Madison Reed Hair Color Bar Upper East Side — Local services in New York

Due to my experience at your color bar, I will no longer be a Madison Reed customer - either in person or online. I discovered MR during covid when I was not able to go to a local salon. I not only appreciated the convenience, but your product was perfect for my sensitive scalp. I loved your product so much that I referred 4 of my friends, never taking advantage of the referral discount. After 18 months of coloring my hair myself, I was excited to finally visit your salon for a professional experience. Your technicians are talented and professional and provided the expertise I desired. But, the color bar is so poorly run that even a good coloring experience (and positive result) could not make up for the failure to run the business properly-particularly given the high volume of customers your Upper East Side location experiences. Notably, there is no receptionist to greet clients, schedule appts, sell products or collect payments. There is only one assistant to support all colorists, plus handle blowouts and shampoos. Customers are waiting too long (up to an hour) after their appt to be serviced. Your appointment system does not allow enough time for the service…not matter how efficient the technician may be. 30 minutes for a color consultation, application and wash…really?!?! And, you allow ZERO time in the schedule for blow outs even though people pay extra for them. My mom and I were unable to get our blow out or a proper hair wash because the technicians were so backed up. We chose not to get our planned blowout because we literally felt sorry for your staff and how your inefficient and poorly planned business practices were impacting them. You completely overbooked the salon! There were 8 people getting there hair done at the same time and only 3 technicians! There is no place for people to wait for their appointment (one chair!!) and customers have to stand around waiting for a technician to leave their other clients to accept your payment, make an appointment or buy product. Yesterday, you lost more than $100 in additional sales just from me just due to the inefficiency of your salon. Multiply this by dozens or more customers a week. A small investment in a receptionist, a dedicated blow out technician and a recalibration of your scheduling system would radically improve your business and exponentially grow your revenue potential. Unfortunately, it will come too late for me, as I will not support a business that does not support...

I’ve never been here before. I went on their website to book an appointment and booked “color all over” for 5pm because it was the only time slot they had available. When I got there, I explained that I wanted to dye my hair a light brown, because the color I have in it now is supposed to be a hazelnut brown, but over time it has become brassy and orange. The woman who was assigned to me explained that the color I wanted wasn’t possible because I needed to bleach my hair in order to achieve that look. I told her I don’t want to bleach it, but maybe I can dye my hair a solid brown color for now to at least get rid of the brassy orange I have. She told me she would put toner in my hair to lift off some of the orange coloring, and then from there she said there were other options like dying it a darker brown color, or balayage. I told her let’s do the toner and then we can take it from there and I’ll let her decide what to do since she’s the professional. She applied the toner to my hair and then clocked out for the day and left. Someone else came to wash my hair and when I asked her if anyone would be dying my hair, she wasn’t aware that I wanted to dye it, even though I booked my appointment for a full head of dye. Then they told me no one can dye my hair because it’s late. I don’t understand why they would have time slots available for 5pm if they know that no one will be there to do the job. After the toner came out of my hair, it looked exactly the same as it did when I had walked in. I left there looking the exact same as I did walking in, and had to pay $100 for literally nothing. I would never come back here again. Worst experience I’ve ever had. I came all the way from queens just to get my hair done and they made it seem like I got there too late and there’s nothing they could do. Mind you, I got there 40 mins early. Never again. The before and after photos look exactly the same in terms of color. All the really did was give me a wash...

I recently visited the Upper East Side location for a root touch-up and balayage. Unfortunately, the color didn’t come out as expected, and I left my appointment feeling disappointed and upset. While the team did try to help at the time, the appointment ended up taking much longer than planned and I still didn’t get the results I wanted.

Rather than reacting in the moment, I decided to go home, regroup, and come back the next day to have a calm and productive conversation. I’m so glad I did. The team welcomed me back with complete professionalism, listened carefully to all of my concerns, and immediately booked me for the next available appointment, working around my schedule to make it right.

At the follow-up appointment, they corrected the color to exactly what I had hoped for. They even treated me to a complimentary hair mask, which was such a thoughtful gesture. Now, my hair is beautifully blended, and I feel so much better, not just because of how it looks, but because I truly felt heard.

Sometimes a service doesn’t go perfectly the first time; there can be many reasons why: the products, the process, or even miscommunication. But how a business responds to feedback says everything. The women at this salon are hardworking, kind, and talented. They cared enough to make it right, and that means a lot. I genuinely appreciate their efforts and personalities, and I’m grateful they gave me a great...