I used to get free hair color and cuts at Aveda school many years ago but don;t see them anymore unless they are being done by another MS.

@EnglishMorning wrote:

I used to get free hair color and cuts at Aveda school many years ago but don;t see them anymore unless they are being done by another MS.

The link below will take you to the only salon shops I have seen posted recently. Numerous posts in several states exist for this company; all of the posts state that the shops require male shoppers. I have not seen other shops, but maybe someone else will post that knows of other companies. Hope this helps!

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Thank you for the info patman but I would not shop for Sentry with a gun to my head. Horrible owner.

Call the beautician schools around you. They have to do a certain number of "procedures" to get licensed. You can probably get discounted services.

Massage schools are the same.

The Paul Mitchell school near me is barely discounted. It's more expensive than some basic salons around town.

I did call beauty schools in my area and they are really expensive. You would think they would be deeply discounted since we aea doing them a huge favor by letting them near our hair but no and they expect a tip!

@EnglishMorning wrote:

I did call beauty schools in my area and they are really expensive. You would think they would be deeply discounted since we aea doing them a huge favor by letting them near our hair but no and they expect a tip!

Never have worked for Sentry, so I didn’t know anything other than that the shops were on the board.

I went to barbering school in 1997-1998 and cosmetology in 1998-1999 at a community college. I still remember some of the prices - we charged $1 for a haircut in barbering and $2.50 in cosmetology. It has been a day or two since then, but private schools always charged more than community colleges because we were not supposed to profit, whereas that was the goal of a privately owned facility. Have you checked at community colleges as opposed to private schools?

I saw Holiday Hair just recently but do not remember wich MSC. There are also some with Visa credit/debit card on Presto available now. I remember seen shops with Club for Hair. But such one is very lenghy one.

I know that at least a decade ago, Kern was scheduling Aveda shops for an MSC that is no longer in business (bought by another MSC). I did one for them before they were bought out. Great haircut.

Aveda's training program at the Aveda Institutes around the country offer very inexpensive haircuts via their Guest Services. Go here to find an institute near you: [aveda.edu]

I used to get free haircuts and, eventually low-cost ones when no one was doing them for free anymore, in the larger NYC salons. Not schools that teach total newbies - in large cities, most of the big, popular salons that have some prestige, have trainings for people who already have their licenses but want to improve their skills, and they would take appointments for models one or two nights a week, or during a special training course. Over the years, I went to Vidal Sassoon, Jacques Dessange, and Frederic Fekkai - and none of my haircuts cost more than $15. They're probably a little more than that now! The French hair cutting technique really is the best (that's what Aveda uses, I believe). I know Nick Arroyo used to do this in his studio as well (don't think he does anymore). Anyway, if you have a large city near you, I would search online or make some phone calls to find out if the big salons want models for their salon training nights.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2022 12:57AM by shopnyc.

The closest Aveda school to me is in VA and they charge $69 for color and $25 for a haircut which is more expensive than Hair Cuttery. I cut and color my pwn hair and I am not crazy about the results. Covid has messed up the best shops!

Oh, okay. Yeah, I would think Virginia has pretty high prices for that. At the Aveda Institute in my state, the Guest Services menus lists:

Shampoo, Haircut & Style 7.00
Shampoo, Blow Dry & Style 5.00
Updo / Specialty Set 15.00 & up
Braiding 15.00 & up

BARBER SERVICES
Barber Haircut 5.00
Beard Trim 3.00
Face Shave 5.00 Head Shave 7.00
includes hot towel treatment

HAIR COLOR*
Single Process Color 30.00 & up
Full Head Enlightener Blonding 30.00 & up
Corrective Color 40.00 & up
Additional Bowl of Color - add on 8.00
based on length and density of hair

@EnglishMorning wrote:

The closest Aveda school to me is in VA and they charge $69 for color and $25 for a haircut which is more expensive than Hair Cuttery. I cut and color my pwn hair and I am not crazy about the results. Covid has messed up the best shops!

Wisconsin has a bunch that no one ever takes. I can only get so many hair cuts.

Wow, are you guys lucky! Cut, shampoo and blow dry for $7!

check out salonapprentice.com. I volunteer to get my hair done through the site and never had to pay for service, only tip.

Thank you OES! The site appears to have services available in my area.

I did quite a few for a high end, established salon many years ago.. Love, love, loved them. So sad they are no longer available. Top expense for us now. I did feel we looked great during the shut down. Amazing what you can do yourself.

Aveda Institute in my city charges $19 for a cut and shampoo. If you book your next appt the day of your cut they will throw in a hair mask treatment for free .The Institutes are individually owned so they vary in prices from city to city. They also do waxing and facials. And they have discount days of 20% off on product as well.

@EnglishMorning wrote:

Thank you for the info patman but I would not shop for Sentry with a gun to my head. Horrible owner.

That is unfortunate and inaccurate.

I have worked with Dave for about 5 years, and mystery shopped for Sentry for about 10 years. Mystery shopping was never an issue, and I was always paid in a timely manner. I was always treated with respect.

Sentry full time employees are offered benefits as well as a 401K program. We have a bonus program. Sentry is a very small Mystery Shopping company and Dave is a fair owner.

My AC broke in July and the next day I was surprised with a $2,000 bonus in my account, he said I can't have you working in the summer with no A.C. This does not sound like a horrible owner.

A lot of shoppers on this board have tons of praise for companies who have no problem paying schedulers next to nothing, paying shoppers reimbursement only. One company I worked for eliminated 98% of its schedulers in one week, with no notice. Everyone still loves and shops for this company and I have never seen the owners disrespected as I see Dave dogged on this board.

Dave works hard to make sure the shoppers are paid fairly, even if it means turning down projects when he doesn't feel the shoppers will be compensated enough. I know I am on these calls with potential clients. He fights hard so we can give you a fair fee and reimbursement.

Dave also listens to shoppers. Shoppers stated they wanted higher pay so we raised our fees, shoppers wanted to be paid quicker, and we now pay quicker. We sent out a survey on how they wanted to be paid over 90% said direct deposit, so we pay by direct deposit.

I am not saying Dave is perfect, and he can at times lack tact. Dave is 100% pro shopper and shopper pay. I just can't sit back and let him and Sentry, which is a great company, get dogged over and over on this board.

If you don't want to shop for Sentry that's okay. If you don't like Dave, that's okay, but putting something like this on a public board is very unprofessional. Let shoppers decide for themselves if they want to shop for us or not.

Susan
Sentry Marketing and Insights.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2022 10:15PM by Sentry_Susan.

I don't agree with you and there are many many many shoppers who don't as well. Also Dave starts a a thread trashing you to other MS companies when you complain that you have not been paid. P.S.This thread about hair care.

@EnglishMorning I'm sorry that you have such antipathy toward me. Since I don't know who you are, I am not able to comment on any interaction we had. I am familiar with some of the forum members who liked your post and who share your animosity toward me and/or Sentry.

Sentry has been in business for over 15 years. Over that time, I have not always handled interactions with shoppers in the best way possible. In particular, during our early years, I would take criticism far too personally and I would respond on this forum with taking the necessary time to digest and reflect on the given situation. Other posts were simply our desire to correct misinformation or present this community with our side of a situation. I don't regret these posts given the damage to one's reputation that unfounded, biased or untrue accusations can do to a company. I certainly don't think any member of the shopper community would like untrue information posted about them in a public forum and mystery shopping companies should not be held to a different standard.

You may believe what you want about me and about Sentry. This does not change the fact that I have been and will continue to be an advocate for higher shopper pay and soliciting shopper feedback about issues that impact them. Sentry is not a perfect company and it never will be. We will, however, continue to strive to a company that shoppers enjoy interacting with and completing assignments for.

I would be happy to discuss any interaction we've had or any issue you have with me offline. This is 100% your decision.

Sincerely,

Dave Agius

The fact that even you are aware of how many people cannot stand you and your behavior is proof enough. Again, this is a thread about hair care and I am free to post my experience with you. You are trying to excuse your behavior by trying to hijack this thread. Enough! Anyone else who has any leads on hair care shops, please join in.

I think Aveda had hair mystery shops at one time too with another company, but I think they canceled.

This is purely my personal opinion, but I believe he only felt the need to respond once you attacked him. So to accuse him of hijacking the thread seems misleading, as you were the one who initiated an attack when there was no need, as it was just suggested that there were shops with Sentry.

Each person should be allowed to form his or her own opinion about a company, and while sharing experiences with other companies can be valuable, simply stating that you’d rather die than work with the company doesn’t help anyone.

For my two cents I have always had fair experiences with Sentry. Are they the highest and fastest paying company I’ve worked for? No, they are not. But I’ve never had payment withheld when it was owed to me, and the reimbursements and pays I have always received were fair.

I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone to state that they’d rather be shot in the head, then work with you, so treat others how you wish to be treated.

I do treat others the way I wish to be treated that is why I will never work for Sentry and neither will many many many others. Have a nice day.

@EnglishMorning I understand quite clearly that you harbor a great deal of animosity toward me and by extension, Sentry Insights. Since I have no idea who you are or the details of your specific situation, you have the advantage of punching someone who is blindfolded .

It’s also clear that a few other members of this community share your view. I don’t think that constitutes “many, many many others”. The reality is that every shopper has companies they like to shop for and those they don’t. It’s no different for Sentry.

I personally have only had good experiences doing shops for Sentry.

@Sentry Marketing wrote:

@EnglishMorning I understand quite clearly that you harbor a great deal of animosity toward me and by extension, Sentry Insights. Since I have no idea who you are or the details of your specific situation, you have the advantage of punching someone who is blindfolded .

It’s also clear that a few other members of this community share your view. I don’t think that constitutes “many, many many others”. The reality is that every shopper has companies they like to shop for and those they don’t. It’s no different for Sentry.

Your statement that every shopper has companies they don't like to shop for. TOTALLY agree with this! 100%. And put a tally mark in the column of 'will NEVER shop for Sentry' for me please. I'm one of the 'many many others'...