A Hair Overbearing

(I work from home with a toddler and I do the majority of the housework, as my husband works a lot, too. As things get pretty busy, I never get around to haircuts, and I probably only have one or two a year. Because of this, I also tend to just go to any hairdresser rather than committing to a single one. I am nine months pregnant and have just finished having a haircut. Even before the baby, my schedule was pretty hectic.)

Hairdresser: “You look amazing. So great. It’s a great cut.”

Me: “Thanks.”

(Internally, I’m saying that I hate it, but I honestly don’t care because I wear it up all the time and I am super pregnant.)

Hairdresser: “So, do you want to book in again? Let’s say four weeks?”

Me: *gesturing to very pregnant belly* “No, thank you. I don’t know what my schedule will be like. I’ll just call and make an appointment when I want it.”

Hairdresser: “I can make it six weeks.”

Me: “No, that’s cool. Honestly, I often go six months between cuts as I get pretty busy. I’ll just sort it out when I get to it.”

(She gasps at me saying six months, but she just smiles and processes my payment. Time goes on, along comes the baby, and I have just gotten out of the hospital when I get a voicemail asking me to call the hairdresser back. I call out of curiosity and another hairdresser explains she’s confirming my appointment for my haircut the next day.)

Me: *laughing* “No, I don’t have an appointment.”

Hairdresser #2: “There’s a cancellation fee if—“

Me: *laughing more* “Yeah, no. You’re a hairdresser, not a medical specialist, and you cannot charge someone to cancel an appointment that they didn’t make.”

Hairdresser #2: “I can see on my file here you made this appointment when you were here seeing [Hairdresser], and you’re booked in for every six weeks until next year.”

Me: “Have fun with that. I have haircuts once every six-ish months. That appointment I had with [Hairdresser] was the first I’ve ever had there, and she did an awful job. I most definitely didn’t arrange appointments for her to ruin my hair on a monthly basis. Good luck charging me.”

(I hung up. I received a text message later confirming my cancellation of my appointment.)