Great Clips - Never again
Complaint
Lacy Daniel
Country: United States
I have been going to Great Clips in Twin Oaks, Mo for many many years. I kept the same gal for about 8 yrs. and through out the last 2-3 years, she wasn't quite cutting my hair the way I liked, so I backed off from haircuts all together and gained quite a bit of length.
I recently in the beginning of May , decided after the last two times with my hairdresser, to choose someone else who I had used once in the past. This gal gave me the most disgusting haircut and I had even brought in a picture for her to work from. Now mind you, I have hair down to the middle of my back, plenty to work with and she now has the front cut so short and weird i cannot do anything with it and I cannot possibly have it blended without loosing a lot of length in my other layers to try and blend it into looking something like a real hairstyle. I went back up to see if another gal could just look at it and see what she thought and if there was anything that could be done.
I was treated so horribly and even accused of having gone back in for multiple re-cuts when there was no record of this in the computer. The manager even went so far as to say " Well, I know I've seen you back in here. I do not know why it is not here in the computer!"
Accusing me of lying and she had no proof of anything she said! This took place in front of other customers and stylists and I was treated like I was some stupid kid! i had even asked if she wanted to look at it and she said " well it looks fine to me " without even touching it!
By the time I did end up talking with another hairdresser, I was boiling inside. This gal had an equally ignorant attitude and I told them both I didn't want anyone there cutting my hair. She couldn't answer me why it was that my hair was so uneven and choppy.
I told her it's because no one is checking their work or really listening to the client. I came home and wrote to the headquarters of Great Clips, but because the are franchised, I knew it would do no good, but wanted my say. I have since asked my friends and family as well not to patronize any Great Clips salons. They have no public relations skills and the gals do not listen or check your hair after a cut. It's an assembly line. And they do not care if you have any problems at all. They act like it's you who is being the pain and they do not care if you come back or not . I will never step foot into a Great Clips ever again.
I recently in the beginning of May , decided after the last two times with my hairdresser, to choose someone else who I had used once in the past. This gal gave me the most disgusting haircut and I had even brought in a picture for her to work from. Now mind you, I have hair down to the middle of my back, plenty to work with and she now has the front cut so short and weird i cannot do anything with it and I cannot possibly have it blended without loosing a lot of length in my other layers to try and blend it into looking something like a real hairstyle. I went back up to see if another gal could just look at it and see what she thought and if there was anything that could be done.
I was treated so horribly and even accused of having gone back in for multiple re-cuts when there was no record of this in the computer. The manager even went so far as to say " Well, I know I've seen you back in here. I do not know why it is not here in the computer!"
Accusing me of lying and she had no proof of anything she said! This took place in front of other customers and stylists and I was treated like I was some stupid kid! i had even asked if she wanted to look at it and she said " well it looks fine to me " without even touching it!
By the time I did end up talking with another hairdresser, I was boiling inside. This gal had an equally ignorant attitude and I told them both I didn't want anyone there cutting my hair. She couldn't answer me why it was that my hair was so uneven and choppy.
I told her it's because no one is checking their work or really listening to the client. I came home and wrote to the headquarters of Great Clips, but because the are franchised, I knew it would do no good, but wanted my say. I have since asked my friends and family as well not to patronize any Great Clips salons. They have no public relations skills and the gals do not listen or check your hair after a cut. It's an assembly line. And they do not care if you have any problems at all. They act like it's you who is being the pain and they do not care if you come back or not . I will never step foot into a Great Clips ever again.
Comments
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As far as your tips based on the COUPON price is just wrong. Base it on the actual price and forget about the calculator. Do that in the restaurant, where the meal is $50,
not $9. AND you state the you are tipping on $9 worth of work, for a 15 minute quick trim? OK [***], spend around 1600 hours in training, up to 25K in tuition (a student loan that has to be paid back) Plus pay for your own equipment (no reimbursement when if wears out or someone steals it).
Then work on the most rude, nasty and arrogant people (kinda sounds like you?)
The tip in any salon is NOT based on cost, it is based on performance.
One of the girls did a long hair perm yesterday, it took three hours, NO TIP!! I did about 10 cuts during that time and was tipped over $40....(the people I do, aren't arrogant [***]) She has a new baby to feed....I felt so sorry for her.
Now do you get it???
its just a shame that so many bad whiny stylist give the good ones such a bad name. if you don't like you job get a new one. don't make clients (and good stylist) suffer because you chose to work for a company that doesnt pay what you think you deserve. if you were worth what you think you are you probably wouldnt be complaining and lashing out at people on here....
Darci From Shoppes on Elida, LIMA, OHIO
What I said about this being a people business is absolutely correct. Think about it, quality , friendly people want to work in a clean, pleasant work enviroment, where they are treated fairly and with respect. Otherwise, if they can, they will try to go to work at another salon or even for a different GC owner. Not everyone is a newbie, fresh out of cosmetology school at your Great Clips locations. Not every Great Clips location in your area is going to be great. It depends on the people (the stylists) on staff there. Most everyone at a location with good staff and a good owner, will be friendly and pleasant and try her or his best to do their very best on each customer's do. These well-run Great Clips stores are more selective on who they hire, based on attitude, appearance, personality and friendliness. Because excellent, well-run Great Clips stores seem to be a minority, they have no problem getting good staff because they have the best customer reviews and loyalty with repeat business and rank as the "go to Great Clips store in the city/area". Usually, this quality Great Clips store will be in or nearest to nicer, upscale neighborhoods and in a nicer shopping area. Usually, this is the case.... More affluent customers/nearby residents are likely to require a more professional atmosphere where the staff has a more polished, professional appearance and a vocabulary that is suited for an office setting or G- rated .
Usually, even the newbies fresh out of school, get experienced quickly at doing great simple Ladies cuts and become great on men's cuts within six months to a year because they are doing 22 or more cuts per day. These hairstylists really enjoy what they do and it shows. Even the ones with less than a year or two of experience that are employed by a good GC owner store, give their very best and do their best for their clients. You bet that they treat each customer as their client, because they understand fully that they want that customer to return to them. They know that it is their work on that customer's head and it might as well be a billboard advertising them favorably or not. People in general want to be treated well in a professional, friendly and polite manner. Customers and stylists. So if you do find a friendly stylist that makes you look good when you leave her chair, go back and request & wait for her on your next visit to that GC store or whatever hair place, make an appt if it is another place and its not a walk-in place. Keep searching for until you find a hairstylist that you like! It ultimately doesn't matter what the name of the salon is or where it is located. What matters is that you like how you look after sitting in her chair. There are quality stylists at Great Clips stores but you must find a well-run Great Clips with good ownership and staff. Isn't this true of every salon on the planet? It doesn't matter if you're spending $85 or $15 or using a coupon for a $10 cut, if you don't have someone that really cares how you look behind the chair working the scissors, the result is gonna be poor. When you do find that person, please be kind and tip them well if you are able to. Another thing that is extremely important is communication. You can't put back what is cut off, so be certain that everything is completely understood. If you stylist refuses to listen to you and has no input and suggestions for how to make your haircut or suggest a slightly changed style that might suit you better, than you really want to keep looking for someone else to do your hair. If your stylist is not enthusiastic about how you look each and every time you visit, you should enthusiasticly keep searching for someone else. Your hair is their business and if you don't think that your stylist cares enough or appears disinterested and treats you like a number and the cut is not good, keep looking. If you have found a caring stylist that does make you look nice every time, though things aren't quite perfect, don't give up yet. Communicate what you do like about it and what you wish could happen. Listen to your stylist's feedback as not everyone's hair is the same. A picture is worth a 1000 words and nobody, not even your stylist can read your mind.
Lastly, here is perhaps one good tip, if a stylist at Great Clips has a pretty hairstyle that is the same or very similar to what you'd like, request her, as you can bet that she's an expert on getting that one perfect. Be wary of any stylist that has hair that looks like a mess, as if they can't even do their own DO in a style that looks good, you can bet that their work on your head is gonna be bad too.
Remember that you can go to a GC store when they are busy and watch and inspect the quality of cuts and stylist's ablity and if you don't like what you see, politely ask to remove your name from the list and say that you must leave. If you see a stylist that seems to you to be competant, skilled, and friendly, request that particular person. It is simple as that. You choose, not just take whomever is available next. They have no problem with that if you don't mind waiting. Take your husband or your boyfriend and let them be a guinea pig before you decide to see if that stylist is right for you. That is what my wife has traditionally done when finding a suitable stylist. We both go to Great Clips Washington Walk 2801 Washington Road , Augusta Georgia. Neither of us intended to become loyal Great Clips customers as she would always book appointments for me and for her at a very upscale/expensive local salon. Well because of busy schedules and travelling, I needed a trim, and I usually get a haircut every two to three weeks because I have a professional position that requires looking sharp at all times. My wife Nancy wasn't happy with my cut from the upscale Surrey Center located upscale salon that we did frequent. She said it looked to ragged and messy after a week and wasn't sharp or clean-cut enough.
We were at the Kroger supermarket next door and Nancy says Charlie lets go over to Great Clips next door and see if they can do something to slightly clean it up and trim it. Nancy had already brought the kids there for a few months so she knew at least one of the stylists was really good. Long story short, I became a customer of the 2801 Washington Road GREAT CLIPS because they did a superb job and were attentive and really cared that things were right. I now visit the same stylist there every time. After about a year, Nancy began visiting the same stylist there at Great Clips, instead of the other salon. Only difference is Nancy goes every 4 to 5 weeks for herself and our young daughter and our young boys go every few weeks if not sooner as Nancy likes them to look neat and you know how nine and eleven year olds, boys will be sloppy at that age if left to choose to go on their own.
Can't say enough good things about that particular Great Clips store. The stylists there have the right look and are professional, friendly and seem to enjoy their work very much. My guess is that the franchise owner is better than most. I'm more impressed by the appearance, vocabulary, conduct and attire of the staff at this Great Clips than the pricey salon where my wife had me going prior to Great Clips. I encourage everyone to keep looking, you can find fine people anywhere that you go, no matter if its a Great Clips or someplace expensive. It is the stylist (the person) that you are seeking that is right for you. The person and not necessarily the place is what matters. Tip that superb Great Clips stylist when you find her and give her your exclusive business by seeing only that stylist each time. Haircuts are inexpensive at Great Clips, so go often and tip your stylist well because a really good stylist does make you look good and in the overall scheme of things in life, it is money well spent. It is very little money when you look at the overall picture of things. Go often because your stylist will get used to fine tuning the details and you will look better with crisp ends and no frayed/split ends. If you are in a professional position, you can't afford to look like something that the cat dragged in or somebody that's in need of a haircut at any time. If you do look like that, your bosses and corporate superiors may interpret the sloppy appearance with a less than can-do, go-getter attitude. In these economic times, one can't put themselves in that situation of disadvantage when it comes to promotion or who might be downsized because not everything is rational or sane and perception is reality. Look sharp because it usually matters. A good stylist will help you with that. If you're lucky enough to find that quality stylist at Great Clips, you'll get a bargain on cost of haircuts, even after giving your Stylist a nice tip. Go more frequently, you'll still spend less than you were spending elsewhere and you'll look better too. Stick with her/orhim when you find a great stylist for you. Follow them if you can. Great Clips has convenient hours because their always open and only walk-in but unless the franchise owner and its manager are decent, many stylists will go elsewhere & or ultimately start their own business when they build a successful following, as the pace and working hours at a Great Clips are demanding and the meager hourly wage can be limiting. .
Thanks Great Clips! You helped to save my marriage!! My wife and I are going to try to work things out now! I really appreciate her more now.
i am a hairstylist.
you need to know something VERY important here.
if you cheat your your "regular stylist" with some "other stylist", you deserve that botch job. i don't give a crap WHERE you went to get the bad haircut. FYI, i bet ((actually i know)) that your "regular stylist" would give you bang trims or neck trims for FREE in between haircuts (and you should tip on the free service). or, if you simply need your haircut to last longer, just tell her/him so and they will cut a little more off (please let me stress that you tell them this BEFORE they do your entire haircut. we stylists do not have time to do the same haircut twice on you.)
this what your "regular stylist" is there for- creating and maintaining YOUR style. how would you like it if someone you didn't know altered YOUR work and then YOU had to WORK A MIRACLE AND FIX SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T BREAK??
lady. i am serious here.
again, i don't care WHERE you went for your "trim". you can get a crap haircut from anyone, any time of day, at any place. this is why you have a "regular stylist"- just like your dentist, your doctor, etc. also if you leave any salon with your head wet you are STUPID. pay the extra couple bucks for the blowdry. there is no way that a stylist can finish a cut without seeing it dry. many stylists prefer to do the quick, basic, rough shape of the cut when it is wet. then, they blowdry it, then, they do the rest of the cut -dry.
why not pay your "regular stylist" a little more respect and let them do their job. so many clients do not allow us to do our job as well as we actually could, because they just have no clue. like you, maria.
It also depends on who is cutting my hair. I've had some that were good, some not so good. Great Clips needs to focus on quality vs. quantity.