Haircuts and Contact Lenses

well, hello there.
i've realized that my last entry was written like crap so i'm trying to reconstruct to make sense of my ramblings. here goes..

it never is "just a haircut". as i try to recall how many times i've been to a salon and have come out disappointed and/or not entirely satisfied with the service i paid for, i decided it's time to try something new. so with a 200-350 budget in mind based on the regular 250 haircut plus tips i usually spend on bench fix, i consulted my ever reliable friend, google. according to reviews and customer feedback, i should try trinoma's acqua salon. they supposedly offer affordable services, which as per the satisfied patrons are sulit because of their accommodating staff, the lie-down-completely-instead-of-breaking-your-neck-in-an-awkward-leaning-fashion shampoo and conditioning, the 5-10 minute massage, and the meticulous stylists. oh, and of course, don't forget the ice tea.

determined to try and get my money's worth, i set out to trinoma. the agenda was to
1. go get a haircut at acqua
2. get my long overdue contact lenses

accompanied by my brother, we headed to the mall. touchdown at 10:30am. according to the sign on their door, they were still closed. my brother suggested to get the contacts first instead.

now, my vision is not that impaired. i can actually read and see things without my glasses on. unfortunately, being near sighted as i am, with astigmatism, everything blurs after a few feet. this presents challenges during office presentations, non-mrt commuting (i can't read the jeep signs unless they stop right in front of me), and most of all, ordering from places with the menus listed above the counters, i.e. jollibee, mcdonalds, and tokyo tokyo.

there were no george opticals nor eo shops in trinoma, so i settled with the optical shop. bad choice. sure, the lady was nice enough, but she was simply not accommodating. as advised by both my brothers who had their contacts years ago, the clinics/shops would usually ask whether you're a first time contact lens user and provide you with options on which type of lenses would best suit you. in addition to that, they'd teach you the basics of putting them on. there was none of that here. she just gave me a brand and a price, that was it. worse, there were no freebies. no contact lens case (is that what it's called?), no free little bottle of solution.. nada. for the test procedure, they had the usual peek into a hole with a picture, click click click, and now look at random letters on a wall. wait, it wasn't a wall. the letters were on an ipad being randomly shuffled and adjusted according to preferred sizes at the lady's convenience. voila, the wonders of technology. anyway, i was done in less than 30 minutes, happy with my contact lenses, but not with the service. i'm never going back there again.

back to acqua. first glance at the same sign told me the salon was still closed, but wait, there's more. on the other door, my brother spotted another sign that said it was open. go figure. anyway, we went in the same time the receptionist went out. she was arguing with someone over the phone with a less than professional volume and tone. we were left standing by the front desk with other staff just plain looking at us. we were there for more than 5 minutes and no one felt the need to ask us what we wanted. i glanced over the service price list and found haircuts priced at 300php. thought about getting my eyebrows threaded. the 5 minute wait felt like 15. when the lady finally went back in and asked what we wanted, i told her i just wanted a haircut, fighting the urge for a sarcastic "what the hell else would i want in a salon" to avoid the risk of embarrassment since i'm fully aware that they offer services other than cuts. (do i still make sense?) well, she then tells me that they only have one stylist available, and he's just about to start on a customer, but has 2 more lined up. needless to say, my plans went kaput.

my brother suggested menage instead. when we got there, menage had a "menu" of their services outside already, so it was fairly easy to look up what i want. i decided to get the 250 haircut. we were immediately greeted and ushered in. waiting time was less than 2 minutes and i found myself comfortably seated in a fresh, clean, spa-like environment. my stylist (i forgot to ask his name T_T) asked me what i wanted. i told him the details including my wash and wear requirement. i was offered something to drink, but i politely declined since i didn't know how long the process was going to take and i didn't want to need a wiwi break in the middle of it. a lady then placed a cold folded towel over my face and started a light massage. it was relaxing. i then had my hair showered with a choice of warm or cold water. then the cut. i'm not really one to watch everything they do, but after an hour, i could say that both the stylist and the blow dry person were meticulous. nothing felt rushed, unlike when i get my hair done at bench fix galleria. For 250 (+tips), it's definitely worth it (both the service and the results). see you in a few months.