Ripped Off in Dublin Hairdresser

naoise225

Hi so today I got the biggest shock of my life when visiting the hairdresser. I went to a salon in the heart of Dublin city centre. The reason I chose it was because I heard it was good and reasonably priced.

I phoned to make an appointment last week and I warned the lady on the phone that my hair was really damaged and matted. She said that they could sorted me out and quoted me €80 with a blowdry.

I went for my appointment today and it was clear that the girl who was doing my hair didn't have much experience. It took her awhile and she didn't seem to be able to know how to handle it. I didn't really mind too much. Soon, another stylist jumped in and got through it much quicker. You could tell she had more experience. Anyway, the stylist got through my hair and did a lovely job.

I got to the till and was told I owed them €155!!! This is with a 10 minute mask, brushing and a blowdry. No colour or cut! I was there for nearly 3 hours and nobody intervened to tell me that the price I was quoted had significantly increased. I really don't mind investing in my hair when I can, but I thought it would've been decent of them to tell me it would be more expensive out of courtesy? At the same time though it feels like way too much to pay!

asked to speak to the owner so he could provide me with a valid reason as to why I was paying this kind of money, and the receptionist said he was too busy. He said he would email me, but I haven't heard a thing!! The receptionist made me feel guilty about the whole thing too. She kept saying, "well your hair was really knotty", I said "I know that's why I came in to get some help." To be honest I felt a bit humiliated and I felt bad. I appreciated the time the stylist had spent with me and I didn't have enough cash to give her a decent tip.

Can anyone please advise what the best thing to do is? Is this normal in Dublin?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Wtf did I just read?

L1011

The OP is quite difficult to read due to no paragraphs... I think I've got the meaning of it though.

You were quoted a price up front and at no point was it mentioned that extra chargeable work was required. If this was a car going for a service you'd be asked before they started. I'm not sure of any specific etiquette involved with how hair salons work (frequenting a barber instead!) but I'd question whether it is legally acceptable to do this anyway.

Do they have a published price list online? If so, does the price make any sense for items on it?

skooterblue2

You didnt get a haircut..... you were fleeced.

TheBeach

If it took them 3 hours to brush your hair there must have been a lot of work in it, but yes, it would be interesting to see how they broke down the price.

naoise225

L1011 wrote: »

The OP is quite difficult to read due to no paragraphs... I think I've got the meaning of it though.

You were quoted a price up front and at no point was it mentioned that extra chargeable work was required. If this was a car going for a service you'd be asked before they started. I'm not sure of any specific etiquette involved with how hair salons work (frequenting a barber instead!) but I'd question whether it is legally acceptable to do this anyway.

Do they have a published price list online? If so, does the price make any sense for items on it?

I think that's my main issue. I was quoted something completely different and they did not consult me of the sudden increase. I'm not sure of what I'm entitled to do legally.

I am waiting for the owners response, before I post a negative review online.

The price list states €65.

naoise225

sugarman wrote: »

€155??? I'd have said the initial €80 was mad money. It's €40 for a wash, cut and blow-dry in my local in Dublin.

I'll be looking for the name of that salon!

naoise225

TheBeach wrote: »

If it took them 3 hours to brush your hair there must have been a lot of work in it, but yes, it would be interesting to see how they broke down the price.

Yes, I agree with that. I think the fact they quoted me something different was the issue. I'm waiting for the owner to reply with a proper breakdown of the price. It still doesn't seem right as I've never been charged that much before.

skooterblue2

wrote:

Yes, I agree with that. I think the fact they quoted me something different was the issue. I'm waiting for the owner to reply with a proper breakdown of the price. It still doesn't seem right as I've never been charged that much before.

You arent going to get that unless you walk down with your solicitor. Some of these hairdressers think they are gods and a hairdressers if you own one is a lisence to print money.

screamer

3 hours of work is how many blow drys, cuts, colours etc.... A lot. You're paying for their time and to be fair most salons charge more for longer or more difficult hair......

naoise225

screamer wrote: »

3 hours of work is how many blow drys, cuts, colours etc.... A lot. You're paying for their time and to be fair most salons charge more for longer or more difficult hair......

It's more the fact that I was quoted a different price...

dudara

You shouldn’t have paid until you were given a justification. Now that you’ve paid, you have very little to stand on.

I can understand the salon charging extra if there was a heavier workload than expected (for the sale of comparison my regular wash, cut & blow dry is c €80 and takes ~1hr), but they need to have told you and explained it to you.

mickdw

They should have looked at you when they started and said, we need to do x y or z to get things right and unfortunately it will be an extra €75 if you want to go for it.
What if you only had €80 on you?

Cabaal

You mentioned the staff member changed, some places charge different rates for different hair dressers

ArthurG

Aside from the fact that I'm flabbergasted that it took 3 hours to brush/de-tangle your hair (I can't even imagine.....), if you were unhappy with the charge you shouldn't have paid.

As a poster mentioned above, once the cash has changed hands it will be very very difficult to do anything about it. As for feeling embarrassed, the only person who will suffer as a result of that is you - calmly & politely raising your concerns and requesting action is nothing to be embarrassed about, and the sooner more Irish people get over themselves and start doing it, the better our service industries will be.

Lux23

I really think it was out of order to double the price and not tell you. I think it might be no harm popping into them again and asking to speak with a manager - if only so they won't do something this stupid again.

Dial Hard

Were you getting dreads taken out or something? Or really badly cared-for extensions??? I'm genuinely struggling to think how else your hair could have been so badly matted that it took them three hours to deal with it. And if that is the case, then booking in for a wash & blowdry was a bit disingenuous on your part.

Either way, something isn't quite adding up here.

LizT

Dial Hard wrote: »

Were you getting dreads taken out or something? Or really badly cared-for extensions??? I'm genuinely struggling to think how else your hair could have been so badly matted that it took them three hours to deal with it. And if that is the case, then booking in for a wash & blowdry was a bit disingenuous on your part.

Either way, something isn't quite adding up here.

But the OP explained the situation over the phone, it wasn't disingenuous. They should have informed OP that the price might rise if there was significant extra work.

Dial Hard

LizT wrote: »

But the OP explained the situation over the phone, it wasn't disingenuous. They should have informed OP that the price might rise if there was significant extra work.

They said their hair was damaged and matted. To me, that wouldn't immediately shout "This is going to take three hours of someone's time to sort", so I'm just asking them to clarify.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Womens hairdressing must be the biggest racket on the planet.

155 to brush somebodies hair. GTFO

penno

And did it really take 3 hours to do the treatment?
Reason I ask is, a lot of the time when the hairdresser will have two clients on the go at the one time and if the other client needs a little extra attention, you'll very often be left over the sink for a long time with a 'much needed' treatment doing marvels for your hair while your hairdresser buys themselves more time.
They're killing two birds with the one stone and everyone wins.
Where they off doing someone else at the same time and may have dragged your treatment out to suit themselves. Then it is very unfair to expect you to pay extra for it.

pleas advice

I appreciated the time the stylist had spent with me and I didn't have enough cash to give her a decent tip.

this is the bit that gets me

Sleeper12

naoise225 wrote:

I think that's my main issue. I was quoted something completely different and they did not consult me of the sudden increase. I'm not sure of what I'm entitled to do legally.

The big question is where you given a quote or an estimate?
If an estimate then they did no wrong.

If it was a quote & it took 3 hours instead of one then they have to suck it up and charge you the quoted amount. Even if it was a quote over the phone & they realised that on seeing you that the quote was miles off they had an opportunity to renegotiate BEFORE they started the job & not after. Once started they have to commit to the price.

Tradesmen deal with this every day of the week. If you under price in your quote you just have to suck it up even if you lose on a particular job.

An estimate is a totally different situation though.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

155 to brush somebodies hair. GTFO

155 for 3 hours labour. There is a difference

L1011

I would guess there was prolonged periods of sitting and not being worked on in that 3 hours

Sleeper12

L1011 wrote:

I would guess there was prolonged periods of sitting and not being worked on in that 3 hours

I suppose she'd have no hair left if it were brushed for 3 hours solid

ZX7R

Sleeper12 wrote: »

The big question is where you given a quote or an estimate?
If an estimate then they did no wrong.

If it was a quote & it took 3 hours instead of one then they have to suck it up and charge you the quoted amount. Even if it was a quote over the phone & they realised that on seeing you that the quote was miles off they had an opportunity to renegotiate BEFORE they started the job & not after. Once started they have to commit to the price.

Tradesmen deal with this every day of the week. If you under price in your quote you just have to suck it up even if you lose on a particular job.

An estimate is a totally different situation though.




155 for 3 hours labour. There is a difference

That's over €50 an hour labor , I'm in the wrong trade.

CeilingFly

ZX7R wrote: »

That's over €50 an hour labor , I'm in the wrong trade.

Rent, rates, service charges, light, heat, insurance etc etc etc.



If it took 3hours, then €150 is not far off the mark.

ted1

You agreed a price. Pay that price.

uck51js9zml2yt

CeilingFly wrote: »

Rent, rates, service charges, light, heat, insurance etc etc etc.



If it took 3hours, then €150 is not far off the mark.

I'd agree. It took a more experienced stylist to do the job.
It was worse that was portrayed over the phone.
Granted they should have said at the start but sometimes you can't judge a job till you start.
The op accepted the increased price when paying.
50 an hour isnt unreasonable.

Cash Abundant Jukebox

Cash Abundant Jukebox wrote: »

I'd agree. It took a more experienced stylist to do the job.
It was worse that was portrayed over the phone.
Granted they should have said at the start but sometimes you can't judge a job till you start.
The op accepted the increased price when paying.
50 an hour isnt unreasonable.

50 an hour is nuts. It’s a hairdresser. Hair. Half of that would be about right if it took them 3 hours of faffing.

Pelvis

Cash Abundant Jukebox wrote: »

50 an hour isnt unreasonable.

To remove a brain tumour it's not.

Sleeper12

ZX7R wrote:

That's over €50 an hour labor , I'm in the wrong trade.

I know it sounds a lot but you can rent, rates, insurance etc. Vat is included in that. 50 an hour is most of likely the lowest rate for any trade in Dublin. Plumber, electrician, carpenter etc will charge 75/100 per hour inc vat. My Ford dealer charges 75 an hour.

SusieBlue

Were you having bonded extensions removed?
I can't think anything else that would cause such severe damage & matting that it took a trained professional 3 hours to brush, wash and blow dry.

If so, €155 was more than justified and quite the bargain. Especially considering it would seem the salon in question weren't even the ones who applied the extensions first day.
They were essentially cleaning up another salons shoddy work & badly maintained, uncared for extensions.
Removal is a tedious, skilled job so I think you got away lightly.

ThunderCat

A couple of years ago I was buying a house and in order to make sense of what solicitors, property developers, mortgage brokers etc. were telling me I installed a call recording app on my phone so I could listen back on our conversations. I think something like that would be handy for you OP in the future as you will have a record of them quoting you a specific price for a specific job weather that be hairdressers, mechanics, plumbers or whatever.

Sleeper12

ThunderCat wrote:

A couple of years ago I was buying a house and in order to make sense of what solicitors, property developers, mortgage brokers etc. were telling me I installed a call recording app on my phone so I could listen back on our conversations. I think something like that would be handy for you OP in the future as you will have a record of them quoting you a specific price for a specific job weather that be hairdressers, mechanics, plumbers or whatever.

I do believe that you must make them aware of the recording before they speak.

You can end up in jail otherwise

endacl

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I do believe that you must make them aware of the recording before they speak.

You can end up in jail otherwise

This is the most repeated incorrect ‘fact’ on this site.

No you don’t, and no you won’t.

Sleeper12

I think you might need to check your information again.

Edit

Even in the states. The author of the fear had to make the president of the United States aware that he was being recorded at the start of the phone call.

Under His Eye

Some states are 2 party consent, others are 1 party consent. The District of Columbia is a 2 party area.

L1011

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I think you might need to check your information again.

Edit

Even in the states. The author of the fear had to make the president of the United States aware that he was being recorded at the start of the phone call.

They're right, you're wrong.

Single party consent is the law in Ireland so once you know you're recording the call that is more than sufficient.

Sleeper12

L1011 wrote:

Single party consent is the law in Ireland so once you know you're recording the call that is more than sufficient.

I know we have that face to face but I'm gobsmacked that we have it on a phone conversation.

It would make you wonder why some of the biggest companies in Ireland tell you that the call is being recorded before you utter a word.

endacl

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I know we have that face to face but I'm gobsmacked that we have it on a phone conversation.

It would make you wonder why some of the biggest companies in Ireland tell you that the call is being recorded before you utter a word.

To remind you to mind your manners.

L1011

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I know we have that face to face but I'm gobsmacked that we have it on a phone conversation.

It would make you wonder why some of the biggest companies in Ireland tell you that the call is being recorded before you utter a word.

Because they've customers outside Ireland, or have just bought their kit in from abroad and never bothered changing anything, or are actually part of a multinational, or the call centre is outside Ireland, or other reasons. edit: and what endacl said is part of it too!

All the scandals about illicit recording have been when nobody consented - phone tapping and the Garda station tapes. That is illegal.

Sleeper12

endacl wrote:

To remind you to mind your manners.

L1011 wrote:

Because they've customers outside Ireland, or have just bought their kit in from abroad and never bothered changing anything, or are actually part of a multinational, or the call centre is outside Ireland, or other reasons. edit: and what endacl said is part of it too!

I don't doubt you. I didn't realise & so I'm surprised. It's one of those moments when you assumed one thing all your life only for it to be incorrect.

I'm still gobsmacked though.

Pelvis

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I think you might need to check your information again.

Edit

Even in the states. The author of the fear had to make the president of the United States aware that he was being recorded at the start of the phone call.

This is Ireland.

dudara

Can we get back on topic please?

dudara

Sleeper12

Pelvis wrote:

This is Ireland.

I do get that but the latter half of my life I have listened to people warning me that my call is being recorded. In Ireland. Not the states. I know what country I'm in. Give me a few minutes to regulate my blood pressure. This is big news to me

Not doubting what I'm being told. It's just a big supprised

ShaShaBear

This is why I would always recommend calling into a salon in person if you are looking any kind of unusual, laborious or complicated work done to your hair. It does sound like you were either having extensions or dreads removed. Did you specify this on the phone or did you just state that your hair was matted?

In future, walk in and ask for a consultation - at least then if a price is agreed upon for an appointment in the near future, you know they've had a good look at your hair and aren't surprised. In saying that, I called a salon I would go to maybe 3 or 4 times a year when I'm in the area and got a quote for highlights. When they started, it was obvious it was going to take more work and she did stop before they went any further and told me that it would be more work, but she was aware of what she quoted me and that she would only charge that, but in future it would have to be the higher price for my hair.
I was lucky she was professional in that instance but it could have been avoided had I called in and let them look at my hair/do a patch test.

rubadub

Cabaal wrote: »

You mentioned the staff member changed, some places charge different rates for different hair dressers

And you would expect to be told if the price was going to double.

What if they ended up saying she owed €2,000?

ShaShaBear wrote: »

This is why I would always recommend calling into a salon in person if you are looking any kind of unusual, laborious or complicated work done to your hair.

They did call in. If they saw it was going to take a lot of work and cost more than the estimate she should have been told.

SusieBlue

rubadub wrote: »

And you would expect to be told if the price was going to double.

What if they ended up saying she owed €2,000?


They did call in. If they saw it was going to take a lot of work and cost more than the estimate she should have been told.

With bonded extensions its impossible to know until you actually start working through them.

A full head would typically involve 120-150 individual chunks/bonds of hair strategically glued around the head.

For removal, each bond, one by one, needs to be sprayed with acetone, and cracked and broken apart with a special pliers.
Then the matting in the regrowth (which usually looks like a dreadlock) needs to be carefully combed through to ensure no further damage occurs.
This process x100 or x120 can take some time.
Especially if they weren't cared for correctly.

Using hair conditioners/products can soften the bonds over time, so the ones around the face are generally quite easy to remove and generally just slip off. The ones at the back are a bit harder, and are also a lot more matted in the regrowth area, its knottier because we lie on the back of our heads while sleeping.

So even when the hairdresser first assessed the hair, she could have naturally thought that the ones at the front would slip out, and the ones at the back would require more work.
But she wouldn't and couldn't have known just by looking.

As someone who has been getting this type of extensions for many years, I can only imagine what sorry state they were in to say they took 3 hours to remove.
Mine take 40 minutes MAX and that's because I take excellent care of them with proper products & maintenance.
It doesn't sound like the OP did and it doesn't sound like she gave an honest portrayal of the condition of them when she asked for a quote.

ShaShaBear

rubadub wrote: »

And you would expect to be told if the price was going to double.

What if they ended up saying she owed €2,000?


They did call in. If they saw it was going to take a lot of work and cost more than the estimate she should have been told.

They called into the salon for their appointment, they phoned in prior to that. I 100% agree it was unprofessional of them not to say anything, but it is altogether possible that the ladies working on her hair were not aware she had been given a quote over the phone and didn't think there was a reason to mention the price. Hence why its always a good idea to go in person for a consult BEFORE the appointment to discuss work and a price.

Sleeper12

rubadub wrote:

They did call in. If they saw it was going to take a lot of work and cost more than the estimate she should have been told.

There is no obligation on a business to upgrade you from a estimate to a quote.

I still don't know if OP was quoted or given an estimate. If you got an estimate then it's not unusual for you not to know the final price till the job is done. Many homeowners get caught out with this getting tradesmen into the house and not knowing the difference between a quote and estimate.