Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A Bumble Stumble?

For those of you who know me, you know I used to visit Ted Gibson salon religiously. But, alas, with the economy as it was, I had to give up my highlights and go back to a hairstyle that is more easily maintained.


Upon the recommendation of a friend and colleague, I decided to check out the Bumble & Bumble salon, uptown location. I went about a month ago to get a single-process color (to cover those grays!) as well as a haircut, and have never been more disgusted with a salon.


First, the receptionists (and there were about 8 of them) were snooty. Then, there was nobody to lead me to the changing area, and I had to wander over there myself. After that, I had to ask someone where I was supposed to go, upon which I was directed to take the elevator to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, there was another reception desk, and I had to explain yet again that I had an 11:00AM appointment for color.

It was a couple of minutes after 11:00AM at that point, and I was told by one of the 3rd floor receptionists that my colorist was already "running late," and I could go pour myself a cup of water and sit on the sofa if I wanted. By 11:20AM, I was about to walk out... when a girl whom I had seen walking around the salon aimlessly finally came up to me and introduced herself. (She had the time to wander around the salon, but couldn't stop by and say Hello and apologize for being late?)

The colorist literally slapped color on my head. It got so bad that I had to tell her to stop flinging the dye all over the place, because it was getting all over my arms and face. She literally said, "It's no big deal! I have dye all over my arms... it'll come off." She didn't bother to give me a towel with hair color remover for at least 15 minutes... after which time, most of it had set into my skin.

Then, after she was finished dousing me with hair dye, she proceeded to tell me that she "didn't set timers," and she'd be back around "20 or 30 minutes." Well, 10 minutes is a big time difference in terms of hair dye.

After she came back in 30 minutes, she rinsed out my hair and then left me in the chair with my hair to drip into the sink. There were a few other colorists waiting for sinks, and I could see them giving me the evil eye to move. The colorist came back, wrapped my head in a towel, then told me I could go downstairs and find my hairstylist.

As I was walking to the elevator, the wet towel fell off of my head, so I went downstairs with dripping hair. When I went downstairs, I asked someone where I should go, and he pointed me to the cafe. It was quite humbling, sitting there like a wet dog while the other people in the cafe had dry hair.

When the stylist finally took me, I showed him a couple of pictures of the cut that I wanted. Of course, since he never saw me with dry hair, he had no idea what my normal hair texture was. As he was cutting my hair, all he was doing was making stupid jokes.

Him: "You look Korean."
Me: "Yeah, some people think so. Maybe I should just learn to speak the language."
Him: "Why? Because you like the Korean boys?"

Maybe he was nervous. Or trying to be friendly. But by that point, I was just ready to leave.

As soon as my haircut was done, I made one last stop at the snooty reception desk to pay, and ran out of there as fast as I could. Luckily, nobody asked at that time if I wanted to book another appointment, because they would have gotten an earful.

Let's just say that later that afternoon, I stopped by the 7th floor of Bergdorf's to John Barrett Salon to book an appointment with my former colorist at Ted Gibson, Jose. (By the way, if you are looking to get gorgeous highlights, go to Jose, who is now at John Barrett!)

Alas, the story doesn't end there...

Yesterday, I got a cryptic message from someone at Bumble & Bumble, wanting to know how my haircut was. I called him back today, and it really sealed my decision as far as never going to that salon again.

I was honest, but not overly harsh. I told him that unfortunately, it was a very unfriendly and industrial vibe. I gave him a few specific examples. I told him the haircut and color ending up being ok, but the experience was terrible, and even though it was recommended by a friend, that I would never go back.

His response? Nonchalance. He didn't even apologize.

Classic.

So, the moral of the story? Just stick with what you know and don't go with places that are overhyped. In the meantime, they should probably call Tabitha for a salon makeover!