Saturday, February 8, 2014

Sharon's Salon and Alison Ziebell

Alison Ziebell shared a bad experience she had at Sharon's Wig Salon on Capitol Dr. in Brookfield.

She's shopping for a wig, preparing for the side effects of chemotherapy.

This is not the first negative report I've heard about the place, but this one is really disturbing.

Here's Allison's post:

MY HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT SHARON'S SALON IN BROOKFIELD, WI

We walked into the salon and were shown to a room towards the back of the store that had numerous wigs. I would say about 70% of the wigs were gray hair for elderly, not a problem at all if that is mainly their customer. They had a SMALL area of wigs that would have worked for me. Probably about 5 choices for me to choose from but really only ONE that was similar to the other style I had seen. We asked if I could try it on and the woman (probably in her 60s) working there was obviously annoyed that she needed to help us. She came over and put the little nylon thing over my head and then slipped the wig on without even fitting it correctly. She walked away while I had to pull it down in front so it was sitting properly. We really liked this wig but wondered if there was any styles that were a little longer and wondered what other colors it came in. The woman pulled out some brochures and was paging through them trying to figure out which color I was wearing. My sister in law Amy simply picked up one of the wig brochures to flip through and see the other styles to see if there was something else we liked and the woman literally RIPPED the brochure out of her hand and rudely told her that customers are NOT allowed to look through brochures. We politely asked how we were supposed to buy something if they only had five styles on display and we were not allowed to look at other styles in the brochures. At the other salon, they showed us brochure after brochure after brochure of styles that were available for order. Apparently that is not how it works at Sharon's. We asked to speak to the manager so Sharon herself, the owner came to talk to us. She was RUDE and told us that people like "us" only come in to look at their store and then we order online and it's just a waste of their time. Mind you, we were thinking of ORDERING this wig from them. I told her perhaps people were ordering online because of their terrible customer service. So I told her I was interested in the wig that I was wearing while we were talking but I wanted to see a longer style so how was she going to make that sale to me if they didn't have a longer style on display and they refused to show us a brochure. She told us to look online, find something we like and then come to them and they will order it. Um, hello... why would I not just order it ONLINE at that point. So I took the wig off my head, said I guess you are unwilling to help us and Amy and I started to walk out. THEN.. as we were almost out the door the sales woman laughed and yelled at me "Good luck, I hope ALL your hair falls out". Yes you read that correctly! She yelled to me, a young mother of 2 that is fighting a f*cking brain tumor, looking for a wig to help her while her hair falls out that she "hopes ALL my hair falls out". If you could have seen how quickly Amy and I whipped around and marched back there. HOW DARE SOMEONE SAY THAT TO ME.. TO ANYONE for that matter! I walked right up to this woman, tears or anger and sadness running down my face, stood about three feet from her and gave her some very bold choice of words and we walked out. Sharon the owner stood next to her and laughed. NEVER in my life have I experienced something like this. I was shaking for probably a good two hours afterwards. How could anyone have so little heart or compassion. I just had to spread the word of this horrible experience. I hope my blog reaches many and that NO ONE ever walks into that store in search of a wig. I still can't believe I experienced that today! Who would EVER say something like that?!
What makes this credible is Alison's use of her full name. There is nothing anonymous about it.

According to TMJ4's Cody Holyoke:

What she wrote about an experience at a salon has gone viral. And it has police involved.

..."The salesperson yelled at the top her lungs, 'I hope all your hair falls out.'"

Owner Sharon Heyden says that didn't happen, and calls it a misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, employees at the salon say Alison and her sister-in-law swore at them and slammed the door when they left.

Sharon's Salon had an A-Plus rating with the Better Business Bureau, but that page is now under review after a large backlash from the community.

The salon says they'd be willing to give Alison the wig she wanted for free. Alison says she has received a number of offers.
"Misunderstanding"?

I don't think so.

Of course, Alison and her sister-in-law reacted the way they did. They were extremely upset and they had every right to be.

A free wig?

Give me a break. Yes, wigs are expensive. Still, way too little, way too late.

After Alison's experience hit the media, concerned people have inundated Sharon's with emails and calls.

Alison updated her post:

UPDATED February 8th at 9:15am

Thank you for all the support, I think Sharon has heard the response loud and clear. I encourage everyone to stop emailing and/or calling her business. If you are new to the story I can assure you, they have already received enough emails, phone calls and complaints to last them a lifetime so please use your energy and time doing something positive instead. As hurtful as what they said to me was, I am over it. Patty's rude comment is already behind me and I am moving forward with the same positive attitude I always have. Our message has been heard, now let's all band together and do some good! Instead of sending them a nasty email or phone call, use your time doing something positive today, send an email to a friend that you know is having a hard time, drop a card off for an elderly person in your neighborhood saying you hope they are staying warm in this never ending winter, buy coffee for the car behind you at Starbucks, drop off a homemade meal for a family you know is struggling, just get out there and be a positive force today!
Sharon Heyden has a big problem she needs to address. That's clear. I'm sure she gets it.

Alison offers a great message. It's time to move forward.

There are so many people in need, people without lots of family and friends to support them. It's so hard to face a challenge alone.

They probably wouldn't ask for help, but a simple act of kindness would be greatly appreciated.

Make a difference for someone today. Do something good.

______________

UPDATE: Wig salon apologizes after woman with brain tumor blogs of rude staff
The salon owner, while calling the situation a misunderstanding, has apologized to Ziebell and offered to hold a fundraiser for her at the salon.

Ziebell instead asked the salon to donate the money to charity, WTMJ-TV reported.
Now Heyden is offering to hold a fundraiser, too?

Obviously, she wants to get out from under this avalanche of bad publicity.

What's odd is that Heyden offers no explanation to counter Alison Ziebell's story. "It was a misunderstanding" is inadequate. Why doesn't she defend herself and her business by giving the other side of the story?

If Heyden's business is being criticized unjustly, she should say so. She should explain this "misunderstanding."

If Heyden's customers know that Alison Ziebell's story doesn't sound right, and if she offers the vast majority of her customers good service, then Heyden won't suffer. I don't believe one story will destroy her business. One bad review does not have the power to negate years of quality service, if that is what she truly provides.