The haircut was on Friday. 2nd time there. And I've been thinking if I should spare the name of the hairstylist.
It's been 3 days and I'm still angry every time I look in the mirror. Every time I look in the mirror, I say, "How could you have cut it so short? You have no sense of aesthetics? What could have made you cut so short?? Isn't it common sense to know when to stop?".
How a salon can cut worse than QB at more than 3 times the price, is beyond understanding.
My thought is: what did I say or do to offend you that you cut my hair like this? Mr Paul Tan?
When I look in the mirror, I don't feel or look nice. I look ugly and feel unhappy. How can a hairstylist do this? Your job is to make people beautiful and happy. Why be a hairstylist if you cannot do that?
I thought about it carefully during these few days. I just can't let it go because this is just too much. It looks like you have cut out of hatred or dislike. As if I have offended you.
Even if a customer has inadvertently offended you, where is your professionalism and your hairstyling skills?
How could you possibly have cut my hair so short??! When people look at me twice, it's not because I look nice. It's because my hair is too short and they wonder who the heck cut my hair.
Even QB, as bad as their hair cuts get, doesn't beat this. And even then, so many times getting bad QB hair cuts, I put up with it.
Even Celia @ Reds Salon Takashimaya gave me the same hair cut so many times until I was so fed up, I was never angry. There is a reason why Reds is crowded and J. Cut @ Suntec is not.
A staff (I won't say who) at Jeric Suntec told me the boss is always at ION and doesn't come to Suntec. I see. Neglect.
It explains the lack of standard there. This second time, the seat had cut hairs all over and it wasn't even seen as a problem even when I used my hand to sweep them aside while the hairstylist looked on. I was supposed to sit in it. Even QB is not this slack.
This 2nd time, I walked up to the counter, there was no receptionist there. Same as the first time. So, I waited and Paul came from somewhere and checked me in. I said, "Hi." and smiled. He smiled back.
He asked if there was a particular preference for my hairstylist, I said he had cut my hair previously.
Why is it there is no proper receptionist at the counter? Twice I've been there and it's been the hairstylist doubling as the receptionist. I noticed Paul's writing was hardly readable, as if he didn't care.
After that, he led me to my hair-filled seat and asked me what I would like to drink. I said water. (They provide water in small bottles with the salon name on it).
Then he asked how I'd like my hair cut. I said, "Give me a punk look, some long, some short, slope behind.". He was Ok with it.
The hair washer lady did her job, and after that, I told Paul that I'd also like a layering effect. He was also Ok with that.
Like the first time, I started reading a magazine. This time --Cosmopolitan UK edition. Maybe it was the wrong choice. Maybe as he cut, he looked at the pages and somehow, felt upset about what I was reading and gave me a bad haircut.
Whenever I say "some long, some short", even QB can do that. But not this time. It's just a total, short turf.
Same as the first time, Paul has the habit of breathing on the customer (me). Don't know why. Not sure if he is aware of doing it.
This second time, he did it once. The first time, he did it a few times while cutting, as if it frustrated him.
While cutting, he would breathe out or sigh directly on the customer. You can feel the "wind" of it on you. It is very annoying but even then, I felt it wasn't a big deal if he could cut well. I simply had to hold my breath every time he did it.
My point is this: If it frustrates you so much, hairstyling is not a suitable job for you. Why do you breathe out on customers? Plain selfishness? Disrespect? If you are fed up, just quit and do sales line--stand around in mall store, do nothing.
I want to know why you cut my hair so short. WHY?
After he was partly done, I said the slope up the back was better than the last time. Smoother. This was true. Then I continued reading the magazine.
On and off, I would have a look and he seemed to know what he was doing.
When he was almost done, I put down the mag and saw the overall was too short. I kept staring, thinking, "It's not nice.".
He asked if the sides should be cut. Of course it had to be, otherwise it would not match the rest of the short style. I said, yes, "it's not nice.".
So, he cut and even the sides, he cut so short. Sure, it matches. It matches the ugly shortness of the rest of it.
As a trained hairstylist, presumably hand-picked/recruited, shouldn't he know when to stop cutting shorter and shorter? Only QB cutters sometimes, don't know when to stop. Just cut, cut, cut.
Cutting is easy, anybody can cut. Knowing when to stop is different.
Hairstyling is not just about cutting. If the person has no sense/no eye for aesthetics, this person is not a hairstylist.
What is odd, is that the first time I was there, I said it wasn't short enough and Paul said he didn't want to cut it too short (presumably so that it would look more feminine). But now, this 2nd time, look what he's done.
I'm not trying to damage any reputation (if any). The first time, I already wasn't pleased with his haircut because the back wasn't done well. And he just cut whatever he liked instead of according to what I like (some long, some short). Same as this 2nd time.
But even then, I let it go. And even went back a second time.
I let the first time pass because the results weren't so bad. And he had seemed very dedicated in ensuring everything was just right, to the extent of towering over me very close behind while cutting the top.
But this 2nd time, I really am sorry to have to say it here. Even with the 5% discount he gave (not sure what for). This time, I'm really very upset with the hairstyle. It's really ugly. Not just that, it makes me feel ugly. Already, there are things I have to handle. I don't need extra unhappiness.
For hair cuts, my requirements are very simple. I am also not very fussy or complaining. But if you have cut badly out of personal reasons, to vent something, then that is wrong.
If you don't know how to cut, and it annoys and frustrates you, then hairstyling is not the right job.
I thought long about posting it here, whether I could let it go. I won't be going to J.Cut again.
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Update 6 Oct Sat:
It's been a while since this post above. Since then, the salon is still there when I looked previously. But I haven't seen the hairstylist working there anymore, for a long while already. I don't know if he has been transferred out to another outlet/fired/quit. But it's not surprising if he quit because he didn't look happy in the job.
