Their website price states $38/$48 for ladies' haircut by "stylist". So I made the effort to drop by & see if it was crowded.
Only 3 customers & exactly 1 staff attending to each of them.
1) No receptionist at the front counter. They open 3 branches but can't even afford to pay for a receptionist? If can't even afford a receptionist, then open so many outlets for what?
2) The Japanese woman who is supposed to be good at make up ( I didn't bother remembering her name mentioned online) had just washed the female customer's hair & was accompanying the customer back to the seat.
The Japanese woman then remained standing behind the customer, not doing anything.
I was standing at the counter waiting for the Japanese woman to look up since she was facing my direction. Instead, the customer saw me first. And the Japanese woman either pretended not to see or didn't want to see. It took her a while to reluctantly look up.
The other 2 male staff didn't bother & also pretended not to see while attending to their customers' hair. They could have easily looked up but they didn't.
It seems they don't want business since they are already busy.
When the Japanese woman finally looked up in my direction, she just stood there. I had to point to the counter to request for her presence.
As a staff, she should have quickly come over without me having to say or do anything. The normal reaction would be to see what the person who is standing there wants.
Reluctantly, she came over as if dragged over. No greeting, no smile. Stone-faced. (Where's the smile & nod from Japan?).
I really hate Japs in Singapore. They are only well-behaved in Japan. They behave like shit in Singapore, noisy & don't know the meaning of personal space. I was only considering the salon because it's not my first choice.
I asked in English how much is their haircut because the website says $38 but the banner outside their shop says $60.
She didn't catch what I said & showed me a thick black menu with pricing. I repeated what I said. She frowned a bit & said in English "it's very old" referring to the website price.
Very old? Why didn't the salon update their website? It's not that difficult is it?? Especially for Japs who take pride in showing off. On the front appear so grand, but lo & behold, they don't even do the simple thing of updating their website. No different from a cheaper salon.
Since the price was different from their website, I left.
In hindsight, I think this salon looks down on customers. I was wearing a casual outfit that didn't look like a million bucks. If you look at all their promotional/sponsored ads using bloggers, you can see their mentality. They use all women, in dresses with makeup, with faces that look like Japanese women.
This is so that the salon can do the same boring dyed curls on them over and over. There are no male "models" suggesting that this salon cannot do haircuts & can only do easy perms & curls (& in one instance, just "moisturizing".). A very limited salon.
That's the review. Even if I was willing to spend $60, I won't give it to "Naoki Yoshihara by Ash".
I'll tell you the truth. Japanese companies in Singapore don't have QC. They just fall apart. Very poor management & the staff slack because the control is in Japan. Remote control don't work.
When Japanese people come to Singapore, suddenly their tight & rigid Japanese system don't apply anymore. Suddenly they feel very liberated. They realize they don't have to pretend to be nice anymore. No need to nod or bow anymore (because nobody understands or appreciates or reciprocates.). No need to care about what other people think anymore. Because hey, this is a completely different society, this is not Japan.
Their kids become screamingly noisy in public. Their adults don't respect the personal space of other people & stand so damn near to the front person in the supermarket queue. Even when they bump into me because they stand so near, they don't apologize. And this has happened twice.
On another occasion, a Japanese man talking to a woman while walking fast, completely bulldozed his way & brushed past me without apologizing!
When they are in Singapore, they become transformed. From the prim & proper Japanese to their ugly & true selves.
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