New Fashion Hair Salon — Attraction in Champaign

!!!!! DO NOT get your hair done here if you have long hair, especially if you are a man!! I walked in with shoulder-length hair and just wanted my bangs done and walked out with a horrible mullet that looked so awful that I ended up having to cut it all off.

I came in and told the barber explicitly that I wanted to leave the long hair alone and that I just wanted to try out some new bangs. He recommended that I shorten the long hair by 50%, to which I refused and insisted that I wanted the long hair left alone. He then recommended I cut layers, and again I refused and told him I wanted it left alone. He finally suggested that he only thin out parts of my hair, and only on the sides, and I agreed. Instead, he cut off the sides almost entirely. I went from 14 in. to 1.5 in. I told him he took off the sides completely against my wishes and he initially denied it, but given it was immediately visually obvious, he then tried to justify that if I had kept the sides long, it wouldn't look as puffy, and that I would look "girly".

In other words, he knew what I wanted, and he intentionally ignored me because he thought it would look better, and I guess thought I would change my mind and like it once I saw it??? Two years worth of hair, gone on a whim, without so much as a single confirmation. I suspect the reason he thought he could get away with it was because I couldn't see without my glasses, so I had no idea what he was doing.

He also ended up shortening my back hair by ~30% despite, again, me telling him I didn't want it trimmed at all, and thinned it out by like 60%, such that I could barely even tie it back into a bun anymore. I've attached an image of the mullet he gave me. The thing is, prior to starting, he showed me an image of something like this and asked me if I wanted this style of haircut, or if I wanted my hair to be puffier and I said no. Explicitly. I made it very clear that was not that kind of hair I wanted. He KNEW that was not the hair I wanted. But he chose to go against my wishes without telling me, and now my hair is completely ruined, and I can either just tear off the bandaid and cut it all off (I did), or wait months or years for it to grow back long enough to look natural.

While they have good technique, and the shop is clean, they absolutely do not listen to your preferences and will not hesitate on RUINING your hair without asking, even when the consequence of that is having to wait TWO YEARS to grow it back. The worst part is, I asked for curtain bangs. He didn't even give me curtain bangs!!

DO NOT GO HERE!!!!

Edit: The owner has responded with a snakelike response as expected. They first start by lying that I was of "low mood" from the start, and an ambiguous claim that either I was upset because of the wait, or was forced to wait because I was so upset and needed space? This is blatantly untrue. I walked in and politely asked if walk-ins were okay, and said 30 minutes was fine, with nothing but polite smiles all the way through. They also lie and claim I shouted at a girl with inappropriate language, which apparently seriously affected her emotionally. That is also not the case. I told her flatly that I walked into the store and had my shoulder-length hair ruined, which was true, and to avoid going here. The thinly veiled suggestion that I am mentally ill is also an insane thing to remark about a customer with a complaint.

The final lie is that my sides were "self cut" and that I had requested trimming. This is also blatantly untrue. I have been seeing a separate stylist for the last year. Even if it were true, it would be impossible to know, yet the owner states it as fact, once again revealing his manipulative and deceitful nature. To be clear, I had insisted multiple times not to touch any of my long hair, despite his pressuring. The barber was the one who suggested thinning, and by specifically 20%. Right off the bat, the thinning was a lie, as was 20%. But even his description as trimming is absurdly misleading. Cutting 6-8 inch hair into 1-1.5 is not trimming....

AVOID THIS PLACE! This salon has no regard for their customers' time or appointments. I made a reservation by phone with the owner directly, expecting a smooth experience, but the owner either double-booked the time or prioritized random walk-ins. As a result, I was asked to either return in an hour or have another person (not sure if a trainee) handle my haircut. What’s the point of making a reservation if they can’t honor it? It is a waste of my time to wait/come back just to fit for the owner's schedule, while I already have the reservation. As I directly talked to the owner when making the reservation, I expected whoever answered the phone would provide the service. Otherwise, the owner should have made it clear on the phone there was a choice of stylist, so that the customer knows what to expect. They seriously need to improve their respect for customers, as well as their overall appointment management. RESPONSE to OWNER'S UNTRUTHFUL CLAIMS: I did not make loud noises or slam the door. Do not make things up. I voiced my frustration calmly, and I did so because I felt my time and effort were disregarded. Besides. I directly talked to the owner over the phone when making the reservation, asking if "YOU" have availability and "YOU" said YES. You did not say "oh no, I am booked and our other stylist Musk is available. Will it be okay for you?" The owner's response is just trying to deflect responsibility onto others, rather than admitting their problems. I provided my honest feedback about the service. Reviews exist to share experiences with potential customers. The owner's attempt to discredit me by faking my "morality" problem is very unprofessional. Rather than twisting things, it would have been more productive to address the core issue of your business: improve your reservation management, show respect to customers,...

Let me start with the positive, which is what matters: the haircut was great! This is the best haircut I've gotten in CU and I've tried four other places (thanks!). Musk clearly knows how to cut hair and he really paid attention to the details. Also, he considered the photos I had uploaded when I booked the haircut, which honestly I didn't expect. Finally, note that they wash your hair, which was a first. And the price is pretty reasonable for the whole deal they offer.

Now, to the negatives. They are minor, but they're a bunch. First, there was a pretty bad smell. I've never encountered a barbershop that smells bad, and it was strong too, meaning, I kept sensing it throughout my whole visit. Second, I think you guys could be a little warmer in how you interact with clients. Sure, you may call this "American idiosyncrasies" or whatever, but I think people here are used to be greeted when they enter a place. Like "hi, what is your name?" or "How are you doing today?" And maybe during the haircut you can ask "Is this length ok?" In my case, the person who took care of me just pointed at things and never asked me anything. Third, I think there was a language barrier. Sure, we won't write a Nature article together, but I'm not sure that person could understand basic stuff like "you can use scissors and take it finger-length on the back, and just leave them a bit longer at the front". Again, the haircut turned out great, but I was unsure during the haircut, and afterwards it was clear I could not ask for any fixes because we would not communicate.

In conclusion, folks, I think you're really shooting yourselves in the foot. As I said, you may be giving the best haircuts in CU (definitely in my experience), and it's just unfair to miss out on these little things. Best of luck, I'll...