Virtue Vegan Salon- Clintonville — Local services in Columbus

10/20 update: promised a resolution by management 3 weeks ago. Still waiting. Naturally.

I am one of those folks who never leaves reviews, but I am still reeling from my appalling experience today. I booked a last minute appt (12:00 booked 8:00) and was excited to see that it was with a stylist I’ve had in the past and loved. Admittedly, I have recently been visiting a different salon because financial stresses have forced me to prioritize and I simply got priced out. But after a truly awful haircut, and a period of stress that has left me needing to do some self care, I decided to splurge and return to a stylist I trusted.

As it happened, after I booked the appt a friend called and asked me to take care of their young daughter for the day as they had to take their infant to the hospital unexpectedly. I was happy to oblige and figured she could just accompany me to the appt as she sits very well (before you get high-handed about the children policy, I’ll get to that). We arrived ten minutes early and I was immediately affronted in a super condescending manner about the children policy (yes, it’s on the site, but not having kids of my own, AND not planning to have a kid at the time of booking, had simply overlooked it). I explained the situation and that I simply wasn’t aware and was informed I could have someone come sit with her. I called a friend who immediately starting heading over. I was THEN informed (as I am actively trying to problem solve) that if she didn’t arrive by 12:15 the appt was subject to the cancellation policy. Super.

During the 20 minutes I’m waiting (again, I had arrived early), the receptionist repeatedly made of point of checking her watch, the stylist passed me several times looking extremely put out and refused to acknowledge me. They also clearly had several consultations about the matter at the receptionist desk which made me super uncomfortable. Got it, I made an honest mistake ladies, but seriously, this is how you choose to handle it??? Zero compassion or humanity, but plenty of attitude from two grown women to spare. I was sitting directly next to her chair the whole time - we could have taken that time to chat about what I wanted and looked at the photos I brought, but clearly the decision was made and no efforts to be accommodating or have decent customer service would be on the table.

My friend arrived outside at 12:15 and walked in the door at 12:16 at the latest, according to their clock. I was informed it was too late and she wouldn’t do the appt. I was fine to not have my hair washed, but no.

Before the inevitable response comes of “we have our policy clearly stated, so we accept zero responsibility for our lack of service”, it should be noted I checked later to see how much I missed the children policy staring me in the face, and sure enough, it doesn’t show as a reminder when you book like the cancellation’s does. You can only find it if you specifically look in the policies section, but would have to be actively checking for it. It does appear in the confirmation e-mail, but you’d have to scroll to the bottom to see it and, again, that’s assuming you are opening up fully the email, which shouldn’t be assumed. If you’re going to be so rigid on your policies, maybe make sure they are guaranteed to be acknowledged at the time of booking (because of course once you book you are subject to the cancellation/late policy which I would have been at risk of given the same day booking!)

Naturally, as soon as I walked out my card was charged (gotta make sure they get theirs) and THEN to add insult to injury, the stylist walks past to go into a nearby gift shop. Why not, she had 45 minutes to spare?!?

I was prepared to tip well on an exorbitantly priced haircut (seriously, this is Columbus, not one of the coastal cities) and purchase product that the stylist would have received commission on due to the inconvenience, but instead, will never dream of setting foot in here again.

Just funny, given the name is “Virtue” the total lack of quality or character shown by...

The most important thing at this Virtue Vegan salon isn't the client's time, money, nor satisfaction. Rather, the highest priority here is the stylist's time and their ability to get through as many appointments in a day as possible. During my last visit I was unhappy with how my hair was cut and styled (eventhough I bring a reference photo in every time and, truth be told, I wasn't happy with the cut and style of my 2nd to last appointment but chose not to say anything thinking I would be sure to give the stylist more specific guidance the next time). Regardless of me giving more specific guidance, my stylist just seemed to want to cut and style my hair the way they thought best. When I said something I was told to wait until I wore it curly (I have naturally curly hair and the style I had gotten was a blowout), then if once I wore it curly, I still didn't like the cut, I could come back and get it fixed. When I tried to schedule the "fix it" appointment, rather than trying to get me in as soon as possible (so I wouldn't have to walk around with a haircut I bought and paid for but did not like) they chose a day/time that worked best for the stylist (it was at least a week and a half out, if not more). I took the appointment, showed up 10 minutes early, and was taken back to the chair early. I explained what I wanted and the stylist cut my hair for maybe 10 minues (never washed, never dried, never styled). When I couldn't see an improvement, I was told there wasn't anything else that could be done as the stylist didn't have time to even wash my hair (even though I made the appointment at least a week and a half earlier and was taken back to the chair 10 mimutes early). I immediately left the salon as I finally realized my satisfaction (as the client spending my time and money there) wasn't this stylist's priority. Any salon that prioritizes cranking out appointments over client satisfaction isn't one I want to frequent. I do not care how "trendy" everyone looks or how safe their products are, if they don't value their clients and strive for client satisfaction, this is not a place I'll patronize. A woman's hair is an extremely important part of her appearance and a professional woman's appearance (right or wrong) can affect her professionally (you only get one chance to make a good first impression when standing in front of your C-Suite). If you're a hair salon and you don't understand how important and how personal a woman's haircut is to her, or you do understand but just do not care, you're not the place for me. To possible future clients, good luck if you go to this salon. Fingers crossed the stylist gets it right the first time because they WILL NOT make time to properly fix anything you don't like later. The highest priority at the Virtue Vegan in Clintonville is getting folks in and out, not client satisfaction. But hey, you get to enjoy the really cool ambience if you ever go there, so ......

One of my biggest fears is going to a salon to get my hair done and leaving feeling like not myself. This will be my lesson to make sure that my stylist knows what I want before letting them touch my hair. And to the stylist that did it, if you know you cannot deliver on the cut that your client shows you during the consultation - just say no, say that your skill set can’t produce what they are looking for and take the loss of revenue over having an upset client in your chair. Don’t lie and say you can do something when you clearly can’t.

I went to go get my hair cut last week. Had extensive pictures saved from Pinterest, Google, instagram, wherever you can find inspo pictures. I knew exactly what I wanted. I had it written out and saved on my phone which I said verbatim to my stylist. Essentially 90s layered long bob style. The stylist assured me that she can do exactly that and I am excited. I have gotten layers ever since I was 10 and have had curtain bangs for over two years, I know what my hair is supposed to look like and that it’s possible. My previous stylist I was going to moved which is why I was looking for someone new.

The first attempt at my cut was so bad one of my friends asked if I had tried to cut it at home by myself. Shocking that this was the result after a ‘professional cut’. I went back for an adjustment a couple days later and it ended up worse. But I didn’t want to get into an argument or cry at the salon so I just left without getting that I wanted a second time. I had to resort to cutting my hair myself to fix what this stylist had ruined. There was a clear disconnect between what I was asking and what the stylists ability was, and being shot down multiple times by this girl when I asked for adjustments to get it to look how I wanted was incredibly frustrating when I know it’s possible.

I am now happy with my hair (after cutting it myself in the bathroom with little manicure scissors). But I am so unbelieving displeased with my experience at virtue salon. To go get a professional service twice just to end up fixing it myself would upset anyone. Anyone going here - make sure your stylist can do what you want, and all the stylists working there - don’t promise your clients something you can’t do from the beginning just don’t touch their hair if you can’t deliver on the final product. I was supposed to get my color done by this same girl but I will obviously not be coming back as I have lost all faith in her ability, I never want her to touch my hair again, thank you for trying but it was just bad. Considering the other reviews with good experiences I am very upset that this is how I was treated.

Please view the images for screenshots of my full review, it’s too long to...