After receiving a coupon in the mail, Jacqueline thought she would save some money by getting her hair trimmed at a local Supercuts. This turned out to be a false economy, since her stylist didn’t seem to actually listen to what Jacqueline wanted, and was more interested in her lunch than in her customer.

Jacqueline wrote to Consumerist looking for help in contacting someone at Supercuts corporate, and ultimately sent this e-mail:

To Whom It May Concern:

I received a Supercuts coupon for $5 off a haircut in the mail. With the economy in the state that it is and being disabled, I was trying to save a few dollars and took advantage of this great offer. I proceeded to your location at [redacted].

I do have to compliment the fact that I was seen right away by a stylist. I didn’t even have a chance to sit down and they were taking me back to a chair. It was great because this was my first stop among many. I was immediately asked numerous times if I needed a shampoo, which I said I did not.

I have long hair and really like having long hair,. I expressed to the stylist (she never game me her name) that all I wanted was to trim the split ends off and add ONE layer to blend where my hair breaks off from wearing a ponytail and to frame my face from lower than the cheekbone down so I can still tuck my hair back out of my eyes. I told her it was okay to have a few strands fall down. She told me that I didn’t have very thick hair and agreed with my choices.

If I had known that I was going to get a stylist that was going to ask me what I wanted and go ahead and do what she wants, I would’ve never stepped place into your establishment. I tried to make small talk, which didn’t work out well. All she was concerned about was talking to another stylist trying to figure out what she wanted to eat for lunch.

In the end, I have many layers with a short bob look on the top of my head and not much of my long hair left. With the stylist even mentioning to me that I have thin hair, I don’t understand why she would cut it to make it even look thinner. I have no depth to my hair anymore. I wish there was a way I could send you a picture.

My husband asked me why I didn’t stop her, but when I get my hair cut, I place my faith into the stylist that they have the knowledge to cut hair and do what’s best for the customer. On top of that, I wear glasses, so I couldn’t see how she was cutting it.
I honestly have to say that this is the worst haircut I have ever received. The stylist asked me if I liked it, I told her it was okay, but it was still wet, so it was still too hard to judge. The receipt does not have a transaction number on it, unless it’s posted under a different name like ‘batch’ or ‘INV’ or I would provide the transaction number for you.

I am completely disappointed. I am embarrassed and pretty much have to wear a hat. I can’t even get all my hair back into a ponytail anymore because I have a huge amount of short hair on the top of my head that will not pull back into a ponytail. My words do not give this haircut justice.

Maybe if the stylist spent more time talking with me, instead of worrying about what to eat for lunch, maybe she would’ve had a better idea of how to cut my hair. I see an option here for some customer service training.

I will make sure all my Facebook friends are aware of my experience with pictures to boot. I wouldn’t want anyone else to experience the helpless feeling of having a horrible haircut.
In the end, all I want is my money back. At least then, I can go buy a gallon of ice cream to try to soothe my wounds.

When you’re forced to use web input forms but want to send a picture, try a service like tinypic.com and paste the photo URL in the e-mail. Handy.

Jacqueline wrote back to report that Supercuts has issued her a refund for the disastrous cut:

Success! I emailed corporate with my refined email so I could fit it in their comment box on their website. The area supervisor contacted me this morning via email and is refunding me my money back. She expressed her sincere apologies and apologized for the quality of service. So, in the end, Supercuts gets my customer service vote. Now I can get my money back and go to a real salon and try to get it fixed!

Yay! The question is, will she go back?

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