Ext. Contracts

So sorry Cool that you're having this most trouble just to get a rockin' hair do!

Good luck to you!

Cool, you definitely have a case on the basis that she didn't give you what you paid for (i.e. silky hair instead of wavy/curly). Even though you agreed to let her put it in your hair, she gave you false information by saying it would match after washing. And you -definitely- have a case in the second instance, where you paid her and she -didn't show up-. That's just theft.

So you definitely have grounds for a case. The real question is, is it worth it? Civil cases are actually really expensive, in terms of court fees and time, even if you represent yourself (instead of getting a lawyer). How much are you out to this stylist/salon? It might also be worth getting a consultation with an attorney and showing them the facts and getting their opinion- they may know about other options to put pressure on the salon and basically scare them into giving you your money back. :)

And, even if you decide not to go after the money because it'd be too much trouble, definitely don't let them get away with it. Write to your cosmetology board (since the lady works at a salon), the Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Beaureau, and maybe even your local newspaper. Oh, and definitely post a review of them online, naming names- other customers deserve to know that they won't ge tthier money's worth if they go to this salon.

-Rae

I went through something similar. I feel for you.

No, but I do have my cancelled check with notes in the *memo*

 

Bridget,

Thanks for replying.

This is in California.  I haven't taken her to court yet, that is my next step.  And there was NO CONTRACT which is why I believe  I am entitled to at least a partial refund.  And you're right I really don't want her to redo them, but I thought I would least give her the benefit of thr doubt and a second chance.  I no longer think that way.  Now I just want my money back!!! 

No I am not wearing the extensions.  I cut them short that same day (after taking photographs) so that I could put a wig on!!!  If I wanted to wear wigs, I wouldn't have gotten extensions!!! 

 I had cancer in 2003, lost my hair and the whole nine.  I'm tired of wearing wigs and being "stuck" with style, and tired of running to "get my hair" when someone knocks at the door, or living in fear that somebody might snatchit off in public!!!!  Which is why I opted for extensins!

She used the fusion method and I had to take them down myself, because supposedly the hair she ordered for the re-do didn't come when she expected it and she was leaving town....which meant leaving me with that mess on my head for a week!! So I took the time and took them out with mineral oil and pliers...I did not damage to my hair!

I'm just trying to get a little advice on if it would be worth while to take her to court or should I just chauk it up as a loss and learn my lesson?

I have a question for you ladies.  I recently had a girl come to my house to put in extensions and they were horrible.  I'm a black woman and my hair is natural...no chemicals whatsoever because I had chemo and now I have this baby soft wavy/curly hair that I refuse to damage with chemicals... anyway. I asked for wavy hair, she shows up at my house with straight hair stating that they didn't have wavy hair in the length I desired.  I'm thinking she could've called and told me this.  But she said that in her experience the hair waves up a bit so I let her put them in.  Of course she flat ironed my hair first and I told her my hair didn't hold heat well.....anyway it flat ironed ok but i told her again that my hair didn't hold heat well.  When she finished it looked nice.  Then I turned on the shower.....had to go out and show off my new do!  The steam from the shower hit my hair (not even in the shower yet mind you) and there  went my natural hair back to its original state.  I immediately called the stylist and informed her what happened  since she hadn't been gone 15 minutes.  She told me to try and work with it...you know keep flat ironing my hair daily!  I told her this was not going to work, the whole point was less maintenance.  She said she would re-do it.  I put a stop payment on the check, because I didn't want to pay until the finished product. 

She pressed charges, we talked it out, she promised to re-do my hair, gave her another check, made an appointment for he rto come to my house again, didn't happen, tried to contact, no luck. Finally threatened to take her to court, she called back saying no refunds!  Is this automatically assumed?  I feel that since it was never discussed then I'm entitled.  I'm even willing to compromise...either she comes and redoes it or at least give me 50% of my money back.  Her salon manage refuses to compromise on the money and won't allow her to come to my house to redo my hair, wants me to drive an hour to the salon!!!!!

Do I have a case for court?  What should I do?  Please give me some advice!!!

Wowza Scotchy! u gut ESP?
Just went to Rae's and added it to my list!
I think Rae summed this all up for us!

PS...Thanks Scothchy!
Gna

One more thing, about take-down, especially with fusion or loc methods: I'd definitely use a waiver for that and charge by the hour, because it could take forever to remove what someone else did without destroying the client's hair. Also, I'd require the client to start dousing their hair in oils, silicones, conditioners and the rest days before the removal.

When I switched from fusion to pinchbraids, my new (pinchbraid) stylist really didn't want to do the removal, and I can understand why! Who would want to deal with some client who's freaking out because all her hair's been destroyed? So I actually removed them myself, with much more success than my previous removal by my previous (fusion) stylist.

If I had enough clients, I don't think I'd do take-down of a potentially damaging method at all. God knows how much drama you'll be in for. If you're trying to build a clientele, though, it can be hard to turn people down at the beginning....

:)

And two quotes I think are very valid as very as doing ethical business goes:

"Live together like brothers, but do business like strangers." -Arabic proverb

"In business transactions, sometimes there are conflicts that are the fault of one person's unethical behavior or negligence, and then sometimes there are simply disagreements between reasonable people. Any business contract must allow for disagreements between reasonable people." -my legal advisor (who just so happens to be my mother )

Longerthanlong: it -sounds- scary, yeah, but there's a reason behind it. There are some shady stylists out there, but there are also plenty of shady customers! I don't like to talk about this, because it sounds like I'm *****ing about people behind their back, but just to demonstrate how such a thing can happen:

I did loose extensions (synthetic pinchbraids) for a client. It took many hours of work, and looked good when I was finished. Her hair was very short around the nape and ears, so I told her she might lose a few braids, especially there. She seemed to be happy with the finished product. A week later I got an email from her saying, "By the way, six of the braids fell out. So I took out the rest." For comparison, a full head of pinchbraids involves nearly 100 braids. 6 is barely enough to make a difference.

So I thought to myself, "Well at least she's not demanding her money back." Little did I know- a week later I got a notice from my bank saying that she had put a stop payment on the check she paid me with. Thank god she didn't demand her deposit back, but still, the labor charge was quite a bit of money that I was out of, through no fault of my own. So I have an aneurysm, call my mom, and she advises me on the steps to start taking. I threatened her left, right, and center with legal action (all very civilly, of course- I don't like being rude), and eventually she agreed that taking the braids out was a stupid thing to do, but that if she didn't have the extensions anymore, she didn't want to have to pay for them either. Mind you, that is a fully valid statement- in her interests. She wasn't evil or greedy, just not considerate of my needs (specifically, my need to get paid for my work). So I eventually got her to agree to split the money. She returned half of it, in cash, and we haven't had contact since.

So: not my fault, but I still took a 25% loss and expended considerable effort getting it back. Not to mention that there are clients who don't listen to/follow the aftercare instructions and decide that something is wrong with your work or the hair. I'm sure every extensionist ever has had a "problem customer". In a way, it's good, because it makes us realize that we need to protect ourselves.

The steps I took started with defining what I would be willing to do to help a customer out. I'm not willing to give people refunds- mainly because I'm simply not financially solvent enough, but also because it's too easy for a client to give up on their hair and say, "Oh, something must be wrong, take it all out and give me my money back."

What I -do- have is a fix-it guarantee. If something goes wrong with a client's head, I will fix or re-do the extensions for free. I haven't defined this yet in terms of defective hair. I know the synth I use reasonably well, but human is still relatively new to me, so I dunno. I should define that eventually. And of course, if the client doesn't follow my aftercare instructions, doesn't contact me for help with the perceived problem, doesn't do the things I then recommend, or pursues a remedy other than one I have recommended...then I'm no longer responsible. 'Cause customers can do some silly things when they listen to friends who think they know how to do hair.

If you're interested in the details of my policy, they're on my website, partly under "Location" and in more detail under the aftercare pages for loose hair, braids, and dreads. Other stylists are also welcome to copy the wording, if you like it.

As far as colorists go; no, they don't have cusomter sign a contract, but they probably have a policy on file in case something happens, and/or business insurance. As a customer, it's your responsibility to ask if they have such a policy- similar to asking what a store's return policy is before buying clothes. Otherwise, you could try to sue them, but they could pull out their refund policy and say, "If you wanted to know our policy, you should have asked." In most states, as long as they tell you the business' policy when you ask them (that is, they're not secret about it), they can hold you to that policy without having you actually sign a contract. In short, if it concerns you, be sure to ask.

-Rae

(edited to fix spelling)


Edited by zapevaj

Oh, Bridget--your original question was whether anyone had used a contract or signed one.

I've been to three extensionists, and one had me sign a contract. And frankly, I would never sign that kind of contract again. It was exactly what Julie said--"you sign your hair away." I also heard of a salon that has you sign a contract that you have to keep going back to them for a minimum of a year. That's total insanity.

I would have no problem, however, signing a contract that said the deposit was due in advance and was nonrefundable. I'm not sure you need a contract to establish that though. If someone gives you, say, $500 for some hair, and you give them a receipt for it, that seems like a pretty clear transaction--they've actually purchased a product from you, and if they decide not to go through with it, you can just send them the hair or something. Again, I'm not sure a contract would be needed, but then again, I'm not an attorney!

:)