Edited to note: I wasn’t confused. I was given incorrect availability that influenced my contract signing and payment.
My experience with Savi Beauty MUA was nothing short of appalling. Savi displayed a total lack of ownership and professionalism with clear misrepresentation of availability.
I emailed Savi on 2/12/23 to inquire about availability for makeup and hair services on my wedding date. The next day, Savi confirmed that both were available. Savi sent the makeup contract to sign, confirmed both services availability a second time, then noted that an $85 nonrefundable deposit was due to hold the date for both services.
Operating under the aforementioned confirmation of availability, I signed a contract and paid the deposit 2/14.
On 2/15/23, Savi emailed to confirm receipt of both the contract and payment. A few hours later, I received another email noting that the hairstylist was unavailable, but that Savi would be looking for a replacement.
A week later, on 2/22/23, after not hearing from Savi since 2/15/23, I emailed to check in. I received an email the following day stating she did not know anyone else available. This felt very much like she was wiping her hands of it and did not consider it her issue. Additionally, many stylists will only book for both services, which made finding someone to do just my hair entirely impossible, which I’m sure Savi knows given her own requirements to book a wedding.
A business owner has an obligation to verify availability for all involved parties before committing to a date. Instead, there were false expectations set and a written agreement made that impacted the decision to book Savi Beauty MUA for the wedding.
Given that this was not my error and there was no resolution provided by the business owner, I then requested a refund of this nonrefundable deposit on 2/23 citing these communications and misrepresentations. I had to follow up on the email on 2/26, three days after sending it, as I had not received a response. Four days after sending my request for a refund, on 2/27, I received a condescending response back refusing a refund.
In this same email, Savi misspelled my name, which was unsurprising given the rampant grammatical and spelling errors throughout the contract, email communication, and website. This further underscores the total lack of attention to detail.
In a later email, she stated, “I apologize for misspelling your name. And I am sorry for the unprofessionalism and that my customer service did not reach your expectations.” These delays in communication, lack of ownership, misrepresentation of availability, inability to empathize, and lack of attention to detail are not only unacceptable to me, but are unacceptable in any industry. This is, again, not an apology but a dismissal of responsibility.
She had a responsibility to touch base with the hairstylist prior to confirming the date and did not. At that point, she had a responsibility to find a viable solution, which she also failed to do. At the bare minimum, she owes the customer timely communication, which she also failed to provide on two separate occasions (first, providing no update on the hairstylist search and second, waiting four days to respond to my request for a refund due to her error). By failing to do any of the above, she has a responsibility to truly own her errors and misrepresentation by issuing a refund as this was not an error on my part as the customer. She has also failed to issue a refund.