GOOGLE REVIEW SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Date: 10/17/2024
Prepared by: H***** N*****
Incident Report
October 16th was the date of Ms. Rogers’ original appointment. The customer arrived at our salon with various concerns. There were obvious signs of some form of distress by the current state of her hair. After a thorough consultation, we both agree to cutting off hair that was severely matted and deciding with a short tapered look. She asked if she could record content for her TikTok to which I agreed. At some point in the service, she began aggressively attempting to bait my coworker LR into some form of a confrontational argument while recording for “content.” LR was extremely professional and redirected the energy of the conversation to something more positive and educational. After many hours in the salon as well as many changes to her overall appearance, Ms. Rogers left stating that she was satisfied with her experience. I informed her of our service guarantee policy, which states if I client is not satisfied with a service, they may return to the salon free of charge to rectify any issues within the week.
On October 17th, Ms. Rogers expressed dissatisfaction with the end result of her hair via Google Review, then proceeded to call the salon less than an hour later. Yasmine Young invited the young woman to return to the salon to rectify the situation to which the client agreed. Ms. Rogers arrived at the salon within that hour and was greeted by Yasmine who performed her service. During the consultation, Ms. Rogers showed obvious signs of agitation and frustration. Throughout the entire interaction, Yasmine remained calm and professional with the intent to give Ms. Rogers a satisfactory experience and a haircut she loved.
Unfortunately, it was clear that Ms. Rogers’ had a different intention for the interaction. After an hour in the chair, Ms. Rogers was still unsatisfied and unsure about the cut and style she wanted. Yasmine performed to the best of her ability with the conflicting demands presented to her, but it became clear that the client would not be satisfied with the services we provide at Diaspora. Before leaving, the client stated she was satisfied with her hair. We thanked Ms. Rogers for coming in and recommended her to another salon that would be a better fit. On her way out, Ms. Rogers began recording and attempting to stir up confusion for content. At this point, Yasmine asked the young woman to leave the salon which prompted the client to start spewing slurs and shoving her camera in Ms. Young’s face.
After being guided out of the facility, Ms. Rogers became irate, yelling and cursing outside of our salon while filming. Yasmine attempted to calm the client and have a civil conversation but to no avail because Ms. Rogers was already too far gone. After approximately 15 minutes of ranting and raving on the street, Ms. Rogers’ father had to drag her down the street in order for her to leave. Diaspora is a specialty salon which reflects in our available services.
Unfortunately, Ms. Rogers’ expectations for her hair fell beyond our scope of expertise. Disagreements, misunderstandings and dissatisfaction are all part of our industry but we have never experienced behavior as unhinged as what Ms. Rogers displayed that day. At Diaspora we pride ourselves in being a safe place in our community while providing a high level experience and services. Sadly, I do not believe we could have done anything differently to change the outcome of Ms. Rogers’ experience. The client valued getting content for her socials over truly engaging in the environment provided by our salon.
H***** N*****
Licensed Cosmetologist
Diaspora Salon
Owner’s Response from BBB Review:
My name is Yasmine Young and I am the owner of Diaspora Salon. Established in 2015 our focus is on naturally textured curly and coily hair. Since 2015 we’ve been voted Best of Baltimore, featured in publications such as the New York Times, NBC News, The Baltimore Banner, The Baltimore Sun, AARP, The Today Show and Reuters, just to name a few. Our clientele is vast and our influence firm within our industry and our city. We exist for our employees and customers and to continuously be a guiding light for black women in the Diaspora on how to understand, love and maintain their natural hair. With that said, I will address the accusations made by Miss Rogers.
At the beginning of all appointments, our stylists perform consultations. For two reasons: to provide the stylist with information from the client to so that we can curate the service to their specific needs, and for the client to offer information and ask questions of us on her needs and expectations during and after her appointment. Our consultations last approximately five to seven minutes for cutting and styling services, and seven to ten minutes if we’re providing a hair color service. Miss Rodgers’ consultation lasted twenty minutes, with consistent questions asked and answered, as well as education and information provided throughout the duration of her appointment.
At Diaspora, all our services are based on a cycle complete with milestones. After reviewing audio and video footage from her appointment, I saw the cycle and milestones were met by the stylist and received by Miss Rogers– from a thorough consultation to her being offered a beverage and snack, to aromatherapy on her towel while being shampooed, and the recap of her service and satisfaction with her cut and styling.
Miss Rodgers, at the beginning of her service asked if she could record content for Tik Tok, and her stylist, HN said yes. At the beginning of her consultation with her stylist, she stated that her hair was not in good condition and that she had not washed it since May 2024, as it was very dehydrated and matted throughout. It was so matted that the majority of her hair had to be cut off. She referred to her hair as “NAPPY”. This is the word Miss Roger’s refers to when she says we tried to silence her speech. The word “nappy” is a traditionally derogatory word that European- Americans used to describe Afro textured hair, dating back to the 17th century. At Diaspora, we do not use that word, or any other possibly derogatory term that has been used to describe our hair. The word “nappy” is often a trigger word, and is most used in a negative way, just as Miss Roger’s used it to describe that her hair was in bad condition. However, we did not, and have never told clients that they aren’t “allowed” to use that word, we just say what we don’t do.
Our senior stylist, LR mentioned this to Miss Rogers, and Miss Rogers became agitated, and her response was to start recording on her phone, and to ask LR to repeat what she’d just said so she could record it and put it on Tik Tok. She attempted to go back and forth with LR, but LR just repeatedly said “ok” and backed down from the ensuing confrontation.
Moving forward with the consultation, Miss Rogers showed her stylist, HN multiple photos of what she wanted. Those photos did not reflect the texture/ curl pattern of her own hair. HN explained this, offered her an explanation of the same, Miss Rogers accepted, and the service began.
It’s important to note that Miss Rogers completed a Consultation Form (see exhibit 1) on our website, uploaded photos of her hair and her desired look, but that look is not what she initially showed her stylist during the consultation.
After that initial haircut was completed, Miss Rogers said she wasn’t pleased with the final shape of the cut. After showing different photos of a different shape (of singer Rihanna’s hair), at the request of Miss Rogers, HN cut more hair off at the top, as Miss Rogers didn’t like that it was so short on the sides and longer at the top. After the edit, Miss Rogers said she was satisfied. Soon after, Miss Rogers was provided with a recap of the appointment, the stylist showed her the products used on her hair, but Miss Rogers declined to purchase any products. She paid for her service and left the salon.
The following day, I was briefed on Ms. Rogers’ visit. According to LR and the stylist that serviced Miss Rogers, HN, Miss Rogers had been extremely difficult. I was told that she displayed bully- like behavior, indecisiveness, was erratic at times, and was inflexible on understanding the capabilities of her natural hair type, texture and color.
While I was looking at our security footage, Miss Rogers left a Google review, then called shortly after to say that she didn’t like her hair. I invited her to come in so I could view and adjust her haircut, and she said ok.
When Miss Rogers arrived and we began her consultation, I understood what my staff explained. With all due respect, she was dramatic, erratic, passive- aggressive and argumentative. I had another customer waiting for me, and for what Miss Rogers said she wanted, it should have taken me about five to ten minutes to complete. Instead, she was in my chair, mostly talking and asking repeat questions for over an hour.
For five minutes, she showed me photos of what she thought her hair looked like (a photo of the comedian Leslie Jones) and what she didn’t want it to look like.
When I asked her to show me a photo of instead what she wanted, she became agitated and said I wasn’t listening to her. I assured her that I was listening and understood her concerns, but I was focused on delivering the results that she wanted. I apologized and she began complaining again, so I just let her talk. Her saying I wasn’t listening went on for another four to five minutes. I again tried to redirect the conversation to what she wanted me to adjust. She started saying that her uncle said she looked like Elvis, she thought her hair looked like a boy and she didn’t look feminine. I told her that in my professional opinion, the cut fit her face extremely well. I wanted to snip a little, but if she didn’t want the soft taper, and wanted it round and lower, I could do that. A few moments later, she said to use clippers and that she wanted a “Number 1”. A Number 1 is a haircut where all your hair is equal to 1/8”– all over. I advised against cutting all her hair off on such a whim, and suggested we could start with just rounding the top out, and if she wanted the Number 1, she could always go shorter later. I asked her to confirm what had been discussed and she said “ok”.
She showed me a photo of what she wanted: Rihanna’s hair at her hair product launch event. I told Miss Rogers that Rihanna’s hair is a different texture and curl pattern than hers and fully explained it (see exhibit 2). Rihanna’s hair was also healthy, while Miss Rogers’ hair needed more time and TLC to get to its optimum health.
Miss Rogers then showed me photos of her hair previously. There was color on the ends of her hair, and you could see curls. She blamed us that we couldn’t get her hair to look like that again. I told her the curls were established and visible because her hair texture had been chemically changed from hair color/ lightener (bleach), and I went over the chemistry of the hair strand and what chemicals do. She said she understood that. As I start cutting, she said her consultation from HN wasn’t thorough and how her photos from the consultation form she completed were disregarded by HN and now by me. HN came over to address that concern and I stepped away to go to the front desk to bring up the photos from the consultation form (see exhibit 1). HN asked Ms. Rogers what could’ve been more thorough. HN went down the list on what they had discussed during the twenty-minute consultation, and Miss Rogers agreed with everything HN was saying, but she still held onto her assertion that the consultation wasn’t thorough because her hair didn’t look like Rihanna’s, even though Rihanna’s hair wasn’t the photo shown to the stylist during the consultation the day before.
I took a photo of the look she uploaded into her consultation form and took them back for her to see. They were photos of Rihanna’s hair again. HN said, “you showed these photos later in the appointment when you said you wanted more off the top, but this cut is nothing like the first photo you showed me you wanted when we started your hair”.
When I again explained to Miss Rogers why her hair couldn’t look like Rihanna’s– specifically because Rihanna’s hair was a different texture and chemically treated with color. Then Miss Rogers admitted that she had been looking at Rihanna’s color, not the cut. She said she just thought it was a cute look and she missed her hair color. She said she always has her hair colored, and then she leaned forward as I was in the middle of cutting to look in the mirror. She mentioned that she didn’t like her natural hair color and how it’s too much of a contrast against her complexion. She also mentioned that she had asked HN if she could color her hair and HN advised she focus on its health and establishing a regimen, and that hair color can come after that. She seemed sad and disappointed when discussing this.
After more questions (including her asking me what our zodiac signs were) from, and answers and explanations from Miss Rogers, I was done with the haircut. She asked a few other questions and gave me a directive to use clippers to clean her neck up. She grew agitated again because she said she wanted the area to be “natural”, which is the opposite of cleaning the area up. I stepped away and told her that she was giving me opposing directives. She let me finish. I gave her a mirror and asked if she was ok with the result, and she said yes. I removed the cape, stepped away and she asked if I could take more off the top. I went back to get the cape again and took more off the top as she requested. I again removed the cape and asked her if she was ok with the result, and she said yes.
She got up from the chair and began walking to the front of the salon, then turned to me and asked if she could get a discount because she didn’t like her hair. This was within a few seconds of her having just told me that she liked the cut. I told her no, she seemed shocked, and I thanked her for coming in and allowing me to adjust the cut and ushered her to the front of the salon.
Once she got to the front HN attempted to close out her visit and give her some advice on possibly going to a barbershop for them to cut it from then on. She asked HN a question I had answered three times and then asked her for a recommendation to another salon because she wouldn’t be coming back to ours. That’s when I walked to the front. I told her the appointment was over and thanked her for coming in, and that our obligation had been fulfilled. She attempted to stand in the same spot and argue. Then she lifted her phone up and started recording. She put it in my face as she backed out the door. She said she was going to leave a BBB complaint, Yelp review, update her Google review, and that she was putting this all over the internet. When I asked her what for, because we had done nothing wrong, she said, “Because you were nasty and influence is everything”. No one was nasty to her.
There were clients that witnessed the whole ordeal– from when she came in, and up to this point. I was sickened that they witnessed that, but they were understanding and even raved about how we handled the situation extremely well.
Miss Rogers was now outside, hysterical– yelling and screaming while holding the camera toward me and the salon storefront and recording. Then she began yelling about a mental health issue and shortly after broke down crying. After a few more minutes of this, and her bringing up the word “nappy” and the gay pride flag, her father got out of a vehicle and encouraged her to leave the premises, but he couldn’t control her. She continued cursing, called us ugly b------ this and that, that we're disgusting, and more as her father pulled her down the street to their vehicle.
In 15 years as a professional hairdresser, I’ve never witnessed such behavior from a client. Never. My staff and I did everything we could in this situation, but we cannot control others, just ourselves and how we behave. I am proud of my team for how we all worked together to handle this very difficult ordeal.
I am not granting a refund. We did nothing wrong. Miss Rogers agreed to our salon policies (see exhibits 1 and 3) when she sent in her consultation form, when she scheduled her appointment through our website at diasporasalon.com/appointments and when she clicked that she agreed to our Terms and Conditions on our booking site, Meevo. Additionally, Miss Rogers received the service she scheduled and paid for, and more than 3 hours of extra time with myself and my staff. Lastly, Miss Rogers is circulating untruths through review sites like Yelp and Google (see exhibit 4) in an effort to defame us and to “go viral”.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
Yasmine Young, owner
Diaspora Salon