Fashionable Hair is Expensive!

[emrldsky]

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I have an update.

My friend was at the mall yesterday and decided to stop in at Manhattan's and get a quote on her hair to see what they would charge her.

Her hair is jet black and about waist length. She told them she was interested in a short style with a colour and 2 different colours of highlights.

They quoted her $150.00 (plus 12% tax) for everything (cut, colour, 2 highlights).

That's $25.00 less than what I paid ($183.75 with tax) to get 1/2 an inch cut off of my already short hair style. And 1 highlight more than what I got.

Now I have confirmation based on the fact that last week I paid $23.75 for a cut when all my other cuts there were $35.00, and with the quote my friend was given, that they just make up prices as they go along.

Now that I have my documentation in order and can show there is a large discrepancy between prices, I will be sending off a letter to the Better Business Bureau. Their pricing seriously needs to be looked into.

Are you sure it doesn't depend on the stylist? For example, where I get my hair cut, there are different stylist levels, based on expertise and experience. I could get the same hairstyle and the same level of hair coloring for cheaper if I went to a lower-level stylist, but I don't. I pay the higher price because I know I'm getting an excellent cut and color.

Maybe they quoted your friend for a lower-level stylist?

 

[rosiemac]

Originally Posted by emrldsky

Are you sure it doesn't depend on the stylist? For example, where I get my hair cut, there are different stylist levels, based on expertise and experience.

My hair stylist at my salon charges different prices to the other stylists that's there. The salon has it's owner, but all the stylists rent a section of the salon from him, and what they charge is up to them not the salon.

The girl i see is very popular, and my sister and i have to make our next 2-3 appointments in advance.

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

My hair stylist at my salon charges different prices to the other stylists that's there. The salon has it's owner, but all the stylists rent a section of the salon from him, and what they charge is up to them not the salon.

The girl i see is very popular, and my sister and i have to make our next 2-3 appointments in advance.

Exactly! Most higher quality salons work this way. You pay according to the skill and reputation of the particular stylist. The other thing is, it's their business and they can charge whatever they like as long as their regular clients are willing to pay it. If someone questioned my rates I'd be inclined to tell them to take their business elsewhere because my experience has been that someone that starts out complaining is not going to be happy with my service and complain afterwards as well so I would rather not have them as a customer in the first place. I'd rather have them say my prices are too high for them than have them bad mouth my work afterwards. Just my opinion.

 

[catkiki]

I go to Precision Cuts here in Bakersfield. It is an inexpensive place that does great work.

Saturday both DH showed up before they opened. They take walk-ins.

DH had an easy cut. He gets a buzz cut!

We had the same stylist. Very friendly. She told me in advance that since my hair is thick, it would be $10 more for the color. I left the color up to her which she did before the cut. Since I have grey sprinkled throughout my hair that was making it look dull, she chose "sun-bleach" which highlights my natural color. So the grey looks blond and the rest shows the red. Then she cut my hair short.

Not including tip, I paid a total of $69. $45 for the color and $12 each for the hair cuts! I was very satisfied and as my hair grows out, it will not be as noticeable!

Everyone at work liked it! At least the ones who actually noticed. A lot of people will not look me in the face for some reason.

 

[sarahp]

Did you not know that different salons charge very different prices? You don't pay per inch of hair that is cut off, and a certain amount for how much dye is used, you pay for the expertise for the hairdresser, the quality of the products they're using, if the salon is a prime location you'll pay more to cover the extra rent they pay, you pay a premium to go to a fancy salon because it keeps the clientele of a certain demographic.

I don't see the point of complaining to someone about the difference in pricing - it's like any service industry, they can charge what they like. If you were to complain about anything, I would write to the hairdressers, and say that for expensive haircuts, you should get told the price beforehand, especially if you've said "go nuts", and you have no idea what to expect. It's always good to get a quote for anything more than just a trim though - I'm sure you learnt that lesson though!

 

[cdubbie]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Exactly! Most higher quality salons work this way. You pay according to the skill and reputation of the particular stylist. The other thing is, it's their business and they can charge whatever they like as long as their regular clients are willing to pay it. If someone questioned my rates I'd be inclined to tell them to take their business elsewhere because my experience has been that someone that starts out complaining is not going to be happy with my service and complain afterwards as well so I would rather not have them as a customer in the first place. I'd rather have them say my prices are too high for them than have them bad mouth my work afterwards. Just my opinion.

My salon keeps going up in price. I admit I was a bit snarky about it to them - because they waited until AFTER to appt to say it went up 25%. I think that's rude. Plus they expect a 20% tip for the stylist and I tip the shampoo girl since she does the real work later (put in product for me too. My stylist dumps the color on me and leaves). I was told they can raise their price any time for any reason w/o explaining it to me. I was embarrassed to say the least.

They are right, they can raise the price. I was surprised that they are willing to lose a devoted customer who shows up every 5 wks for four years for 10 minutes worth of work. I also get other services done there. Clearly though, they dont need my business. I'm too embarrassed to return now.

Oh - and I would never bad mouth really, just complain about pricing and the way they look down on budget conscious people. Their work is excellent; I've never been this happy with my hair in my life. However, $80 for color (one process) + $50 for cuts + $95 for massage + $40 for pedi (plus tips for all) at one location with a 20-25% price hike x 2 in a year, well, I can't afford to have beautiful hair anymore. They also charge $30 in addition to color when I want a quick partial blow dry because it is 30 degrees out. $80 is color ONLY, literally. I'm waiting for them to start charging for the shampoo I use after. I dont even want a style with that blowdry, since I am an air dryer (curly hair).

Sigh. I really hate breaking up with my stylist. I called about 30 salons. Most are $55 for color; a big difference. I can live without being beautiful anymore

 

[emrldsky]

Cdubbie, what they did was wrong, policy or not. It was underhanded.

When our stylist (my DH and I see the same woman, as bad as that sound, lol) raised her prices, she told us beforehand. But she said that the prices were only increased for haircuts, and that since I get cut and color, it wouldn't be any different for me.

 

[cdubbie]

That's nice to hear emeralsky. THey've done it more than once to me. I just hate that whole - I'm a hostage now because the service is done or the scissors are in hand - before they mention it. I bring cash to cover the service and the tip, but I am short when they do this. Last time I couldnt tip and I told the one who cut (different than the colorist) why (I brought $50 for tip and cut. It was $50 jsut for the cut - surprise!). She was a real bitch about it although I told her why.

Sigh. I'm used to bad service in this town as it is...but to raise prices then treat me as if they are doing me a favor...grrr. I also can't believe I am the only person in this economy who cares about price anymore. THey sure treat me as if this is the case

 

[natalie_ca]

Originally Posted by sarahp

It's always good to get a quote for anything more than just a trim though - I'm sure you learnt that lesson though!

I sure have! In fact I found another stylist not far from where I live. The husband of a girl I work with occasionally.

He's the top stylist at his salon and is very popular. When I called to make an appointment they were booking 7 weeks ahead!

I asked the price. I think they told me $80.00 for a cut, colour, highlight and style. And I asked if they used "permanent colour", and I was told that all salons do. Manhattan's tried to get me to believe that few salons use permanent colour and if they say they do, they're lying.

When I was at Manhattan's on the 8th, I looked for a price schedule and didn't see one. I've been to salons where some stylists charge more than others, but they always had a price list displayed to show the various stylists and their prices.

 

[yosemite]

Maybe I'm strange, but I treat hair salons like anything else - I can either afford them or I go someplace I can afford. I drive a VW because I cannot afford a Mercedes but I'm not going to run down, bad mouth or report their high prices to the BBB just because I cannot afford to drive one of their cars. My best friend is very well off and goes to a very high priced salon in downtown Toronto. I know I could never afford it so I don't even ask the price.

There is an old saying that if you have to ask the price you cannot afford the item/service which of course is a bit ridiculous as we all want to compare prices when shopping, but if the price is out of our range, time to move on to something else. Again, it may be just me, but I think it is very rude to ask for a price and then make a derogatory comment to the person quoting. If I did that, I think they have every right to tell me to take my business elsewhere. I personally would just say thank you and leave.