the right amount off and hadn't been able to get it right. If she hadn't done that then she absolutely should have got someone to double check when she had taken 2 inches off - ie double or 100% of the amount that you had asked her to remove. But you ended with 700% more removed than you asked for - can you imagine what would happen if you were providing a service and made an error of the order of 700%?!? the customer/client would be absolutely furious. What if the bank decided to deduct £70 instead of £10 in charges for example?

Thank you zipzap, you're being really helpful, I really appreciate it.

The trainee I think didn't realise it was wonky, one of the senior staff came over and pointed it out, then she just kept chopping and chopping. I even said twice while she was doing it that I just wanted a tiny bit off, and she said she was 'just straightening it up'.

They seem to accept the colour thing, saying oh it shouldn't have come out that light, it must have been mixed wrong, they persuaded me into going a couple of shades lighter than I'd originally wanted anyway, so they'd redo it for me. Which is fine, though I'm slightly worried that will damage my hair a bit. It's the cut that's really bothering me tbh and when I pointed out that it was quite a lot shorter than I expected they just fobbed me off and said 'yes well it does feel quite short when you're used to the length'. Which is true but I do know the difference between an inch and seven inches! Like I said, it used to be way down in the middle of my ribcage and now it's just at the top of my boob And having had another look, they've done a slightly odd thing where the front is longer than the back?? It's hard to explain but it looks quite weird. Like a graduated bob, but really long...

Ugh, I thought it would get better after a few hours but I really hate it. I can't bear to look in the mirror, I keep thinking 'oh it isn't as bad as you think, it'll be fine really' but it really is that bad. I hate it.

I don't know, I think she just didn't know what she was doing. She asked me whether she should cut it where it hangs or bring it all round the back. She had to get her supervisor to cut my fringe too because she apparently has never done one before, but I'm going to have to get that sorted too because the bits that were slightly longer at the side have been chopped off as well which doesn't suit.

You should also tell them that you agreed to a nearly qualified trainee doing your hair, this is not someone who is nearly qualified- never cut a fringe before???

Many years ago I was a hairdresser, I know times have changed but you do not let someone loose on a paying customer. As a model, you get a free haircut, not a reduced rate.

That wasnt a nearly qualified trainee who did your hair! That was someone who hadnt coloured or cut properly in a salon before!

I would be livid. You need to get back in there and create a proper fuss!

The advice zipzap has given you is great. Where on earth is this salon? I would be avoiding like the plague in future.

The salon that I use has training evenings but I can assure you the staff are on hand and check colour/cut very thoroughly and nobody gets left to mix colours alone and if cutting it is all checked as they are doing it.

SAlons like the one you have used give trainees a very bad name.
name and shame!

You poor thing . I know how you feel. Last month I had a similar experience at a top London salon where the stylist, despite all of our conversations agreeing the length, showing her a picture, etc left me with a cut that was just below chin length, rather than just above shoulder length. I went into a local salon and asked the owner what she thought of the cut and she told me it was extremely poorly executed with uneven and asymmetric layers and an uneven length.
After some encouragement from some lovely MNers, I complained via email (was feeling far too timid to do it in person or over the phone!). I've ended up with 3 free haircuts from a style director. No, it's not going to bring back the length, but at least I now have a good haircut and a plan to get it more to the style I originally wanted.
You should complain. The fact that this was a trainee is immaterial. He/she was supposed to be supervised. And clearly the supervision was inadequate. They should most certainly be re-doing your colour free of charge. This should be with a fully qualified technician, not with a trainee. It sounds like you have a bad cut as well. I know it's gutting to think that you have to go even shorter, having it cut into a proper style that suits your hair type may make it look hugely better and make you feel much happier about it. I think they should provide this free of charge as well - and again with a properly qualified stylist, not a trainee.
I don't think they can try and hide behind the 'oh yo agreed to a trainee' argument. The only downside they gave you was that it would take longer, not that the end result could be poor.

Good luck X

Just read the thread in more detail. Zipzap has all points covered!
I'd copy the college in on the letter too (if you don't which one it is, you can probably find out with a few phone calls to the ones in your area). I'm sure they wouldn't be that happy knowing that their trainees aren't being properly supervised. If the salon is a chain and has a Head Office, that'd be another good cc to add to the list.
Swines.

ComeAlongPond it is NOT pathetic to feel so bad about this, not pathetic at all. Demand a refund in addition to them putting it right. This happened to me when I was 14 and now I'm 40 I still remember it as something that affected me negatively for months as my hair was the only thing I felt at the time made me look good. Good luck.

Thanks all. I washed all the product out this morning and it's not as bad - less fluffy and it seems to have let an extra inch loose. Still sticky-out though. And still six inches off instead of one! If you saw me in the street you wouldn't think 'oh my god that hair is AWFUL'. It does look normal. But it's not what I asked for, it's not what I want. I hate it.

I'm going to email them later I think - or should I wait until I go in person next week? On the one hand, email makes more sense, but will it be really awkward when I go back next week having complained?

There's only one college round here that does hairdressing, the others are only sixth forms (I think), so I know which one it is cardamom.

Yes, I was going to say to complain to the college too. I'm sure they'd be unimpressed with the prefilling in of feedback forms. Hmm, isn't that cheating?

I'm another that's had awful hair experiences - asked for wavey hair when I was 15 and was given a spiral perm. I cried all the way home.

I can't believe they charged you at all. And £30 is far more than I would expect to pay a college student. Even with the colour included.

Morning! Glad it is looking marginally better this morning. Agree with the others who have said that someone who is apparently almost qualified, should be able to mix colour properly, cut properly without in being uneven, know when to ak for help, cut a fringe!!! There is nothing worse than a bad hair cut or style. I remember years ago when I was still at school, my mum had been to her hairdresser and asked for some low lights in her hair. The hairdresser, who was actually supposedly fully qualified, put in pink streaks into my mums hair. Because my mum is quite shy, she didn't say anything and when I got back home from school she was sobbing and hacking chunks out of her hair.
Your hair is such a key part of you, when it isn't right, it's awful.

I think you have to do what you feel most comfortable with. If you think an email will make you feel too awkward when you go back, then speak to them in person then. The danger then is that you end up not saying what you want to say next week.

I think I would rather send an email. Hopefully, it would be read by the manager/owner who would go out of their way to rectify the situation and be professional about it too.

I wouldnt send an email. I would call or go in person - and the only person I would want to speak to is the manager/owner.

You poor thing. That's awful. Other posters have covered all bases but think I'd be tempted to send a letter rather than email. That way you can plan exactly what you want to say without the stress of being in the salon. They can say they didn't get an email or whatever, but a hard copy letter is harder to ignore.

I would want a full refund and compensation to enable me to get some extensions put in. I know you don't get the same choice in this situation as you would under normal circumstances, but unless you agreed in advance to them having carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, you absolutely would not expect them to have chopped 6 inches more than requested off. And you would expect there to be proper supervision and for the stylist to be at an appropriate level for the job.

You don't have to let them do the re-colour if you don't have confidence in them. You could insist they give you the money to have it done somewhere else. The place that butchered mine years ago offered free appointments etc. My thinking was if I'd been run over by a bus, I wouldn't stand in front of it again and give the driver another go at doing it again.

I'm glad DP was sympathetic (even if he can't really understand just how traumatic it is when something like this happens. And yes I agree, compared with a lot of things, it's not a disaster, but yet it still can feel utterly devastating and shocking.)

Rally sorry to hear about your experience and i sympathise as i've had similar hairdressing disasters.

i would do all the above and also contact your local consumer advice service (they'll be in the phonebook or google them) for advice and explain what has happened This is what is legally termed Not Fit For Purpose and then i would tell the hairdressers that you have taken advice from the CAS - they dont want to get a bad reputation in these recession hit times as somewhere that gives bad service.

Poor you feel for you, went through this with a color 4 year's ago also 7 month's pregant was so upset went into early labour that night , thankfully everything was ok and they got it stopped but i will never forget that awfull feeling, i just could not wait to get out of the place, looking back i wish i had said something, but thing i just could not get anything out, people told me to go back but did not want to go near them again, worst thing was it was like this for a week and also being un hospital was worst because felt everyone was looking at me, went to new hairdresser's and they fixed it , but worst feeling in the world i know what you are going through . Demand your money back only wish i had done. Good luck hope you get sorted.

You're all so kind. I sort of expected everyone to come on and say 'well it's a shame but get a grip you silly cow' so you all being on my side is really cheering me up.

I'm sorry so many of you have had bad experiences too, it's awful. Especially when you were pregnant, toffee.

I do feel a bit better today. It's unfortunate but it will grow. When the colour is fixed it will look better anyway, this colour washes me out. Still should never have happened though!

The recolour is going to be done by the salon supervisor I think so I will double check that but if it is the case I will still go there to have it fixed. Not sure what to do about the cut yet, it might be best just to let it grow - that's probably the quickest way to get it back to normal, and I don't think I can bear to have it any shorter.

Will think about what to say in the email. I might post it here before I send it to see if you think it's okay - everyone on MN seems a lot more assertive than me, I'm quite shy! Also I don't want to get the trainee into trouble because to be fair to her, she messed up, but she shouldn't have been allowed to do it in the first place. I don't think it's her fault particularly. The supervisor from the college (not the salon) was shouting at everyone every few minutes so I'm not surprised she was too afraid to tell her she'd cocked it up.

Oh, poor you :( I've just startes using this shampoo' to try and get my hair growing again after laods of it fell out when I was ill and DH 'trimmed' what was left and took miles off it. It's grown about a cm in two weeks and is in much better condition - not sure if the shampoo is as good as it claims it is, but it can't hurt to try it.

Comealong Its an awaful thing to happen, i still get upset if i think my hair has been cut badly and feel stupid about fussing about something that can seem to some people petty but IT ISN"T petty to me - its important part of feeling good about myself. So don't worry about feeling silly!! :) i went to a training school once and the poor trainee couldnt get the water temperature right, then she got told off for not rinsing my hair properly, then she took ages to cut my hair and she was red in the face and close to tears - i went in at 2 and came out at 6! when i was at school my mum sent me to her friend who was a part time hairdresser and she couldnt get both sides equal and kept cutting and cutting and my hair was getting shorter and shorter - i went to school the next day with a hat on and tried to wear it tip it grew -

How awful ComeAlong. Once happened to me at T & G, but not with trainee . Felt like crying. I think the feedback sheet would probably be for the trainee's apprenticeship portfolio, rather than anything that could be used against you (if you see what I mean?).