Hair Cut Fiasco

[Lee_Requa]

I live in Vacaville California, I am Deaf (though I do have a cochlear implant) and I had long hair. I went to a beauty salon to have 4 inches taken off the bottom of my hair and instead of just taking off the 4 inches she also took large chunks out of my hair. In some areas 18 inches of hair is missing. I loved my hair I had been growing it for 12 years and now it looks awful.

Can I take the beautician to small claims court and get some compensation for this mess?

Thank you in advance,
Lee

 

[BB_Wolfe]

I don't think that your being deaf has any bearing on this situation unless she chopped off your locks out of spite/envy of your condition...

And, since you couldn't verbally tell her what you wanted done, I assume you wrote it in plain english on a sheet of paper, what did that paper say?

Something is missing.

 

[enjay]

Lee, I hope it was just miscommunication and not pure spite. I don't know the legal answer to your question but I hope that you do have some recourse.

BB_Wolfe - most deaf people speak and do it quite well.

 

[BB_Wolfe]

Enjay~

I actually though of the speech part being wrong 1/100th of a second after I posted.. my bad.

 

[enjay]

ok, I'm no longer all irritated.

 

[Ladynred]

Have you gone back to the salon with your complaint ?
You should at least start there.

 

[Lee_Requa]

First of all regarding my Deafness. I lost my hearing 3 years ago so I don’t sound like a Deaf person and I can articulate quite well. What I do have a problem with is understanding what people are saying I am able to lip read but I will admit it’s awfully difficult sometimes.

Anyway, I finally was able to meet with the owner of the Salon today (Wednesday 5/14/03). I had been trying for several days to meet with her, finally today I was successful. I showed her what damage was done to my hair and it did not seem to bother her in the least.

I explained to the owner how I had asked the beautician to take only 4 inches off the bottom of my hair and trim my bangs. I then showed her how the beautician had taken out a several sections of hair, in some areas as much as 18 inches was missing. I also showed her how the front is not even the same length! (The right side touches the top of my shoulder the left side is about one inch above my shoulder.) She looked at my hair and casually said “she just layered”. Then I was shocked when she told me that it was completely my fault that the beautician layered my hair. According to owner of the salon when I asked the beautician to take off only 4 inches off the bottom of my hair and trim my bangs I was not specific enough. And that if I did not want my hair layered I should have specifically said do not layer my hair. I could not believe what I was hearing – it’s my fault because I did not say “do not layer my hair”. To me that seem ludicrous how was I suppose to know that the beautician was even thinking about layering my hair and if that was what she was trying to do she really did a lousy job of it anyway.

I guess my question is would I be able to get some compensation for the damage done to my hair if I took the beautician to small claims court?


Thanks in advance,
Lee

 

[Ladynred]

It is entirely possible, yes. However, since your hair is going to grow out, you may want to get someone to take pictures of the way it is right now in order to be able to show them if requested.

The salon owner is full of it. I get my hair done regularly and never have I ever heard of a beautician layering someone's hair 'just because'. This is not a 'procedural' thing, when you requested 4 inches off the bottom and trimming your bangs, that's ALL the beautician should have done. Layering is a choice, not some 'standard procedure' when cutting hair !!! My hair IS layered, but that's because my hairdresser and I talked about what I wanted and to achieve the style I wear, you have to layer. That wouldn't be true if you only wear it straight.

I'd go talk to someone else at another salon to get a second opinion on what was done versus what you specifically requested. I think you'll find that hairdressers do NOT layer your hair just because you sat in their chair and asked for a trim. Clearly you have a valid complaint.

 

[JETX]

"Can I take the beautician to small claims court and get some compensation for this mess?"
*** If you feel that the beautician was negligent (or malicious) you can file a suit against her in small claims. However, your only claim would be for the value of your costs for 'repairing' the damage. For example, if you paid $20 for the haircut, and then paid another $40 to someone else to 'fix' it, your only damages are $20.
You cannot claim for 'emotional damages'.

 

[gobonas99]

JETX - how does that math work? You spend $20 on a hair cut, which they botched, and it costs you another $40 to have it fixed. But you can only recover $20? Wouldn't your damages be $40 because if it had been done correctly in the first place, it would have only cost $20, not $60? I'm confused....

 

[JETX]

You are correct. The damages would be $40....
I really don't know why I typed the $20 instead of $40.
I was trying to point out that the claimant wouldn't be able to recover the FULL costs of both treatments..... only that for the 'damages'.

Further, I was trying to show that, unless the damage were more permanent, the courts would not allow for 'emotional' issues or 'bad hair days'.

 

[HomeGuru]

If a female judge is having a bad hair, watch out.

 

[Lee_Requa]

First let me say thank you so very much for the feedback I really appreciate it. I especially appreciate the way Ladynred said that layering hair was not a procedural thing. The shop owner really made me feel like it was all my fault because I did not tell the beautician not to layer my hair so thank you for vindicating me.

Since I only paid $30.00 for the hair cut and right now I am to gun-shy to let any one else cut my hair it’s probably not worth my time and energy to go to small claims court. I was wondering if I should I pursue another avenue such as Better Business Bureau or the State Licensing Board?

Thanks,
Lee

 

[HomeGuru]

You certainly can avail yourself to those options.

 

[gobonas99]

I think probably the best option would be merely to never go to that salon again. And tell everyone you know to stay away from it as well. I don't know anyone who looks up a salon with the BBB before they go get a haircut, so word of mouth is probably the easiest way to warn people.

Try another salon and see if they can fix your hair. Who knows! You might like shorter hair. It definitely make your head feel a hundred times lighter. And it is much easier to manage and style. And if you don't like it, you can grow it back out!