Subject: Complaint Regarding Haircut and Customer Service at Great Clips – Pine Lake Village, Sammamish, WA (July 31, 2026)
I am writing to express my disappointment with the haircut and customer service my tween son and I experienced at the Great Clips location in Pine Lake Village, Sammamish, Washington, on July 31, 2026.
I checked in online before arriving to minimize our wait time. We arrived at approximately 4:20 p.m., and my son was called by a male hairstylist around 4:30 p.m. Before the haircut began, I showed him two reference photos. Both photos showed the same hairstyle; the second photo was simply a shorter version because we wanted a summer haircut.
By approximately 5:20 p.m.—nearly 50 minutes after the haircut started—the haircut was not even halfway finished. At that point, I approached the hairstylist and showed him the same two reference photos again to clarify what we were looking for. My son has been getting the same style at your Issaquah Highlands location for more than five years, where the haircut typically takes only 15–20 minutes.
During this conversation, a blonde female hairstylist interrupted and stated that I had shown two different hairstyles and that she should charge me for two haircuts. I explained that the photos represented the same hairstyle, with one simply being a shorter version. She then raised her voice and said it was the male hairstylist’s first day and that he needed more time.
I asked why we had not been informed that he was a new employee before the haircut began, especially since a significantly longer appointment would have affected our schedule. My son had a swim class afterward, and had we known the haircut would take well over an hour, we would have requested a different stylist or rescheduled.
Her response was, “You should tell me if you have plans afterwards. It is on you, not on us.” I found this response dismissive and unprofessional. Throughout the interaction, I also felt that she treated me with impatience and made assumptions about my English, which made me feel disrespected.
After another 20 minutes, the male hairstylist told my son the haircut was finished. Unfortunately, it was by far the worst haircut my son has received since he first started getting haircuts as a young child. The cut was uneven and did not resemble the style we had requested. The experienced female hairstylist did not step in to provide guidance or assistance to the new employee, despite it being his first day and the haircut clearly taking much longer than normal.
As a result, my son needed another haircut the very next day to correct the poor result, causing us additional time, inconvenience, and expense.
We have been loyal Great Clips customers for many years, particularly at your Issaquah Highlands location, where we have consistently received excellent service. This experience at the Pine Lake Village location was completely inconsistent with the level of service we have come to expect.
I respectfully request that this incident be investigated. I also believe it would be appropriate to provide a refund or compensation for the haircut, given the excessive appointment time, the poor quality of the haircut, the unprofessional customer service, and the fact that we had to pay for another haircut to fix the result. I am more than happy to provide photo proves if needed.
Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your response and to learning what steps will be taken to address this matter.