Priv (formerly beGlammed)

. Here's how it went: Day before the wedding, 5am: Three texts informing me my hair pro had canceled. Customer care didn't open until 9am. I called twice and could not reach a person. Later that morning, Priv rebooked us with an alternate. Wedding day, shortly after 8am: Hair pro arrived for the hair appointments and was excellent, genuinely the only bright spot in this experience. 10:20am: Makeup was supposed to start at 10am. No call, no show, no communication. I messaged Priv in the app. They eventually told me the makeup artist had been in an accident and they'd look for a replacement. With a 3pm ceremony, I stopped waiting on Priv. My mom and SIL called Ulta and Sephora. I messaged stylists on StyleSeat and found someone who could see us by noon. I began coordinating transportation and paying her deposit. Here's where it gets messy. From Priv's own records: 10:52am: Priv announces in the in-app chat that they're sending our hair pro back to do makeup. The chat had already timed out on my end, so I never saw this message. No clarification on her qualifications, no question asking if I wanted this, just an announcement. 11:06am: Priv notifies me by email that replies will now come via email since the chat had dropped. 11:15am: I reply declining, explaining we'd already found someone else, and thanking them for the offer. 11:31am: The hair pro arrives at my empty house and calls from the driveway. I apologize to her directly. Priv never told her the appointment was canceled. She found out from me, sixteen minutes after I had declined in writing. After the wedding: Three charges on my credit card for makeup services that were never performed. Priv's stated reason, in writing: "When [the pro] arrived there was no one at the location. Unfortunately since the pro went back you would be charge for the last min 2 makeup cancellations." By that point, all three of us had already left to get makeup done elsewhere, which is exactly what I had told them by email before they ever dispatched anyone. Priv has since argued I had eleven minutes to object to their in-app announcement before they committed to sending the pro. That argument relies on a chat I had been kicked out of, for a message I never saw, asking a question they never actually asked. What this experience makes clear: - Critical communication happens through an app that times out, with no phone backup - Last-minute cancellations (by Priv) are handled by text, not a call - Replacements are dispatched without client confirmation or context on qualifications - You can be charged for services you declined in writing, simply because Priv sent someone to your address anyway I'm disputing the charges with my bank. Our hair pro was wonderful and deserves better than this company. For anyone booking wedding-day beauty services: I'd recommend StyleSeat, where you communicate directly with your stylist and there's no middle layer to fail you on the morning of your wedding.