You get what you pay for

Well about a month ago this LOVELY, very cute, stylish chickie comes into my workplace and tells us that she is offering a Promotional Package at their new Salon that has just opened in our Plaza. She says that they are offering, ONLY TODAY, this wonderful package that includes a hair cut, colour, manicure AND pedicure for only...$58.95!! OMG how could I say no to that?? A new hairstyle? I sure could use one!! and colour?? AND pretty nails?? sign me UP!!! and I RAN for my scorching Visa.

So my first appointment for the haircut was yesterday. I arrive at 2pm and I am VERY underwhelmed at the first appearance of this "salon". Dry wall has thrown up and painted this canary yellow colour and there is a bundle of pink plastic flowers thrown in a vase on an old, wooden table. There was no one initially in the front when I came in but then I hear this voice "JUST A SECOND!!" bellow from the back. Well a VERY buxom brunette appears and says "yeah?" and I say "umm Janis for 2pm?" and she looks at the book like my name never existed. She then looks up and says "oh yeah...*Trish* will be here in a sec". Now I say *Trish* because I never actually heard a name. I was still in absolute shock of how this whole appointment was going down. So then *Trish* appears from the back. A tiny, early 20 something chick who says "Janis? ya come with me." So I follow like a lamb to slaughter...

Now every salon I have EVER gone to first takes you to the chair with DRY hair and you discuss what style you are going for and then move onto the wash basin for the shampoo. Evidently *Trish* missed that course in hairstyling school and just takes me RIGHT to the sink and in LITERALLY 1 minute since I've entered the place, I am lying back with some lukewarm water being sprayed on my hair. Why did I sit there? Why didn't I speak up and say "Hey! are we going to discuss my hairstyle first?"...who knows....I will put it all down to traumatic stress syndrome (notice I omitted the "POST" ).

So we move onto the haircutting chair where the girl from the front is hanging out, looking at hairstyling products in a magazine and reviewing them with *Trish*. I am sitting there still in a dazed stupor. *Trish* then says "So what are we going for today?" and I manage to get out that I want an inverted bob and she messes up my sopping hair and says "hmmm...ok" and starts cutting.

The entire cut lasted maybe 20 mins during which we had the most painful dialogue. The chickie from the front was still hanging around and telling me these unbelievable stories of how many times her children have been to the ER in the last week. I acted like I understood and knew my ER docs by their first names as well. I just wanted OUT of this hell hole. OH and I have almost forgotten the bestest part! As I am sitting there enduring this "experience" *Trish* jumps back and says "EWWW!" and I look to see what she is gasping at. Well it was a friendly little RAT scurrying by the window as I sat there, mouth agape. Maybe he had an earlier appointment in another chair.

So the morale of the story is you DO get what you pay for. When I saw this cute, pretty little thing come into the office I thought "well if SHE works there it must be hip and happening!". During my entire time there I never saw the girl and now wonder if they hired her to go around and suck in clients for this "promo" package. At any rate I was taken. I may still have my nails done just on the principal that I DID pay for it. Hell, if they are bad I can wear socks and gloves.

Think I will be calling my regular hairstylist to try and correct my new "hairstyle".