I was recently given a voucher that entitles me to a FREE 7-IN-1 CUSTOMISED HERBAL SCALP THERAPY at a hair care centre run from a huge local brand hair and beauty group of companies. It claimed to be worth $450 a session but their advertisement offers $28 for first trial.
On my sensible moments, I would simply chuck it into the bin knowing that such are marketing gimmicks to lure customers into the shop for their high pressure slaughter but on that particular day, I was depressed over on my hair loss problem and took it as an opportunity to seek second opinion after failing to see improvement from my current twice weekly treatments.
While I had bravely took the plunge and made an appointment, my guts feeling instantly proved me wrong the minute I stepped into the salon.
After being inquired by a Chinese speaking staff on how I got the voucher, the receptionist asked for my ID and gave me a form to fill up before I was taken to a consultation room by an equally intimating staff whom called herself my consultant. She started off by asking me where and how frequent I color my hair and when I told her I have already stop coloring my hair for several months under my therapist’s order to treat my scalp and hair loss problem, she still persistently tried to sell me their hair coloring service claiming that their hair coloring is different from others. When that fails, she continued with how their services focus on the usage of machines which are not inclusive in my voucher before briefly do a random scan and back to selling me the use of the high frequency equipment. She claimed that the 7-IN-1 CUSTOMISED HERBAL SCALP THERAPY is unable to get rid of the dead skin cells pile up and requested me to top up $98 for the use of the high frequency machine. When I rejected and asked to proceed with the free trial, she promptly halved the price for credit card payments and continued to exercise her great persuasive skills.
Well, by now I was getting a little pissed off by her lack of professionalism but since I am jolly aware that there are no such things as free lunches in this world, I agreed to pay for the high frequency machine to stop her nagging and get on with the treatment.
The so-called therapy began with the consultant using a handheld equipment that emits some kind of electro-frequency (my guess because she can’t tell me exactly what kind of frequency is that) running through my scalp briefly section by section. And while doing so, she commented that I have dry scalp and sprayed on something for moisturizing purpose. Now I am confused. Because both my current scalp treatment therapist and the one that Cozycot has sent me to for review at Yun Nam both analyzed me with oily scalp! And if I was puzzled on why only the front portion and not the whole head is being treated, I didn’t ask because for one, the consultant is pre-occupied with her whispering conversations with her other colleagues and two, I assumed that because I am paying $49 instead of the initial $98 that she has asked for thus, the half head treatment.
To be fair, the shampooing by the junior staff was satisfactory, pleasurable even and I liked how she has applied the mask on my hair and asked if I need an extra towel to keep me warm while getting my hair steamed.
Anyway, the treatment was concluded with washing by the same junior staff and another junior staff helping me to blow dry my hair before being lead into the consultant room for another round of hard selling. As if not ashamed that by her half-hearted attention and the hasty scan that has shown absolutely ZERO improvement on the scalp, the consultant carried on pressure selling her packages that quoting from the initial thousands of dollars and desperately going down to hundreds and even offering to waive off the $49 if I were to sign up a trial package of 3 sessions.
When I steadfastly refused and marched out to the reception to make my payment, I was again being ‘ushered’ back into consultation room, this time by the Chinese speaking lady that I met when I first stepped into the salon. Apparently this pushy lady holds higher seniority than the consultant that has failed to convince me and with the door closed, she asked what’s my problem and tried push harder with the same aggressive techniques.
Unfortunately she did not succeed and I left the salon with the sulky faces watching my back and my mind pondering and counting on what kind of 7 customized treatment did I received? The few seconds of ticking with the heldheld equipments doesn’t counts because it takes $49 away from my pocket, so perhaps, the selling even before the hair scan counted as 1, the washing as 2, the hair mask as 3, another round of washing as 4, blow dry as 6 and the ultimate round of hard selling as 7!
I am writing this post not because I felt cheated of $49, as I said nothing is for free so I was prepared to top up for the treatment but I am utterly disappointed by the lack of professionalism. While I could fully understand the bottomline of a business is to make money but whether it is a paid treatment or a free trial, shouldn’t the staff be obligated to fulfill what is being stated in print or at least, put in a little more effort to do a proper analyzing before pushing for products and service packages sales right from the start while providing a hasty and lousy job throughout?
Life Little Tales 