I don’t like to talk bad about companies but Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa should know better! This is a big company with lots of corporate public relations people employed and yet, their customer service is horrendous.
I’ll tell you why…
Recently, I went to Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa for a cut and color. I haven’t seen my favorite colorist in a long time and decided to see her in the Woodbury location.
When I got there, I sat in a chair and waited. I decided to help myself to a glass of water and noticed that one of the assistants was diligently working while the other one was sitting on a chair looking at her phone. When the assistant saw that I was looking at her, she came over to me and asked if she could take my coat.
The Black Northface Coat
I had a black short Northface jacket. The shorter, older assistant, asked if she could hang my jacket. “Now take everything out of the pockets,” she said to me.
Thinking that was a little strange, I obliged. My hair stylist came over, colored my hair, gave me a nice cut and about 2.5 hours later, I was ready to go home.
I went to the communal closet to take out my coat. It was gone. My immediate reaction was that someone took my coat by mistake. There was another coat in the closet but it wasn’t mine. I tried it on.
It was huge on me. My stylist was now working on another customer and that customer was hysterical. “That’s not your coat,” she said.
My stylist went to get the manager who started to look through the video tape. The manager told me that she called a few of the customers but no one had my coat. She tried getting in touch with both assistants as well but no one claimed it.
I was very upset. I went home with the coat that didn’t belong to me and asked my husband, “Am I losing it?” I asked.
Looked at photos
“No, that is obviously not your coat,” he said. We looked at photos. This coat was an older version of my coat. It didn’t feel like my coat and the sleeves were particularly long. It also was stained and frayed. “Go take it back there tomorrow and if they don’t do something about it, file a police report.”
The next day, I went to Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa in Woodbury. I walked in and immediately I felt the staff had a bad attitude. The manager from the night before came out. She was a young woman. “There’s nothing I can do about this,” she said. “I looked through the tapes and no one took your jacket. That must be your jacket.”
I told her that I was going to file a police report. “Go ahead,” she said. Is that the right way to treat a customer who had been going to The Red Door Spa for nearly 30 years?
The police report
The police officer came. I filed a report and then he questioned the manager. As I was waiting, I started to talk with the makeup person, who I’ve used in the past. “I can’t say anything,” she said to me.
I saw the assistant who washed my hair and asked her if she got the tip I gave her. At first she looked at me as if she didn’t know who I was, even though I had been going to this salon for years. “Oh yeah,” she said, “thanks.”
After filing the police report, I went home. I was so upset. I tweeted to The Red Door Salon. They didn’t answer. I continued to tweet. No response.
Social Media Postings
It wasn’t until I wrote on Yelp and Google that someone called me back. “We decided to give you a $200 gift certificate to the Red Door Spa that you can use anywhere in the country,” the woman said to me.
Why didn’t the manager at the Woodbury location give me a $500 gift certificate when she saw I was so upset? The coat cost me $500. I was going to the spa once a month for a massage and once every five weeks to get my hair done. They would have made that up and then some, had they been more accommodating to me.
It upset me that it took me posting on social media before they responded. If I hadn’t posted, they would have offered me nothing.
Is that good customer service?
When I got the gift certificate, the letter said, “please enjoy our guest service gesture. You may use this at any red door location and our gift cards never expire. Best, Red Door Spa Woodbury.”
No apology
I couldn’t believe they didn’t apologize for my lost coat. By the way, I left the one that wasn’t mine at the Woodbury location.
I will NEVER go back to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and Spa in Woodbury. After 30+ years of spending thousands of dollars, the way I was treated was unacceptable.
Now, I need to find a new salon and spa! Any recommendations?
