I scheduled an appointment and selected the advertised special shown on their website to receive free hair when having kinky twist braids. Upon arrival the salon owner, Mariam handed me an invoice for the hair braiding fee of $150, stating that payment is expected before service is performed. I paid and was given a receipt. Mariam brought out a stack of unpackaged hair and placed on a table in front of me and after combing out my hair with a hot comb to relax it a bit, parted the head in four sections and three persons started braiding, with Mariam facing me, working on the front of section.
After about one hour of braiding, Mariam pointed out to me a very small bit of hair on the table and indicated that she has run out of hair and I will have to purchase another pack of hair for $10. When I reminded her that their website indicated free hair without stating any limitations, she said the limit for the free hair is two packs of hair which was a surprise to me since I saw her bring a big stack of hair that was not in a package. When I insisted on an explanation for this sudden request, she explained that my hair is thin and since she had been late coming to open the salon causing me to have to wait outside, she wanted to give me an free upgrade from the advertised sale, requiring the use of more hair, causing her to run out of hair. I continued to try to understand her various explanations, so she said we had such a nice rapport that she wanted to do me a favor and give me a better style which used more hair than had been allotted. All the while she was indicating that the shortage of hair was ocurring in the front and I do not have to purchase more hair but the style will not come out right. Now in a panick since she is focusing on the front of my head which will display any flaw, while in my mind struggling to comprehend why an experienced hair braider would allow any shortage to be allotted to the front, I tried to help by asking if she was referring to a small round thinning spot on the top of my head that she could clearly see during the assessment of my hair before starting the work, so I asked her why did she not allow any shortage of hair product that would cause imperfection be toward the back of the head where it would be concealed. All the while she is talking to me I did not realize that the two other stylists had sufficient hair, so as I continued to question her she went into an explanation that the hair is divided by four for each of the sections that the scalp was divided and that it is the front section that she was completing that ran out of hair product. One of the other hair braiders that was doing my hair did attempted to help out with the situation when she realized that I was not accepting the demands to pay for more hair or allow the front of my head to be incomplete, so she said to Mariam that she will give Mariam some of her alloted hair to complete the front.
With all of this going on, with more people arrivin in the salon and none of them patrons getting their hair done and with a language being spoken that I could not understand, I felt alone and confronted and gang-up on, so I decided to call my daughter for her input since she is accustomed to getting her hair braided and might have some input that will help me see if I was being unreasonable in expecting that a hairstylist that had an opportunity to assess the size of my head and the thickness or thinness of my hair, after an hour of braiding, stops and presents this scenario to me. I made the call and could not get my daughter on the line, so I kept dialing and Mariam became angry and asked me if I intend to allow them to complete my hair because I have to option to get my money back. I said ok, I will take that option. She then stated that first they would have to remove the hair that was braided into my head thus far. I said, ok, but first I will have to call the police to assist me with this situation.
I called the police and was told my option is to have an officer come out and document the issue as it is a civil matter and I was given a number to call to dispatch the officer. Before I could dial the number, Mariam handed me the phone stating that her husband is on the line and wanted to speak with me. I said no problem and he begged me not to call the police, and that since there was a miscommunication they will pay for the the additional hair. I stated ok, I will not call the police since his offer was a good business decision.
As they continued my hair, Mariam promptly moved from her position of facing me and moved the table with the hair products from my line of sight and. Another person arrived and was included in completing my hair, all continuing to hold conversations in their language, which I took in stride. Yet another person arrived and sat within my personal space, facing me as they all continued holding conversations in their language. I was the only patron at the time and I felt almost kidnapped and surrounded.
When I daughter called and asked what I wanted, I told her I already handled the matter and will get into details later, but as they were talking another language, I told my daughter that it is times like these that I wished she spoke spanish, a language that I speak, so that I could relate the story to her right then and there. She was with a co-worker that speaks spanish so she put her on the phone and I related the story as it happened and it gave me a bit of peace from the feeling of being ganged-up on. The reaminder of the procedure went on uneventfully and when I finished I was given a mirror and asked to look at the work. I was apparently shaking from the entire ordeal so one of the persons that were surrounding me mockingly said to me in spanish, lady, you are still very nervous. I ignored her, said thank you and have a good day to all and walked out of the salon.
At that point I realized that they know that they were abusing me and scamming me so I texted her my intention to contact the Texas Department of Professional Regulation but I will be willing to speak about the issue since most times when consumers complain they state that they should first take their complaint to the merchant first. I also became concerned about what they would do with my contact information which they collected from me at the beginning of my appointment. I requested that the form that they had me fill out with my email address and the home address of the person that I am living with in Texas be returned to me.
As a result of my text, Mariam’s husband called me and left a voicemail stating that the document will not be returned to me and asking to speak in order to resolve the issue. I told him I wanted to discuss it but in writing. He asked me what is the scam that I am referring to and I tried to tell him that I was wronged and that the treatment that in my 38 years in this country I had never been subjected to such treatment while receiving services in a place of business, and that the reason our country regulates businesses is to protect the consumer, and that the business has rights and responsibilities and the consumer does have recourse of which I will avail myself. I was never able to give him the full story because he texted me that if I cannot tell him in one word what the scam is I should not waste his time.
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