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Avoid Terra Bella!
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Avoid Terra Bella!
Okay, a recent blog about incompetent companies made me think about my horrible experience at Terra Bella in Chatham, IL.
Here is a copy of the letter that I sent to Terra Bella Salon. In June 2007 I went there for a routine highlight and ended up w/ orange hair. They had been ignoring my emails and phone calls, so I sent them the following letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
On Friday, June 29, 2007 I walked into the Terra Bella salon for a standard hair coloring service. I met with the stylist and she asked what I wanted. I told her that I wanted a more pronounced blond color, but I did not want an all over color or for her to add any more low lights. I specifically stated that I did not want her to take any lowlights away, but do not add any more either. The stylist left and came back with another stylist. The first comment out of the other stylist's mouth was "Wow, your hair is so soft!" The two stylists then debated about what to do to my hair. At that time I told both the stylists that my hair turns gold very easily. The stylists then walked away stating something about using a "whole tube" of a certain color. Upon hearing this, another stylist piped up and stated to only use a half of a tube of that color- not the whole thing. At this point, there was still some question as to how much of the color tube to use. I realize that I should have just got up and left at this point, but hindsight is twenty-twenty.
So, the stylist returns with the color. She begins to slather the color on top of my head. A little odd, I thought, since I specifically told her that I did NOT want an all over color. She then begins to add bleach highlights to the color slathered area. At this point, I questioned what she was doing. She stated at that time "Not to worry. We won't let you leave if you don't like your hair."
The time then comes to rinse the color out of my hair. Every other time I have ever had my hair colored the stylist will state something like-" The color looks good. I think you'll really like this." My stylist said nothing. At that point the stylist using the sink next to us looked over with a horrified look on her face. Shocked, she stated- "What did you use on her hair?!!" When my stylist told her what she used, the stylist next to us then stated, "You used that and it STILL turned her hair THAT gold?!!?" This stylist then began frantically searching for some product to rinse on my hair, slammed in down in front of my stylist, and stated- "Use this. It should help. And if it's still too gold, you can always put a toner on it." At that point my stylist used the product and finished rinsing my hair.
On the way back to the chair, my stylist then stated to me, "Now I don't want you to freak out when you see your hair because it will look different when it dries." When I sat down in the chair, I was horrified by what I saw in the mirror. My hair was bright orange at the roots where the all over color was placed, and bright yellow at the bottom of my hair. I began to tear up, but held the tears back, hoping the color would get better as it dried. The stylist then asked me if I wanted her to cut it before she dried it. I told her no, because I did not think it looked good at all.
She spent an extremely long time drying my hair. I believe this was an attempt to pull any moisture out of the hair in the hopes that it would actually look decent in the end. When she finished, my hair still looked awful. My roots were completely orange and the bottom of my hair was bright yellow- just as it looked before it was dried. I immediately began to cry. My hair was ruined! With that, my stylist began snapping at me- "What do you want me to do? I don't want to put more bleach on it!" I, through sobs and tears, stated; "I don't know what you should do." I thought, Why was she asking me? Isn't she supposed to be the expert? With that, my stylist called over another stylist. Again, after another consultation, the decision was to "just put a toner on it." And again, I was assured that I would not leave with my hair looking bad or me not liking it.
After the toner was put on, another rinse, and another marathon session of drying, I looked at my hair again in the mirror. I will admit, it did look A LITTLE better. However, it STILL LOOKED AWFUL! My stylist then stated that I did not need a haircut (which I never asked for in the first place), but needed a good conditioner. She then offered to sell me one that cost $18.00. I declined. After paying, I made the comment that I still didn't think it looked good, but maybe I would get used to it.
After I got home I looked in the mirror. It was then that I realized just how ridiculous my hair looked (I have photos to prove it). My hair had no depth or definition anymore. When I pulled my hair back it looked like my hair line and my forehead were one continuous area. My hair was also extremely orange and dry. Unfortunately I was leaving on Sunday July 1, 2007 to go to a wedding in Minnesota. I made two attempts to contact Terra Bella (one through email and the other by calling the salon), but did not hear anything until Monday July 2, 2007.
At that time the owner called and offered to fix the hair. I told her that I was already in Minnesota and that I would probably end up getting it fixed at a salon in Minnesota. I could not walk around with my hair the way it was. I told the owner of Terra Bella that I would contact her when I returned to Springfield.
I went to Salon 2000 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The stylist there was shocked to see the damage that had been done to my hair. She ended up doing a double full head foil to try to correct the horrible, botched color done at Terra Bella. I have enclosed a copy of the letter written by my stylist at Salon 2000. I have also enclosed a copy of the receipt from Salon 2000. As you can see, it was quite expensive to fix the mess that Terra Bella created.
When I returned to Springfield, I almost immediately had to turn around and return to Minnesota. My mother, who was suffering from cancer, took a turn for the worst and was on her death bed. I was in Minnesota for a long time, dealing with the death of my mother, the funeral, and the aftermath. Upon returning to Springfield, I contacted Terra Bella again. This time I received no further correspondence from them. It's been over a month since my last attempt to contact Terra Bella regarding this situation and I am becoming irritated and annoyed every time I think of the damage that was done to my hair. My hair is still dry and a significant amount had to be cut off.
My total bill at Terra Bella was $75.00. In hindsight, I should not have had to pay anything. Not only did my hair look completely horrible and ridiculous, but it was severely damaged. I had to have several inches cut off my hair, and have spent months using corrective conditioners. It is still not at the condition it was before going to Terra Bella.
In addition to the $75.00 that I had to pay at Terra Bella, my bill at Salon 2000 was $144.00 (see attached receipt). That is a total of $219.00- FOR WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDARD HAIR COLOR! I do not feel that I should be responsible for this. After all, I would have never gone to Salon 2000 if Terra Bella had done a good job in the first place. Unfortunately some of the orange color is still present in my hair (again, see attached letter from Salon 2000). And I am not sure how many more color treatments will be needed to correct the mess that Terra Bella created.
Terra Bella is responsible for the cost of the hair coloring and corrective color- all $219.00. Send a check by October 1, 2007 to the address listed at the end of the letter. Again, TERRA BELLA RUINED MY HAIR! TERRA BELLA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST TO FIX IT!
I am prepared to write letters to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the State consumer office informing them of your businesses practices. I am also prepared to send emails to Complaints.com, Consumer Affairs.com, and Ripoff Report to warn consumers about Terra Bella and tell them to avoid going there to have any services done.
*************************************************************
Well, I finally got a reply in the mail. Basically the letter (full of misspelled words and grammatical errors) stated that it was my fault & screw you. So, I called & talked to the manager (b/c the owner wasn't in even though her letter claimed she was always available). The manager was rude & continually talked over me & interrupted w/ her excuses and lies. In the end, they agreed to at least refund my money for the crap hair color they did, but refused to take the blame for it. I still plan to write to the BBB and make sure others are not treated like I was.
For those who live in the Springfield area- AVOID TERRA BELLA! They suck & are completely incompetent.
Avoid Terra Bella!
Okay, a recent blog about incompetent companies made me think about my horrible experience at Terra Bella in Chatham, IL.
Here is a copy of the letter that I sent to Terra Bella Salon. In June 2007 I went there for a routine highlight and ended up w/ orange hair. They had been ignoring my emails and phone calls, so I sent them the following letter:
To Whom It May Concern:
On Friday, June 29, 2007 I walked into the Terra Bella salon for a standard hair coloring service. I met with the stylist and she asked what I wanted. I told her that I wanted a more pronounced blond color, but I did not want an all over color or for her to add any more low lights. I specifically stated that I did not want her to take any lowlights away, but do not add any more either. The stylist left and came back with another stylist. The first comment out of the other stylist's mouth was "Wow, your hair is so soft!" The two stylists then debated about what to do to my hair. At that time I told both the stylists that my hair turns gold very easily. The stylists then walked away stating something about using a "whole tube" of a certain color. Upon hearing this, another stylist piped up and stated to only use a half of a tube of that color- not the whole thing. At this point, there was still some question as to how much of the color tube to use. I realize that I should have just got up and left at this point, but hindsight is twenty-twenty.
So, the stylist returns with the color. She begins to slather the color on top of my head. A little odd, I thought, since I specifically told her that I did NOT want an all over color. She then begins to add bleach highlights to the color slathered area. At this point, I questioned what she was doing. She stated at that time "Not to worry. We won't let you leave if you don't like your hair."
The time then comes to rinse the color out of my hair. Every other time I have ever had my hair colored the stylist will state something like-" The color looks good. I think you'll really like this." My stylist said nothing. At that point the stylist using the sink next to us looked over with a horrified look on her face. Shocked, she stated- "What did you use on her hair?!!" When my stylist told her what she used, the stylist next to us then stated, "You used that and it STILL turned her hair THAT gold?!!?" This stylist then began frantically searching for some product to rinse on my hair, slammed in down in front of my stylist, and stated- "Use this. It should help. And if it's still too gold, you can always put a toner on it." At that point my stylist used the product and finished rinsing my hair.
On the way back to the chair, my stylist then stated to me, "Now I don't want you to freak out when you see your hair because it will look different when it dries." When I sat down in the chair, I was horrified by what I saw in the mirror. My hair was bright orange at the roots where the all over color was placed, and bright yellow at the bottom of my hair. I began to tear up, but held the tears back, hoping the color would get better as it dried. The stylist then asked me if I wanted her to cut it before she dried it. I told her no, because I did not think it looked good at all.
She spent an extremely long time drying my hair. I believe this was an attempt to pull any moisture out of the hair in the hopes that it would actually look decent in the end. When she finished, my hair still looked awful. My roots were completely orange and the bottom of my hair was bright yellow- just as it looked before it was dried. I immediately began to cry. My hair was ruined! With that, my stylist began snapping at me- "What do you want me to do? I don't want to put more bleach on it!" I, through sobs and tears, stated; "I don't know what you should do." I thought, Why was she asking me? Isn't she supposed to be the expert? With that, my stylist called over another stylist. Again, after another consultation, the decision was to "just put a toner on it." And again, I was assured that I would not leave with my hair looking bad or me not liking it.
After the toner was put on, another rinse, and another marathon session of drying, I looked at my hair again in the mirror. I will admit, it did look A LITTLE better. However, it STILL LOOKED AWFUL! My stylist then stated that I did not need a haircut (which I never asked for in the first place), but needed a good conditioner. She then offered to sell me one that cost $18.00. I declined. After paying, I made the comment that I still didn't think it looked good, but maybe I would get used to it.
After I got home I looked in the mirror. It was then that I realized just how ridiculous my hair looked (I have photos to prove it). My hair had no depth or definition anymore. When I pulled my hair back it looked like my hair line and my forehead were one continuous area. My hair was also extremely orange and dry. Unfortunately I was leaving on Sunday July 1, 2007 to go to a wedding in Minnesota. I made two attempts to contact Terra Bella (one through email and the other by calling the salon), but did not hear anything until Monday July 2, 2007.
At that time the owner called and offered to fix the hair. I told her that I was already in Minnesota and that I would probably end up getting it fixed at a salon in Minnesota. I could not walk around with my hair the way it was. I told the owner of Terra Bella that I would contact her when I returned to Springfield.
I went to Salon 2000 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The stylist there was shocked to see the damage that had been done to my hair. She ended up doing a double full head foil to try to correct the horrible, botched color done at Terra Bella. I have enclosed a copy of the letter written by my stylist at Salon 2000. I have also enclosed a copy of the receipt from Salon 2000. As you can see, it was quite expensive to fix the mess that Terra Bella created.
When I returned to Springfield, I almost immediately had to turn around and return to Minnesota. My mother, who was suffering from cancer, took a turn for the worst and was on her death bed. I was in Minnesota for a long time, dealing with the death of my mother, the funeral, and the aftermath. Upon returning to Springfield, I contacted Terra Bella again. This time I received no further correspondence from them. It's been over a month since my last attempt to contact Terra Bella regarding this situation and I am becoming irritated and annoyed every time I think of the damage that was done to my hair. My hair is still dry and a significant amount had to be cut off.
My total bill at Terra Bella was $75.00. In hindsight, I should not have had to pay anything. Not only did my hair look completely horrible and ridiculous, but it was severely damaged. I had to have several inches cut off my hair, and have spent months using corrective conditioners. It is still not at the condition it was before going to Terra Bella.
In addition to the $75.00 that I had to pay at Terra Bella, my bill at Salon 2000 was $144.00 (see attached receipt). That is a total of $219.00- FOR WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDARD HAIR COLOR! I do not feel that I should be responsible for this. After all, I would have never gone to Salon 2000 if Terra Bella had done a good job in the first place. Unfortunately some of the orange color is still present in my hair (again, see attached letter from Salon 2000). And I am not sure how many more color treatments will be needed to correct the mess that Terra Bella created.
Terra Bella is responsible for the cost of the hair coloring and corrective color- all $219.00. Send a check by October 1, 2007 to the address listed at the end of the letter. Again, TERRA BELLA RUINED MY HAIR! TERRA BELLA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST TO FIX IT!
I am prepared to write letters to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the State consumer office informing them of your businesses practices. I am also prepared to send emails to Complaints.com, Consumer Affairs.com, and Ripoff Report to warn consumers about Terra Bella and tell them to avoid going there to have any services done.
*************************************************************
Well, I finally got a reply in the mail. Basically the letter (full of misspelled words and grammatical errors) stated that it was my fault & screw you. So, I called & talked to the manager (b/c the owner wasn't in even though her letter claimed she was always available). The manager was rude & continually talked over me & interrupted w/ her excuses and lies. In the end, they agreed to at least refund my money for the crap hair color they did, but refused to take the blame for it. I still plan to write to the BBB and make sure others are not treated like I was.
For those who live in the Springfield area- AVOID TERRA BELLA! They suck & are completely incompetent.
When I told them that I was going to tell people about what they did to me & how I was treated, they basically said that they didn't care b/c they had enough people coming into the salon & were making enough money from them so I didn't matter.