Ripped Off in Dublin Hairdresser

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 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

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.

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.

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.

Can we get back on topic please?

dudara

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 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.

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.

Maybe I missed it but so many people are talking about bonds, did the OP mention that she had bonds in her hair?

OP in future use a lot of really good conditioner / hair mask and comb it out yourself before you go in, save yourself the money. But you should not have paid the money, it is too late now.

My hair is €40 for root colour, wash and blowdry or €85 for roots, ballyage, cut, wash and blow dry. I am getting something slightly different done the next day, but I know she won't rob me so I don't need to get a quote.

AndTheirMum wrote: »

I admire your balls, Naoise! Usually, I feel quite vulnerable at hairdressers and doctors. So, I am constantly ripped off by both professions. I am normally relatively assert person and have no problem with requesting refunds, negotiating price, etc. But, there is something about people that do my hair, teeth, and other parts of my body that makes me intimidated.

150 is a HORREDOUS price for only 'sorting out' the hair, without a cut or color. Definitely, they ripped you off. It looks to me like they are pressurized by the owner to 'make more revenue'. So, they do.

I am a big fan of submitting claims to the Small Claims Court. It takes a few minutes online and costs 25, but you pay only if the court proceeds with your claim. And, you don't have to be at the sitting but the Respondent has to! So, always a bit of well deserved hassle for them.

Best of luck!

She was there for 3 hours.
It took two members of staff 3 hours to simply brush, wash, and dry her hair. Can you even begin to imagine what kind of condition her hair was in to say it took trained professionals that long to work through it?
She's lucky they accommodated her at all considering she clearly downplayed the severity of the matting.
€150 works out at €50 per hour.
Three hours where they could have done three sets of colours/highlights on other clients for €80/€100 a pop, but couldn't, because they were looking after OP. The price was absolutely justified.