At The Hair Salon
I got a haircut last Wednesday at a local salon in Berkeley on University Ave. I've gone there for two and a half years because they charge $12.00, which is between three and five dollars cheaper than the rest. While I still think $12.00 plus tip is outrageous for a fifteen minute haircut (without shampoo or shave), there aren't any better options. Even a barber near the campus wants $15.00 for a buzz cut, not to mention that barbers in the bay area won't give you a shave. I went to a barber on University last year and asked how much a shave was: "Buddy, you need to go to New York for that sort of thing!"
So, I go for a haircut on Wednesday and ask for a trim just to clean up my sideburns and even up my fade. The woman working on my hair spent a total of ten minutes on it, which is fine since it was only a quick trim. $14.00 bucks. I went home, took a shower and that was that.
The next morning after I took a shower, I noticed that she cut my hair unevenly in a number of places, either too close or left patches of my hair uncut. It was an all around bad job, so I went back the next day and asked her to fix it. She seemed absolutely amazed not only that I would accuse her of giving me a bad haircut, but that I would actually ask to have it fixed free of charge. I told her I'd been going there for almost three years, so she agreed.
When I sat down she told me to point out what was wrong. I pointed out that the fade, instead of being in a straight line, was completely uneven and missing in certain areas and that a few patches of hair were not cut at all while others were cut too close. She stared at my head for a minute or two shaking her head in disapproval as if she didn't see anything wrong at all.
Her response, and I kid you not: "I know I didn't cut your hair like that. You are probably losing your hair; don't worry this happens with a lot of men. This explains why it is uneven now."
Absolutely unbelievable (and absolutely indicative of the consumer's shithole that we affectionately call Berkeley, CA).
3 comments:
I dated a hairdresser and can say they are 'bit' protective over their own work.
If it's any consolation, here - in Northern Europe - in a small city you pay 17 Euros (21 dollars) just for a plain haircut with a student discount...
I felt so aware of that when I was talking to her. I know people take pride in their work, whatever it is, and to suggest that someone did not do their work properly is pretty personal. But to turn around and suggest that I'm losing my hair because of "stress" changes the whole situation becuase it quickly puts all of the blame for the botched haircut on me.
17 Euros for a haircut! That better come with a happy ending.
If you see a long-haired or skinhead looking people here, they are most likely exchange students from an Eastern European country. They resent the fact of paying 17€ for a haircut so they let it grow or cut it themself with a shaver or wait til they go to the traditional trip to Russia...
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