Mariam’s Touch LLC — Local services in Town of Greenburgh

This business was recommended to me by my sister in law & her family who attended Mariam growing up as a child. I suggested this facility to Mr. James whom traveled very far to get his hair braided by professionals and after hearing about his experience, I’m extremely embarrassed for the way he was treated in person and how he is being treated online. As per the owners response below, Mr. James has visited your location on two occasions. To clarify, his first visit on 3/14 he came washed and blow dried yet, he was charged an extra $20 because the stylist stated that she had had to blow it out some more. Although I also found $20 to be odd for just a blow dryer… he paid it anyway.

Now I understand that you have a business to uphold but you CANNOT speak to your clients any which way. Especially not knowing their status or anything about them. Respect goes a long way and this young man does not convey to be the aggressive person that you are suggesting. Despite his first experience being “okay”.. he still tipped and thanked your stylist for the service given and decided to give your business a second try despite the long lengths he took to get there for the second time. Respect goes both ways via the owner and the customer. If the customer is not satisfied with the work done, then having you step in should have been a positive way to diffuse the issue. A customer should not be told that they have one last chance to have it redone. Either try to resolve the situation or simply state that the style is not achievable. Your services are not cheap and the work should reflect the price no matter what. No one should have to accept poor performance.

The point that I am trying to get across is that there are other ways to be expressive without offending your customers. Words matter, and the way words are delivered, serve as a reflection to you. I’m appalled by your response to his posting and many other customers whom have expressed their concerns about their own experiences.

Mr. James does not reflect the 1% that you referred to him as. You not only lost a new customer but 5 others as well. I will not be sending my family to your establishment nor making any more referrals if this is the type of treatment that anyone can expect. Just as there are thousands of other customers out there for you to receive, there are also thousands of braiding facilities who can style and charge less than what you are offering. Despite this unfortunate event I do wish your business well. If I may, the last suggestion that I would make to you is to have a price list of your service listed within your shop, so that there is transparency for all who visit. Especially for our men who are not familiar with these types of settings.

Lastly, following up with your customers after a booking would be helpful as well so that you can ensure that there aren’t any grey areas for new customers. Having a booking app isn’t so simple, try to have someone assist you with this so that this doesn’t happen in the future. God Bless!

**Response: Mam, if you took nothing out of what I said to you. I feel really sorry for you. Why would a customer have a personal vendetta? As an adult, your way of thinking is thoughtless. There is nothing fake about this review and I have in fact met you. You have an aggressive approach. Honestly, this behavior is not okay. Look at how you speak to your customers! Threatening because of their honesty? I’m not sure if you know anything about the law and how it works, but you cannot sue for an HONEST Google review lol. The whole point of a review is for feedback. Feedback in which you are unable to acknowledge nor accept. So Again, I...

Scheduled an appointment. When I arrived for my appointment got my hair washed right away. After sitting under dryer for an excessive amount of time even after my hair is dry I finally get up on my own. I am then waiting for over an hour just for someone to start the process on my hair. Why have appointments if appointments can’t be met or promised. It’s very unprofessional especially during Covid to be switching heads a bunch of times in the middle of the process. I come for a simple wash and retwist. In the past I was out quickly. An hour and a half tops, most of the time an hour. Don’t stop in the middle of doing someone else’s hair to start another or finish another. It’s rude especially without communication. Do not be money hungry accepting multiple appointments and have people waiting hours. If it can not be done it can’t be done. I am sitting here after the shop is technically closed STILLLLL waiting for my hair to be started on. I’ve been coming here since the start of my loc process. 8 months later I need to find a new spot. Heartbreaking! Need the old staff to return. CUSTOMER SERVICE MATTERS.

My response back! If that is the case, call outs etc, you should then call your clients and let them know you are running behind schedule. Before hand or when they arrive. I understand things happen but that is where your clients will expect communication. It seems money hungry when you don’t let clients know anything but have a bunch at once. We just continuing working nonchalantly. It’s not fair to have an appointment at 6 and not start until 8. That’s unprofessional. As in Covid process this experience was entirely different from the previous months I have been there. Not as clean. Even when attempting to clean a station it’s half done. Very much observant. I know why I’ve returned multiple times. There are plenty of establishments in the world that haven’t been touched with Covid. Still not an excuse or something to throw out there. It is still serious. & clearly I was trusting your establishment. It is definitely a change of environment. It did not seem welcoming and was very uncomfortable. There was absolutely no communication until after the fact when I’m basically done with my hair. As far as pricing goes, I have been paying between 100-160 for the last 8 month for the same exact thing. Except once I got a regular retwist. So I’m confused on your discount? You said you took $10 off the price when last few times I’ve paid $100. So you charged me $120 this time? Did not mention a price change or anything. So is it really a discount or an up charge? Either way then I will still not know the actual price. & that is not including tip each time because I don’t mind doing that because you deserve it with the work you guys do. Again customer service matters. Communicating is very important especially when you are creating long term clients. Just need to go back to how it was previously if not even better. Again thank you for...

I respect Daba and her achievements as a young business owner in Westchester, NY. I have been to this establishment at least 3 times. Each time my hair has looked great, my experiences in the shop have varied.

I am impressed by a few things: I have not had to wait for an appointment for more than 10 mins Stylists generally braid for the entire length of the style. If they take breaks they are under 15 mins. I am sure more breaks are needed so I hope she will be able to accommodate the needs of her staff. Clean and organized shop, doesn’t stink. Clean and usable bathroom. Strong communication, although there are some cultural clashes with customers. Aprons/ uniforms with names so that clients can remember their preferred stylists easily. Styles are usually neat and efficient, although some styles are better than others

Things that need work: Attitude of some of the staff toward feedback of their work. Customers are not easy to deal with, but there needs to be a level of professionalism that is unmatched to truly stand out. App! The options needs to be better organized. I don’t know if it’s because you offer such an array of services, which is great, but it makes selecting a service difficult. An alphabetical list or a list from least expensive to most expensive styles might be more efficient. Pricing! Please post a price list in the shop. Maybe laminate a few “menus” to hand out to customers in person so that you can clean and reuse them. Pricing is not transparent. There are a lot of extra charges. Breaks: I understand that staff need to eat, pray and use the bathroom. Please communicate this with clients a little better. It should be understood that people will need a break from braiding hair for hours at a time, but common sense is not so common. Assume people don’t think like you. Handling of kinky hair. Black people have different types of hair textures. We have been taught to label some hair textures as nicer or better than others. Self hatred is real. Our hair needs to be treated with love and hair. Not burned to death with heat from blow drying and pulled with hard combing and brushing. Stylists should be taught to be gentle but efficient. Please invest in some classes if necessary. I hope this business continues to grow and flourish, but growth takes pruning. Prune your fruit so that...