I was looking for a new beautician that does hair extensions.  I had been interviewing quite a few over the phone in the past few days..I did a thorough search on the internet, When i ran across this one young lady whom i thought "Finally, my hair problem is solved." She said she did her own hair. When i noticed, at first, when we began to speak, she didn't come across as a very "professional person".   I thought, what the heck, that's just personality, it sounds like she knows her stuff.

I'm learning in this field, there are a lot of folks that "talk the talk"..The next morning i called to confirm the appt. and she was so "grateful", i couldn't get her off the phone. It took about 1 hour to get the instructions on how to get to her "salon".  Then something struck me funny, and i asked "Is this a professional salon?" and she replied, "No, i'm in a townhouse, i had a problem with my man, and I lost it all," etc.  I thought, "oh sh*t"..I became curious and began asking other questions, i.e., clientele, references.

I drove to the "shop".  and yes, it was a townhouse, alright. I stood there in utter disbelief.  The place was in a run down neighborhood. When i knocked on the door, it opened and the smell of mildew hit me.  It was dark inside and i looked over to the front picture window, which was covered by a sheet. I figured, "heck, you've come this far, might as well go all the way."  and i did.  the further i went into the place, the more crestfallen i became.  Filthy, tarps were hanging out on the bannisters coming into the front room. the carpet had a dank smell, no lights. She came out of the darkness, smiled and extended her hand, I almost screamed.

The first thing i noticed was her hair.  she was wearing extensions.  and it was painfully obvious. Her hair wasn't permed to match the texture of the other hair.  and she just let it sit up there for the whole world to look at.  When she noticed i was gawking at her hairline, she grabbed a bang piece and yanked her hair forward to cover it.

Some Agency called on the phone, and it sounded as if she was being questioned about having clientele in the house.  Her answer was an adamnant "no."  My ears are excellent.  So I kept that as a mental note.  another reason to get the heck out as quickly as possible.

We walked into her salon, which wound up being the kitchen after we made it past the obstacle course and talked shop.  The sunlight made her look even worse.  dark circles under the eyes, bad teeth, and blotchy skin.  There were pots and pans in the sink, dirty dishes, the cabinets had knobs missing, some of the paneling of the drawers was sheared off completely, and strangely again, more tarps just hanging off the sink, and hanging in the laundry room.  The place was a mess, and she claimed that everything she uses on her client's head was "sanitized." I found that part pretty hard to swallow.  She grabbed my hair in the front, examined it and said, these extensions don't look natural at all.  I looked at her and said, that's MY hair.  The extensions were in the back.

then she began belittling my old beautician's work.  and said the hair i had bought was terrible, and tried to sell me her brand.  She then asked for a $100.00 deposit to buy the hair, plus 1/2 of $500.00 for her work.  She told me, that if i go elsewhere, I'll be back to see her, because her work was better.

She also claimed to have clients from "Europe", "Paris", & "Italy", she might have had clients that went to those places, but i doubt very seriously if someone from europe would come all the way to that place...unless it's for a damn good crack hit.

An interracial couple came to the door, which gave me a good excuse to high tail it out of there.  I told her i'd rather look around, first.  When the couple saw me coming out, they exclaimed how nice my hair looked..and when she thought  i was out of earshot - that crack-head took all of the credit.  I looked back at her, and there she was beaming at them with pride, as if she had just done my hair.

the best beauticians i have ever met never "put down" other people's work.  She claimed that "net weaving" was bad for the hair, the hair I bought from a very trusted establishment was crap.  And the place she buys her hair from was in New York, then it was Chicago, then New York, again..

Needless to say, I was polite enough to call her back to inform her later that i had finally found another beautician that I was far more comfortable with.. I have, thank gawd...and it was the first time that she didn't have much to say.

Wow!

That scenario sounds exactly like the place I went to when I first started getting weaves!

I went to beauty school with a lady who did hair weaving and had a similar set up in her house in a shady part of town.  I must say she did excellent work (when she wasn't stoned)  and my weaves always looked great, but I was always afraid of traveling to that neighborhood.

It's funny, someone called my salon the other day asking for info about extensions, and then she asked me if I worked out of a salon or my house.   I thought that was an odd question, but I guess it's not so uncommon.  I would never work out of my house, I need my own private space away from my work life.

Wow what city and state?

Amm~ you crack me up!

Thanks ladies.  No, this is all true.  the city and state is San Jose, CA.  She's also on the internet under http://www.aaahairextensions5u.com - www.aaahairextensions5u.com .  She claims she owned 5 shops in the past, but she "got involved" with some guy and "lost it all".

I should have known better because there really are no photos or anything.  Plus some new product line called bridge extensions system that she claims she will be teaching to beauticians. (apparently, she will be opening a school to do this).  She also claims she would be opening a hair factory because she felt she had far better experience in processing hair than any hair factory she's ever "visited".   Also claimed she would be working in a doctor's office for chemo therapy patients, as well, and also claimed to have done extensions on up to 10 clients a day.  When i asked her how long it takes her to put in extensions she claimed 2 1/2 hours.  Which means she works about 25 hours a day.  When i brought that up she nixed it down to 5 clients a day.."but when i first started out.." Plus in a few weeks a "visit" to relatives in Texas turns into a "board meeting" for the new hair factory they're going to be building.  Plus in 3 weeks her house would be remodeled..when i asked if "what if i wanted to make an appointment with you in three weeks and the place is being 'remodeled'? her answer was "I'll figure something out."  great, we would probably head over to the landlord's house and hangout there to get my hair done.

And she had no idea on how to work her fax machine.  Which happened to be sitting over on the couch with the cords going over the back of it into an outlet.  Now if  a person is going to a "board meeting" regarding a factory..how can you NOT know how to work a fax machine?  Which was actually covered in filth, and hadn't been cleaned since the Fat Boyz broke up.

All true.  I sat in disbelief wondering to myself.."has it come to this?"  I found someone else on the internet with photos of her clients. The location of the shop, and the inside of the place as well.  I also asked for references, etc. And she seemed very confident with her work. I can't say i really wasted a day, i learned a lot.  And with my replies to this other strange beautician, i'm sure she's learned a lot as well.

and you are right, i don't think it's very professional to work out of one's house.  Unless it's really necessary.  This beautician said she was doing it to save money.  Heck, if you have all of this "business", why even worry about money?

"(Curious why it was important that the couple at the door was interracial, though.)"

I was thinking the same thing

Overall though it seems you did a good job getting out of there.  Even though a lot of people work out of their homes its not trashy for when people come over, nor do we put down/take credit for other peoples work. 

you know ladies..i had to think about it..it really has nothing to do with anything...I guess i was giving a vivid description on the events..and hope i have not offended anyone with my "eye for detail".  But i have to say the woman was wearing a really nice outfit..i bet they had a shock when they walked in.  Thanks again.

"(Curious why it was important that the couple at the door was interracial, though.)"

ahhh posted at the same time.... you answered

these things always catch my attention too (kalika and Rae) as I am a mother of an interracial child. Sometimes I am offended but I am used to it now ( I realize that it is not always meant to be offensive)

you ladies are too much!  thanks for the compliments and corrections..heck, i should know better! i'm black indian/cajun and my boyfriend is a northern italian!  those eyes..and when he shaves his head, i think he looks even better.

Thanks for the referrals, rae..i think i'll call them up..i'd like to see a beautician that sees clients "by appt. only"..it would be nice.  When the first person i interviewed said "our clients are HAPPY to give up their seat to a new walk-in." i said good bye.

I don't have all day..and i'll be dipped and rotated if they think i'm going to pay good money to have someone take my seat, and time.  I'm a business woman!

"When the first person i interviewed said "our clients are HAPPY to give up their seat to a new walk-in." i said good bye."

What??? I have never heard of anything like that!

yep, the place is on Mission Blvd. and it's called Ms. Sarah's beauty salon.  I told the young lady that I would not be HAPPY to give up my seat to someone..I don't have that kind of time..

This is not an uncommon practice. My ex husband used to tell me, "oh, you have an appt. at 10:00 tomorrow morning? I'll see you tomorrow night."  And it was true.  I was such a "nice" person, that whenever my beautician was braiding my hair, and some one came in for a touch up, or perm, I would get bumped.  Her reasoning was that braiding takes hours, whereas a perm doesn't take very long. Thus, me, and several "walk-ins" would play musical chairs, as she rotated us between the shampoo bowl, the drier, and the styling chair.

There have been times i would come in at sun up and came home after dark..I was always of afraid of crossing the young lady, or saying "no", because it was hard to find beauticians that did braids.

One day in July, i was bumped..and it was in a pretty bad neighborhood on a busy street.  University Avenue in San Diego. There was this old derelict in a dirty Santa Claus suit and a grocery basket that would go down one side of the street, come back up on the other side.  What was so embarrassing was Janice had braided half of my head, when several walk-ins came in off and on that day.  I couldn't get up and leave because my head was half-done. Thus, i had braids on one side, and a huge afro puff on the other.  I was sat in a WINDOW chair..for everyone to look in as they passed the shop.  Yep, that was me, looking like a half bred pearooster sitting on a perch in the beauty salon window with tail feathers up on one side of my head.  Looking at Santa, going uuuup and dooown the damn street.  Aaaall daaaay loooong. 

Over the years i've learned to ask for "by appt. only".  If someone comes in on my appt., and the beautician doesn't speak up - I will.  This saves her from losing a potential client, and they can say i'm the bad guy.  Believe it or not, some beauticians won't say a word when this does occur.  Each client is money..and yes, there are folks that "thought i'd drop by", while the beautician is seeing clients.  Or "have an emergency"..instead of calling, they figure they can muscle their way into the chair.

I must add, that to this day, whenever i see anyone in a santa suit, i laugh a bit.

femmemuscle wrote: Over the years i've learned to ask for "by appt. only".  If someone comes in on my appt., and the beautician doesn't speak up - I will.

I work BY APPT ONLY and LOCK my door to anyone else.  One day, I booked a consult for 1 hour.  The client comes in 15 mins. late.  By the time she makes up her mind on which hair extension method she wants, it has taken her over 2 hours long!

My next client was sure pissed off- but kept her cool.

After my experiences with client #1, who just turned out to be a big complainer- and it wasn't just with hair, it was with life- {she even bribed another client of mine}  I realized that this is the kind of person she really is .  That's too bad...

femmemuscle wrote: This saves her from losing a potential client, and they can say i'm the bad guy.  Believe it or not, some beauticians won't say a word when this does occur.  Each client is money..and yes, there are folks that "thought i'd drop by", while the beautician is seeing clients.

Well, I speak up!  Luckily for me, I own my own business- so I make my own rules.

To make a long story short, I peacefully ended my relationship with client#1.  I will not let her take advantage of my time and my other client's time.  For my business, NO AMOUNT OF HER MONEY IS WORTH THE PAIN AND THE SACRIFICE.  {Lisa, can you imagine that she made me do 2 wefts each 6 inches long, charged her for a 30 minute job and it turned out to be a 5 hour job? }

I give VIP priviledges to excellent customers, just like airlines do for their FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS

-Charlene

PS. Client #1 was referred to me by one of the salons.  She wears the 'prehistoric' methods.  She never did her online researches so she did not fully appreciate the latest technological methods offered today.  Too bad...  But Thank God I don't have to do her hair anymore yippie!!!!!