Worth a visit (Toni & Guy)

Member Name: TenToo

Product:	Toni & Guy
Date:	26/11/03 (3551 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quality cut, Service

Disadvantages: Price

This review relates only to the Toni & Guy salon based in Wolverhampton town centre. The salon has been open for several years although in recent times it has been expanded to include a second floor and also before that a beauty treatment section. The salon, as you would expect, is done out to a high standard and has always looked neat and tidy on my many visits over the last four or five years. As with many modern town centres, the salon is not in the easiest place to get to if you are travelling by car, although there are car parks a short walk away. An advantage of the salon for some is that is open for several hours on a Sunday.

The staff are usually kitted out all in black and may look intimidating to some with their trendy style. However, as they work in such an image conscious environment, then how they look will be far important to them than perhaps to your average person. They are also there as an advert for the salon and so have to look really good. As someone who left their teenage years behind a long time ago, and is also male (!), it can be slightly uncomfortable going in, although that is probably my fault and not theirs. I have always been seen by one of the receptionists straight away, but the reception area is somewhat small and there is only seating for 3 or 4 people really. On a Saturday don?t be surprised if you have to stand and wait. I have always been offered a drink (tea, coffee, water, wine, lager), usually several times in the same visit, and felt that I was being ?looked after?.

I have been seen by several different people across many visits to the salon from stylists (at the bottom of the pile) up to an Artistic Director (who is one below the top). The standard of training is clearly very high and the quality of the cut with different people has always been excellent. Who you go to depends on personal taste I suppose and who you feel that you get on with. The pricing structure depends on the seniority of who does your h
air and can be as low as £20 or as high as £38 for a male cut and blow dry. (for the female equivalent you can expect to add £5 to £10 to these prices). I think these prices are not unreasonable for a well-known salon in a large city centre. But I suppose that to an extent you are paying for the fact that it is a T & G salon, i.e. the cost of those ?free? drinks has to be recovered some how. With the exception of one visit, I have been given a clean gown to wear each time. On this one occasion the gown was heavily stained with hair dye, obviously an old stain that wouldn?t wash out I guess.

I know that some people feel that T & G ?force? styles on people, but I?m not at all sure that this is true. Yes, it is true they have a portfolio of looks that tend to be easily recognisable as T & G styles, but if they only did this people would stop going. If you want a ?normal? cut then that is what they will do. Maybe some people feel unable to question what is being done to them. My advice is don?t be. All of the staff are required to have a consultation with you before they do anything ? even if like me you are a regular client. Just be careful what you ask for and make sure that the stylist understands what you mean. One person?s ?short? is another?s ?very short?.

I am not trying to say they are perfect but, if you want to have a high quality cut in a pleasant environment, then be prepared to pay for it. I know from reading the opinions on this site that others have had less successful experiences in T & G salons, and you need to bear in mind this review is based on visits to only 1 salon. I only had one cut that I was not happy with when the stylist cut it a lot shorter than I asked. I pointed this out to her and she looked really embarrassed and she refused to charge me for the cut.

Summary: