A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:Hi all!Some advice needed please.I've been going to this beauty salon for almost 3 years and they have a very strict policy whereby if you give less than 24 hours notice to cancel your appointment, you are fully charged. I have no problem with this- a lot of places have this policy.I was booked in to go for a facial and some waxing on a Tuesday evening (totalling £58).On the Wednesday - (1 week BEFORE my beauty appointment) my manager told me he had booked me in on a 3 day training course for the following Monday to Wednesday.So obviously i'd be unable to attend my beauty appointment as I'd be away in another city, so I called up the salon that day but got a voicemail so I left a message, explaining the situation and I asked for a call back to confirm my appointment had been cancelled. I heard nothing back so I called again the next day (Thursday) several times to it either being engaged or voicemail. I then opted to send them a message via their Facebook page (which confirmed "read" that same day but yet no response. I also emailed them on their website but my email kept being returned due to the wrong email address on their website.By Friday I was getting a little worried (the salon is far from my work and home so I couldn't just pop in to see them directly) so I called again and managed to speak to a member of their staff who confirmed it had been noted and all was ok.The following week on the Wednesday I got a voice mail from the salon manager saying that as I hadn't turned up to my appointment on the Tuesday evening and not cancelled, they would need to take the full payment and for me to call up and pay...I was confused as I had cancelled my appointment well over 24 hours! When I called up to speak to her she said that the member of staff I spoke to had no knowledge of this and as far as she was concerned I made no attempt to cancel! I explained my various attempts and even sent her a screen shot of the message i sent on Facebook which confirmed "read" and screen shot my call attempts to the salon.She basically denied getting any messages and then got really rude and hinted if I wasn't going to pay then I wouldn't be welcome back and hung up!I'm shocked at this as in almost 3 years this was the only appointment I cancelled and I have introduced 5 clients to them over the course and I've never been late to an appointment.I'm tempted to make a complaint to head office about their attitude and I definitely won't be returning back and I also want to leave a bad review on their Facebook page.Before I go ahead with the complaint I would like your opinions...Was I in the wrong at all here? I did everything in my power to contact them - which I managed to do on the Friday but why would that staff member deny talking to me? I genuinely believe they were fully aware of the cancellation but decided to get money out of me! TIA
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female
reader, llifton  +, writes (5 September 2016):
 You are absolutely correct in complaining and you have every right to be upset and angry.
The way they treated you was very unprofessional and very uncalled for. I would definitely write a bad review and not go back. That is no way to treat regular clientele and just simply bad business. You did everything reasonable and then some within your power to cancel your appointment.
One should not be expected to have to drive all the way there to cancel in person. You called, messaged, and spoke to an employee on the phone. What on Earth else would they expect you to do?
Completely unreasonable on their part. You are not overreacting at all and I would be just as angry as you are.
A
female
reader, Ivyblue  +, writes (5 September 2016):
 perhaps you should email them a bill for your wasted time due to their lack of decency to return a call. Most defiantly this is bad review territory. Keep your screenshots, calls sent etc just as proof in case they are dumb enough to bring up defamation.
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A
female
reader, Ciar  +, writes (5 September 2016):
 You were NOT in the wrong here, not by a long shot.
Complain to their head office (if you can, have the names of the people you spoke to, along with dates and times if you have them).
Then post your experience to their Facebook page, but stick to the facts, just as you did here.
Then never go there again.
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A
female
reader, celtic_tiger +, writes (4 September 2016):
 You are not in the wrong at all.
The salon here is at fault, and their customer service is appalling. While in principle it might be deemed ok to have a no-show policy, there is no need to be rude to a client.
It appears it is in their best interest to say you didn't call in time, as they don't lose out on your money. I suspect that is what it all boils down to.
I would call the citizens advice bureau because it may be they are breaking some sort of trading standards rules by being so agressive to clients. They are intimidating a client to make them pay up (many would be bullied into paying in order to stay a client of the salon).
If they are part of a chain/franchise then complain to their head office - because they are bringing the brand into disrepute. You have all the evidence, facebook, emails, call logs on a mobile to prove you tried to make contact. They wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
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A
female
reader, Honeypie +, writes (4 September 2016):
 OH yes you DEFINITELY call and complain to head office. First of all NO salon should have their phone go to voicemail during business hours, THAT is BAD BAD service. You should have plenty of proof on your phone that you called and tried to cancel.
Since you generally get good service I wouldn't leave a bad review till AFTER you have talked to head office and this is sorted out. I CERTAINLY would NOT pay a dime here.
I'm not big on leaving bad reviews unless the service (the actual facial/haircut etc is bad). However AFTER you get it sorted I would leave a review why you are not going to use them again (as in PISS POOR costumer service).
And yes... I'd NEVER use them again.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (4 September 2016): What frightful customer relations! They don't deserve your business nor anyone else's and I think others should be warned about their behaviour. I would go so far as to say that it would be wrong of you not to warn others. Well done with being so decent in all your attempts and yes, they are totally in the wrong.
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A
male
reader, no nonsense Aidan +, writes (4 September 2016):
Go ahead, make your complaint and leave a bad review. If you are able to prove that you made contact with them and that this had been seen, they have no grounds whatsoever to demand the money from you. They have screwed up and should have the decency to acknowledge this. I would not go back to them unless they make a serious effort to fix this: at minimum an unconditional apology, and acknowledgement that the conduct of staff was unacceptable, steps taken to address this with relevant staff to ensure it doesn’t happen again and, I would suggest, the next treatment free of charge. This is dreadful. Also send them the emails you sent if you still have them, together with the website link that has the incorrect address listed. This sounds like a poorly run establishment to me.
I wish you all the very best.
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A
male
reader, Denizen +, writes (4 September 2016):
 Yes complain to head office. There has been a mix up, but if they value your custom then there should be some wiggle room here. Sorry to hear you have lost your hairdresser.
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