I didn't really need a haircut as I'd quite recently had a trim but I wanted to help out a friend and thought it would be a fun experience so I got my shift covered at work and said I'd do it.
Matt then said I needed to come in right away, litereally the moment I said yes. So I finished my brunch and got a taxi over to the salon.
I was introduced to the girl that was meant to be doing my hair called Emma. We went straight over to the basins and she washed my hair, lovely. I was then lead over to the chair, Matt came over and they began having a conversation, Emma & Matt, about what they were going to do. They did ask me if there was anything I was against, and I said "I've been growing it for ages, so I'd like to keep the length. The very ends can come off. And as long as I look professional, like I don't want any crazy colours or anything".
This was my hair a couple of days before.
Matt put his hand on my back to indicate where to cut to to Emma and it was about 2-3 inches, I said that was okay. You will see in the after pictures they took about half my hair length off! Emma was cutting away and then Matt came over and said "what are you doing? I told you to call me when you were half way", then they had a little argument (not professional) which ended in Matt telling Emma "not to be mardy". Great someone mardy is chopping away at my hair, very comforting. The next bit was even worse, Matt in the middle of cutting another gentleman's hair said "oh come here" frustrated with Emma's moaning "she can't do it" and put a piece of paper against my face and trimmed my fringe with a pair of clippers!! The "clipper technique" he called it. And when I proceeded to say it was a. Wrong as it was Emma that should be cutting my hair - he said "I can guarantee every other competition entry will have some the same thing." And b. It was NOT STRAIGHT! He said I just didn't have a symmetrical face and one of my eye brows is higher than the other.
My fringe after the competition.
So here I am with this wonky fringe thinking it can't get any worse. Emma takes me up to do my colour, except she doesn't know what she's doing so she has to speak to Jonti (head of colour stylist, I think). He then helps her choose a colour pattern and colours. She then asks what I think of the colours I say they're too bright, she says they won't be that bright because I've got dark hair now. I just want to get my wonky fringe sorted and to work on time so I trust her and say yes. It has been about three and half hours at this point.
Emma then gets another girl to help her put the colour on. They are busy chatting away until the other girl asks Emma if she's using the right colour on the right bit and Emma DOESN'T KNOW. I literally had to say "well do you want to go and check with Jonti then?" And she said yes and went off, she came back and said it was but either way, I came out with orange bloody stripes through my fringe and a bright red scalp. Not to mention the whole haircut was uneven! It was meant to be straight, that was the whole point of the competition and they just chopped it off, from nearly at my waste to just passed my shoulders, the one thing I asked them not to do and not even beneficial to them as straight hair sits best when its long!
And as you can see one side is way longer than the other, it was shorter at the back & longer at the front but with no graduation.
The colour didn't even start at the roots in the fringe, it looked awful.
Luckily for them, I think I was slightly in shock, especially as it wasn't until after they had done my hair I was told I had to be back after spending 1pm till 6.20pm getting my hair destroyed, I had to be back at half 5 in the morning to travel to Manchester for the competition.
So as I had to be at work at 6 and they had already made me late, I didn't have much option but to say OK. I didn't finish work until half 3am (I work in a cafe bar). Had no sleep, got to Toni & Guy and no one was there! Rang Matt and he said "oh yeah we said meet at half 5 but the cars not til 6 did no one tell you?" So after about 5 minutes Jamie the supervisor turns up and gradually so does everybody else.
Travelled. Had to have my hair re-done, dress up, do my own make up and then do a catwalk after being told all I'd have to do was sit there and let them look at my hair. Go to Nando's - I'm vegan so not the biggest treat. And then travel back.
Let's just say it was not the pampering treat I was expecting and now I understand why it was a "big favour". Oh and we lost the competition, in case you hadn't guessed.
I got home at half 7pm that's 14 hours of my day plus 5 & a half the day before. Nearly 20 hours of my time and now I've got to get my hair done, because it's awful. And I gave up a days work. And Matt isn't even being generous or caring about it, even after admitting "he was pushed for time" which is basically saying he rushed it, he is refusing to give me any compensation because I went to another hair dressers to get it fixed. How can he blame me!? It was an emergency! After going to work and having everybody laugh or say what have you done!? I didn't want anybody else to even see me. If that is what he did to me when they were cheating to try and win a competition then how can he expect me to trust him near my hair ever again!?
I won't ever go to a Toni & Guy again and that's the last time I do Matt Conway a favour!
