Complaint Review: Adam & Eve African Hair Braiding - Baltimore Maryland

*In fact, Eve made me wait until she finished all of her scheduled appointments with clients. At first, Eve said she would call me when she finished with her 1st client, but after calling Eve several times during the day, Eve never called me. I went to the shop approx. 7:30 pm 8/18/2017 and found that Eve had left the shop. I called Eve and explained to her that I was at the shop, but no one was there, and since she made me wait all day in pain, I prefer to have my $100.00 less the cost of the synthetic hair she provided, given back to me. Eve stated that she could not give me back all my money, but she could only give me 1/2 of my money. Eve told me she was on her way back to the store in 2 minutes. Before Eve arrived, a black female pulled up in the driveway and got out of her truck. She looked in the shop and I informed her the shop was closed. This female claimed that she left her charger in the shop. Eve arrived and opened the shop and the female went in with Eve. I began to feel uncomfortable because there was a curtain hanging in front of the door and the windows were predominately covered. I called a friend to let her know where I was and what happened. My friend stayed on the phone while I walked in the shop. I had told Eve that I will take 1/2 of my money ($50.00), but I was not satisfied and because I was alone with two people who knew each other (the woman said she had been coming to the shop for 15 years), I decided it was safer to accept the lesser money than to be caught in a conflict with no witnesses present with me in the shop. *

This was not a positive and professional experience. I googled and found Adam & Eve Hair Braid Shop and it had 4.1 stars out of 14 reviews, which appeared to be a reasonably good rating. I was informed that they open at 9:00 am. I asked if I can get my hair braided and was told to come in at 9 am on Thurs. 8/17/2017. The address was texted to me. When I arrived, a lady with glasses, blue jeans and a white top pulled up and proceeded to open the shop. As I tried to park, there were about 3 or 4 people standing in the driveway talking. Eventually, they starting walking up the street. When I got out of the car, there was trash all on the ground and there was no curb appeal on the driveway. The was an open sign in the window and parts of the window appeared to be blocked. There is a glass door as you go inside the building and a curtain handing down that you have to pass through. The Braiders were just coming in to work. I was assigned to Eve. Eve asked me how I wanted my hair braided. I showed her pictures and informed her that I would like the Goddess Jumbo Braids because the nerves of my scalp was sensitive and I could not bear the excessively pulling or tightness of the braids. I politely informed her that I did not want any tight braids. Eve blow dried my hair and started to comb my hair from the scalp to the ends with a fine toothed comb. I hollered, "Out!" I asked Eve if she wanted my large tooth comb to comb my hair because she (Eve) was breaking my natural hair off and it was already delicate. My whole purpose was to get a protective style that did not hurt or damage my hair or scalp for my trip on Sat. 8/19/2017. Eve parted my hair and combed it. It felt like she was still using the same fine tooth comb to comb my natural hair. She started braiding the first braid and that one felt okay. She asked me was that okay. I said, yes. Then, Eve stopped and left out of the shop to go to the store. I sat there for about 15 or 20 minutes before Eve returned. When Eve returned, she had a bag of hair and gave it to another Braider. While she was gone, I noticed there were about 4 or 5 Braiders (employees) braiding customers hair in the shop. After Eve gave the hair to the Braider, she proceeded to start braiding my hair again. To make a long story short, there were several times I had to put my hand up on the braid and let Eve know it was hurting and too tight. Eve's phone rang excessively and she stopped excessively to answer the phone. The employees of the shop speak to one another in their language and the customers will never know what they are saying or if they are saying something derogatory about the customer while braiding their hair. The 1st Amendment allows "Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, and Petition, but as a customer who is putting their trust in someone who is braiding their hair, to treat them with respect and dignity, talking about people in your natural language to degrade, dehumanize or to be plain nasty, is not right and it is not fair. When customers agree to allow African hair braiding to braid our hair, we expect to be treated with dignity and respect. We do not expect to have our hair pulled out, ripped out, braided so tight that we end up with bald spots or loss of hair around our hairline on any side. We do not want a disease or infection from the use of dirty combs. A clean comb should be used on each client's hair. A wide tooth comb should be used to comb natural hair not a fine toothed comb. The hair should be comb from the ends first and then up to the scalp. Before Eve finished, she sewed my hair up into a ponytail with a needle and thread and pulled it tightly. Keep in mind that I did not ask her to sew it. Eve finished my hair and did not offer a mirror for me to see it nor did she face me in the mirror during the braiding process. I went to the restroom and looked in the mirror. I was appalled and dissatisfied with the way my hair looked. I informed Eve that I did not like it and it looked fuzzy. Eve told me that she uses Edges and did not have any, so I followed Eve to the Beauty Supply Store on York Rd up the street on the corner. We went in and Eve took some of the Edges (A water-based thick Pomade) and put it on my hair in the front. I ended up having to pay $15.99 for the Edges and then Eve smeared it on the rest of my hair in the front. My hair reverted back to frizziness because it was so humid out side. I went to bed and woke up at 3 am and my head was on fire. I had to cut the thread out for some relief and take an Aleve. Next day, I went to the shop and informed Eve my braids were too tight and asked if she can fix my hair. At first, she did not believe me, then she told me after she finish her client. Eve never called me back nor did she fix my hair. I went to the shop approx. 7:30 pm 8/18 and it was closed. I called Eve, told her I was at the shop and since she never called me back, I would like my $100 back less the cost of her hair. Eve said I could only get 1/2 of my money back. A woman showed up at the shop before Eve and Eve may have told her to go there. This shop is unsanitary, unsafe, and unprofessional. Please beware if you want your hair. No hair license is required. This business ONLY accepts cash and they do not provide receipts.