By Tiffany Abera
We got off to an early start and headed straight to Boston Salon & Spa. Neti told me that I should do the talking since I was a foreigner so that they would listen to me. If she was to speak for us both in Amharic they would most likely pass her off. There I was at the front counter standing face to face with the same young lady that I had seen the night before. She seemed confused as to why I was there. I declared my purpose and asked to speak directly to the owner. I was steaming but tried to keep my cool as best as I could considering I was asking for a completely new hair style. Although it was definitely warranted, I was prepared to be turned down and was ready with my argument to rebut a refusal.
The owner arrived and we shook hands in a good business fashion. I politely and calmly explained the events that took place yesterday, expressed my disappointment with the service and requested that the wrong be made right. He sincerely apologized on behalf of the company and told me that it would be fixed right away.
Two hours later my hair looked 10x better than the day before. However, there was still a miscommunication between the staff about who was working on what customer and what the customer wanted. I sat and waited in the chair for 30 minutes before someone approached me to ask what else I needed. As if I was going to really walk out of the salon with blow dried hair and no flat iron! I was frustrated again by the lack of care that we received. They kept asking if I wanted something to drink. No! I didn’t want anything to drink. I just wanted my hair to look at least half way decent! I didn’t think that was too much to ask for since it is a salon.
We gave our tip and the owner met us at the door to ask how everything was. Yes, it was better than the day before, but there is no way in hell that I would ever go back there nor recommend to anyone that they ever visit the salon for a hair appointment. So much for service recovery. Maybe in time and with more interaction with foreigners, the culture on customer service will change for all.
MAIGC Summer Engagement Abroad Module 