My Yelp Review
To be upfront and honest, I only tried Flip because of their recent Groupon deal. I have a regular salon that is five convenient minutes from my house, but I just couldn’t pass up Flip’s awesome deal–color isn’t cheap, you know, and I’d never do it otherwise. So I drove the 25ish minutes there (rush hour traffic, you know) and luckily found a parking spot close to the salon. I fed the meter with two hours (maximum allotted time) and set off.
I was a bit early, and was welcomed nicely. I took a seat to wait, which only turned out to be enough time to look around, snap a few shots for Yelp, and then Chelsey was calling me back. She was really very nice and offered me a beverage, then asked me a TON of questions about what I wanted, what I liked, what my hair normally does, how I normally style it, what type of products I use, how much time I spend on my hair, etc…and was thrilled I brought my own pictures to show her what I was thinking (from past hairstyles and colors). I was really surprised at all the questions–I’ve never had a stylist ask so many questions before, but it was nice to see she was REALLY paying attention and trying to get a handle on what exactly I wanted to make sure I was satisfied. She actually suggested a bit different highlight colors than I’d had before and explained why, and I definitely agreed.
Score one for Chelsey.
I apologized that my hair was a little greasy–I’d straightened it that week and it always lasts at least 3-4 days, but since I knew I was coming to the salon, I pushed it to six days, but it was definitely past its prime. So imagine my surprise when she said it was actually GOOD that it was a little oily, because it would help during the coloring, as the oil provided more of a barrier and my hair wouldn’t dry out as much. Interesting. And definitely an interesting tip I’d never heard before.
Score two for Chelsey.
Now, admittedly, I’m not much of a small-talk person, so salon visits always make me a little anxious. You never know if the stylist is going to talk your ear off or if you’re going to sit there in silent awkwardness the entire time…but Chelsey was awesome. Nothing ever felt strained and I felt relaxed the entire time–the snippets of conversation here and there felt extremely natural and never forced.
Score three for Chelsey.
She worked consistently and quickly and I just sat and relaxed, not even reading a magazine or playing on my phone–it was nice to just be out of the house and not. have. to. do. anything. but. sit. there. (I’m a SAHM so getting out of the house ALONE is great on its own. Being pampered is another level of excitement.)
So there was highlighting and sitting under the dryer and washing and conditioning then adding toner then sitting under the dryer again. By the time we were ready for the haircut, I’d actually been there almost 2.5 hours–and I suddenly freaked out that my meter had run out and I was probably going to get a ticket. I asked Chelsey if the parking police were bad and she said yeah, pretty much–then OFFERED TO GO FEED THE METER FOR ME!! Wait, what? SHE was going to run out herself? Whoa. She even said she’d grab quarters if I needed them, but I had change in my pocket. But, seriously, WHOA. That is service.
Score four for Chelsey.
I was getting a little nervous because it was nearing 9:00 (closing time) and we were really no where near being done–she was still cutting my hair, and it still had to be blown out straight (and I have a thick head of hair). I made some comment to that effect, and she said if I wasn’t in a hurry, she wasn’t either. Awesome. I mean, I didn’t really expect her to cut me off mid-cut or mid-blow dry at 9 on the dot, but I was a little worried that she might rush through it and not do as good of a job. I should not have worried AT ALL. She continued to do an amazingly thorough job, and she was finishing up about 9:45! And it was GORGEOUS. Great color, great shine, and full of movement! It was one of THE best haircuts (and colors) I’ve EVER had. And you could tell she was honestly thrilled that I was thrilled.
Score five for Chelsey.
Checkout was a snap and just took moments. (Note, you CANNOT put tips on your credit card…so it was a good thing I had a stash of emergency cash in my wallet.) I also had no problems using my Groupon coupon from my iPhone (I didn’t print anything out). It was a good deal, too–I don’t get color a lot, but from prices I have seen elsewhere, it didn’t seem terribly expensive (especially for the level of service received).
Overall, I had a really great experience from start to finish, and I am so glad I tried this salon…and Chelsey was amazing. Flip definitely gets five solid stars.