Age Discrimination at Sally Salon Services

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

leia74

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Location
Fife
Just wanted to have a bit of a rant. Have been shopping at Sally Salon Services in Glenrothes, Scotland for many years. I am not a hair or beauty professional but my mum is. My mum has been a hairdresser since 1968 and only works form home now for friends and family. She has mobility problems and can find it difficult on some days to get out and about. I would therefore buy any supplies she needed. Since legislation came in last year it has been difficult for me to continue to do this. My mum decided to apply for a Sally trade card. I enquired about this in the shop and was told my mum had to bring proof of her qualification. We went to the shop on Tuesday as my mum was feeling up to it. They then told my mum that she needed photographic evidence of her identity, proof of her marriage (her city and guilds certificate is in her maiden name) and something with her address on it. My mum was angry as it was a wasted journey and we told the shop assistants so. My mum was so determined though that she returned the next day with help from my auntie. The manager of the shop then proceeded to question her about 'who the card was for'. She seemed suspicious of my mum. My mum pointed out that it would be her details on the card and didn't see the point of the question. The manager then asked my mum where she was working. My mum told her that she did not work in a salon, but worked from home for friends and family. My mum pointed out that she had been qualified since 1968 and was near retirement age. The manager then proceeded to refuse my mum a Sally Trade Card on the basis that she was retired and did not work in a salon. My mum was extremely shocked and upset at this and feels that she has been discriminated against. I have e-mailed Sally's customer service to complain but they have not replied. I'm seriously considering contacting Trading Standards. I have since found a printable application for a card via their website which requires only a photocopy of your qualification and 1 form of identification. I respect that hair and beauty professional want to protect the industry but this has just been taken a bit too far.
 
As far as I am aware to get a trade card you have to be qualified in the Trade, which she quite clearly is. Where she works how often she performs treatments I don't think is their business. If she is buying products and equipment for her use as a professional, performing professional treatments then I really don't think they should refuse.
 
Why be so determined to give them your business? There are many online places that sell better quality at lower prices INCLUDING delivery. I buy my couch rolls at £20/box of 9 ... in Sally's they're £3.25 each AND I have to lug them home!
 
Why be so determined to give them your business? There are many online places that sell better quality at lower prices INCLUDING delivery. I buy my couch rolls at £20/box of 9 ... in Sally's they're £3.25 each AND I have to lug them home!

Sorry to take over this thread but where do u go to get that? Sallys is becoming too expensive for me. Aslo there is another trade shop called capital but not sure how good it is?
 
Why be so determined to give them your business? There are many online places that sell better quality at lower prices INCLUDING delivery. I buy my couch rolls at £20/box of 9 ... in Sally's they're £3.25 each AND I have to lug them home!

I would write a letter of complaint and say that she is taking her business elsewhere because of their refusal of service.

I did that at a car yard once. I was early 20s and was looking for a brand new car. The salesman literally refused to help me. I went elsewhere, bought a brand new car and drove it back to show the owner of the car yard that his salesman lost him $15 000 in a sale.
 
Sorry but I see this from another point of view.

Your mother's certificate is in her maiden name so therefore it could be anyone's certificate so proof of identity should be needed. You also admit yourself that your mother does not go to Sallys herself but you shop for her, this is against their policy, it has to be the qualified cardholder that does the shopping.

Sallys do sell to the public but the prices are different so you should still be able to get most things without much of a problem, or as someone else here has said there are plenty of suppliers online.

Why did your mother not have a trade card before they tightened things up last year? If she had a trade card for the length of time she had been buying products there would not be a problem now.

Sallys have been criticised a lot for selling to non professionals and unqualified members of the public. They are now trying to clean up their act so that they can stock more professional products and this is why they have tightened their procedures.

I for one welcome this and am pleased to hear that it is more difficult to get a card. I think it is absurd to play the discrimination card when you have openly admitted that your mother only does friends and family and you do the shopping for her.
 
Firstly there was never any question of my mum proving her identity. My point was the shop assistants did not give us the full information regarding this when we asked. This resulted in a wasted journey. Also as I pointed out my mum has mobility problems and is registered disabled. This is why I shopped for her. She never needed a card before now as there were no restrictions to my purchasing goods for her. As for Sally's 'tightening their procedures' to protect the industry against unqualified members of the public, their attempt is flawed. Within the group of professionals that have a Sally trade card you have hairdressers who buy nail products, nail profesionals who buy hair products etc. These people do not necessarily have multiple qualifications. It is then assumed that they know what they are doing with the products. The girl in the shop actually said to me to go and do a basic manicure course and then I could have a card and buy anything I want. This to me sounds unprofessional. I feel it unfair for you to say that there was no discrimination because my mum only does friends and family. Her qualification is valid and she is as qualified as someone who has trained recently. Granted she may not know about new methods used these days but she is not soliciting new clients, her existing ones are very happy to return again and again. The fact that she does not work in a salon should be irrelevant.
 
my old boss had a sally trdae card and wasn'r qualified in anything, he just ran the business... in fact he worked doing credit card something?? so go knows how he got one.. how very rude of them!! xx
 
I totally agree that Sally's system is rubbish and that anyone can buy there but the fact is that the trade card which your mother has not had the whole time she has been buying her products there is only meant for the card holder. We all have to show our certificates and if they are in our maiden name then we have to show our marriage certificates. I see no reason why you would think this is any sort of discrimination due to your mother's age, I know lots of older hairdressers and therapists that hold Sally cards.
 
i believe Sallys has now changed to salon services? i have a trade card. just had to get a letter from my college when i was training in level 2 to get a card. so other id asked for?
 
I totally agree that Sally's system is rubbish and that anyone can buy there but the fact is that the trade card which your mother has not had the whole time she has been buying her products there is only meant for the card holder. We all have to show our certificates and if they are in our maiden name then we have to show our marriage certificates. I see no reason why you would think this is any sort of discrimination due to your mother's age, I know lots of older hairdressers and therapists that hold Sally cards.

The descrimination came from when the girl in the shop questioned my mum about where she was working. My mum basically told her she was retired but still did family and friends from home. The girl latched on to this and used the fact to say to my mum that as she "wasn't working" (in her warped sense of the word??) that she was'nt entitled to a card. My mum turned up at the shop with all the necessary documentation - qualification certificate, marriage certificate, passport and utility bill. There was no underhand reason for her wanting the card and she was completely honest with the shop assistants. Now it all seems more bother that it is worth but she was really upset at the time and felt that because she was of retirement age (64) she was treated differently. Only used Sally's because it was local and convenient, but will definately be checking out some websites for my mum.
 
That's discusting. I have stopped shopping at sallys now as I think they're getting way too big 4 their boots and stupidly priced. I shop at salons direct and i have a friend who is a beauty therapist who manages to get alot of other things like cotton buds etc from wilkinsons @ more than half the price of sallys!! X
 
I had to show my insurance cert to get a salon services/sallys card! Silly place :rolleyes:
 
I had to show my insurance cert to get a salon services/sallys card! Silly place :rolleyes:

I don't think they even asked me for anything! Haha x
 
will definately be checking out some websites for my mum.

i use ellisons website now, i find their customer service perfect and really helpful. i buy beauty and nail products from there but they do hair aswell :D i never liked sallys, i find their staff rude and unhelpful. my 'local' sallys is 40mins away, i took all my certificates and passport and so on down to get a trade card and she looked at me like trash and told me i had to send it off, i asked if i could have the trade price that day because id made a special trip and she laughed and said no, which fair enough but she could of been abit politer. would never use sallys ever again x
 
I think Sally's should pay more attention to what their staff are up to instead of grilling customers. I know of a gentleman who has worked for them for a long time who takes expensive hair straightners out of the back door and gets his sons friends (from being 11 yrs old) to knock on doors selling them for half the retail price so Sally's spend more time hassling your staff maybe you could reduce your prices. For the record I didn't buy any and thought the guy was a total scumbag!!:evil:
 
oooh yes I also used Ellinsons. I ordered a waxing kit online that by the way is in the clearance section at a really cheap price, and it arrived the next morning. Brilliant service can defo recommend them.
 
Last edited:
Once again I am not defending Sallys, I think they have a total identity crisis going on at the moment and don't know who they want to sell to. Too many years of wanting the best of both worlds.

Having said that I know for a fact that they are trying their best to hold on to a couple of contracts with companies supplying them with 'professional only' products and they have been threatened with these products being pulled if they sell to the public. This is the reason they have tightened up on people having cards now.

If your mum has said she is retired now and only does stuff at home for friends and family then she is not in business and this is what they have decided. It sounds as if the Sallys you are going into is professional only, there are some who are still selling to both.

As others have said on here there are plenty of places to shop for stuff online. NSI do a range of hairdressing products now as well as others but they have free postage over £25 I think. Have a look at their website, they deliver the following day too. :wink2:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top