Pika Pika Hair Salon — Attraction in Duluth

I have been going to Pika Pika since I was in middle school (8th grade). Now fast forward 8 years as a college graduate about to enter graduate school. I have been a steadfast fan of this place, but have tried all other hair salons both American and Korean within Duluth, Suwanee, Alpharetta, and Atlanta. However, this place used to offer a competitive price and service, which is why I always returned.

Now let's look at today's service. As soon as I walk in, a mere teenager decked up in stripper heels and a face caked with makeup walks up to me rudely and asks me what I want. I tell her I want a simple trim and that I am a walk-in, so I will be fine with waiting. She then drags me over to get a shampoo, grabbing my head and SLAMMING it into the water basin. I'm in shock as she starts to drown me in cold water and tells me to get closer to said water basin. Then she starts to SCRATCH my scalp and PULL my hair in the guise of a "shampoo." By this time, I tell her to please do it more gently, in which she doesn't even condition my hair and dries my hair by WRINGING it dry. Not like squeezing the water out no. She proceeds to TWIST AND SQUEEZE AND PULL my hair off my head.

To make matters worse. She rudely tells me to sit in a chair, as she starts to brush my hair with a fine tooth comb as it is still WET. It is not the fact that she is brushing my hair that is the problem, but the fact the she is intentionally making me become bald early with the pulling and killing the quality of my hair by breaking it. Then she goes off somewhere else with my hair still damp and starting to drip.

By this time I am over my shock and now utterly furious. I even have her freaking scratch marks on my scalp to prove she was being rough with me. I ask another assistant how much a shampoo is and if I can leave this abomination called a "hair salon." All the other employees seem to be in shock and don't even offer an apology. Instead, they stand there. I have to say, their customer service is laughable.

Then, I go over to Scissor Hands, which is nearby. The male employee at Scissor Hands was lo and behold POLITE and may I even say GENTLE with my hair? Instead of just doing a mere trim for me, he asks me about what I would like in a trim and tries to cheer me up. I believe that now have a new...

My review of a Korean Hair Salon from a non-korean asian. Hair stylist, Tae: 5 stars Tae was recommended to me by a friend. He was very polite and curteous. I didn't have a picture but explained I wanted a shorter cut that made my hair look fuller and framed my face a little, but most importantly, I just wanted it to look good. I'm not very picky about my haircut but I'm very happy with the end result. Tae spoke good english and took the time to conversate with me during the haircut. I also asked him about products and how to style my hair and he was very nice to give me recommendations and tips. You can check out his work on his instagram: Tae.noh My sister's hair stylist, Jinny: 5 stars My sister's hair came out really nice and my sister says Jinny was kind to her. She did say Jinny did not speak a lot of english but that is okay. She was still able to show her what she wanted as she had a picture. Appointment Scheduling: 3 stars I called for 2 women haircut appointments. 1 for me and 1 for my sister. I requested Tae and my sister had no preference, so whoever was available at the same time for time efficiency. The person who made my appointment spoke perfect english and there was no language barrier. The appointment was made for the next day 12pm and it was clearly repeated - 2 womens haircut at 12pm, 1 with Tae and 1 with whoever. When my sister arrived at 11:58am they asked if we had appointments but it seemed as if they did not have our appointment. They asked us what we were there for, if we had preferences on who cut our hair, if we wanted Tae to cut both of our hair, etc. etc but all things that was already discussed on the phone. We were asked to sit and wait and it had been 20 mins passed 12 until I was called and for my sister, she continued to wait and was told "whenever someone finishes" she will get started. To me the organization of scheduling is poor and it's something I noticed mentioned in other reviews.

Overall, if you're interested in a korean hair salon but may be intimidated, definitely do not worry about coming to Pika Pika. They accommodate everyone and have plenty of people who speak english. Everyone who does hair there seems to be very talented. Their largest flaw is...

I'd like to share a horrible incident I had. First off, I'm a Korean and I'm fluent in English. When I walked in, I was greeted in English so I responded in English. I immediately noticed the person helping me wasn't too keen on it as the shop seemed pretty busy and it was early. She gave me a good run down on the services but the pricing was a bit unclear and that was explained properly since they could not tell how many times I had to bleach my hair so this is completely understandable.

I've been getting my haircut from a very nice Vietnamese lady but I decided to give my own people a try. I asked the girl helping me if she could recommend someone based on my hair style and the response I got was the fine print you read on a drug label like "if I recommend someone and you don't like it, you'll blame me so I can't do that." Burning red flag right there.

Then I get an appointment and a time but no explanation on who is going to do my hair. I know Korean Salon's well. I know when you are a first time customer, you normally get the short end of the stick which is not preferable. So all of this was making me very anxious and it seemed like the lady didn't realize I was Korean. Instead of acting like an old Korean FOB, I gently nudged her and asked if the place was still Korean owned to which she replied yes.

Because of my dark complexion and my hate for brand name clothing, my Korean brothers and sisters usually mistake me for another race and that's fine. However, I noticed this very high and mighty attitude and I can only assume that I was being racially discriminated which is ridiculous since I am Korean.

I have zero issues calling my own people out. Us Koreans are no better than any other race. If you think like this, you are no better than the KKK. Why not put an extra K in Pika Pika or better yet, how bout Klu Klux Korean?

Feel free to respond, but I would watch it if I were you. I'm being polite. If you are stupid enough to respond, my reply won't be as kind. And do your customers a favor by hiring a proper receptionist so stylist don't have to do two jobs you cheap ass! No wonder the lady looked...