An Unpleasant Hair Affair

On Claudia’s birthday, I bought her a package at a popular hair saloon for 10 hair cuts. As she keeps her hair longer and visits the saloon less often than me, she lets me use her package.

I remembered during one of the times when I visited this chain of hair saloon, they were very keen to tell me about my scalp problem and were rather pushy in getting me to sign up for treatment package. I was totally resistant to such scare-marketing tactics. It is unethical and completely dishonest.

Then today, when I visited another chain, the hairstylist once again told me about my scalp problem. I kindly told him that I was not interested then and may probably consider it during future visits. He was rather kind and respected my choice and went on to cut my hair.

After cutting my hair, the shampoo girl rinsed my hair and the hairstylist told me that the shampoo girl would be applying some stuff on my hair. That was that and the shampoo girl did the rinsing.

Thereafter, she applied some stuff on my head. I asked her what it was and she said that it was some ginseng essence. Then the hairstylist came back and then passed me a small bottle of special herbal shampoo and told me how I should use it.

Honest to God, all this while, I was impressed with the good service that the hairstylist had been giving to me. I thought to myself that this is one hairstylist that is genuinely concern about my alleged scalp problem and he had gone the extra mile to give me some sample treatment.

I was thinking that I would ask him after the whole hair cut on the cost of this scalp treatment that he was recommending to me. If the price is reasonable, I may considered giving it a try. I was impressed with his service.

Then to my utter horror, at the end of the session, he gave me a receipt of $48 for the treatment that he had given to me! This $48 was on top of the wash and cut that I had earlier paid in the package.

I told him that I did not ask for the treatment and recollected the whole series of events to him. He tried to shift the responsibility to the shampoo girl saying that she would have explained it to me. I told him to not do that and repeated that I would not have agreed to the treatment without having first asked what the treatment was all about and the price.

And I also told the hairstylist that when he said that he would put the whatever stuff on my head, it wasn’t a question but a statement that he was making to me.

I am usually an easy-going guy when it comes to prices in buying stuff. I am not the type that would walk from Plaza Singapura to Lucky Plaza for a $10 discount. To be honest, I am really quite "con-able"!

But this time, it was my sense of injustice that drove me to make a firm stand. In fact, I was so pastoral that I even told him that I sincerely felt bad that he might have to lose some money for the essence that he had used on my head. But I told him that it was wrong for him to use such unethical means to get business. It was just wrong and I will not pay for his own wrong-doing (sin would be a better word but it wasn’t church setting)

He relented as I continued to stand firm…

Later, Claudia told me that this is a common technique that some shops use. This is certainly new to me and I feel really frustrated that these people are trying to take me for a ride.

Perhaps, I should just go back to those $10 hair cut shops from here on. Things are much simpler there.

Injustice does indeed cause a sense of anger within people. I wonder how God feel when He sees all the injustice that is taking place in His beloved world.

I also wonder to myself of what Jesus would have done if he were in my shoes…