No children allowed

On Saturday I got a hair cut. Yeah!
I love it--short, but not too short, easy to clean & style--just what a busy mom needs. The stylist was really sweet & did a fantastic job, and was very accommodating for a busy mom's schedule.

I don't think I'll ever go there again. Let me tell you what happened.

I scheduled 3 haircuts, one for myself, my husband, and my almost 3 year old son. Based on feeding/napping/work schedules, somehow I landed 3 appts. that would work for our lives. The salon required a credit card hold for the appointments, and stressed that no children were allowed in the service area unless they were receiving a service themselves. No problem--if I were at the spa, I'd like to be free of kiddos too.

Wouldn't you know, my daughter decided to go to a 4-hour nursing schedule that threw a wrench in everything. I thought I could still work around everything on the fly. I nursed baby E in the car as to not disturb anyone in the salon, while O had his hair cut (supervised by his dad). My husband ran O to the car afterwards, and ran back in for his hair cut (as originally planned). As I burped E, I realized that my appt., scheduled for later in the afternoon would now collide with E's next feeding. AAACK! I called my hubby over & over trying to catch him before his appt. started.

Knowing that the salon would charge me for half my appt. fee (something we just can't afford), I grabbed the kiddos & marched into the very crowded salon.
Of course, my hubby & stylist were packed into a back corner & I had to navigate through the service area to get to them.
Again, this stylist is amazing, and was actually nearly done with my husband's cut. WOW!
I explained the situation to her, asking if she had another opening that day, or if we could do anything. She was very kind, and said no problem--she would start my haircut immediately after finishing my husband's.
I found a quiet corner (yes, in the service area) where I could hide for 5 minutes while we waited.

Okay--here's where I should explain. Yes, I knew their "no kids" policy, and yes, I was breaking that rule. I was however, trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Wading through stylists(they are literally packed into a very small space) with kids in tow to wait in the very crowded lobby area, I thought would be even more stressful for everyone in the salon rather than hiding in a quiet back area where very few people even noticed us.

Guess I was wrong.

Only seconds after sitting down, I realized I was being watched. Two ladies, obviously employees of the salon were conferring with each other, and I can only imagine it was about what to do with the frazzled mom & two (very WELL behaved) kids.

One finally approached me, and in an ever-so-condescending voice, proceeded to explain the "rules" to me as if I were the child. I attempted to explain the situation, but before I could continue--she did. Making it abundantly clear we were unwanted & I needed to leave the service area NOW.
Despite that my husband was seconds from finishing, I picked the kids up and headed to the lobby--nearly bumping into 5 people, only to find the lobby packed with people, and realized the only option was to go back to the car.
My husband was not long behind me, and I ran back in past the extremely rude non-customer oriented supposed "guest relations" employee to my awaiting stylist.

I thought about contacting the salon owner, and I might still. I do realize that I wasn't following their rules, but unlike the rude salon employee--I feel that I was at least attempting to be considerate of all parties involved.

Truly, the only real thing I'm miffed about is the total lack of customer relations this person showed me. I was a paying customer. She didn't ask if she could help me get relocated, she didn't ask if anything was wrong, but she was rude. Just totally unkind. She was more concerned with the salons rules, than her customer's needs.

Salons, spas, and the like need to realize that women--MOMS--are a vast majority of their clients. I'm not saying let's start bringing the kids. The salon is a great place to get a break, but let's get a little understanding for the rare circumstances that sometimes are out of our control.