Mary
A Rochester, NY area chain of hair salons
A locally-owned chain of hair salons in the Rochester, NY area. Reasonably good prices and above-average staff. The one area where they fail is customer service. Managers don't seem to have any authority to resolve complaints and stylists seem almost fearful of managers monitoring their actions. The owners, who never seem to be available when one calls but screen complaints via a gatekeeper receptionist, and apparently feel that if you have a complaint you should take your business elsewhere. They operate contrary to their own interests in other ways as well. For instance, they used to have a regular program where they offered a 25% discount on hair coloring every other month or so. This brought in a lot of business, and people getting color would often get cuts as well. However, earlier this year they did away with the program entirely and seem to have no intention of reinstating it despite its popularity. This is the sort of short-sighted business model that drives customers to competitors like Supercuts. Paradoxically, a large chain like Supercuts is often far more responsive to customer concerns than a locally-owned business. Presumably this is because of greater sophistication in marketing and customer satisfaction, realizing that every customer you lose represents another 25 or more who may never come in the door or may leave.