Chris Atrill

We both know that Advanced have a large number of clients who quite rightly feel aggrieved and deceived. Therefore it's easy enough to work out that these criticisms are genuine rather than being some kind of conspiracy organised by competitors.

People speaking out in this way is clearly a concern for Advanced as they use two of their standard tactics to combat it ??“ intimidate or discredit. I'm know of website owners and individuals who have suffered threats of legal action if they don't remove criticism of Advanced, and consequently much valuable comment has sadly been removed.

So if someone who feels they were deceived does contact you as you suggest, then what? You know the idea of refunding money hurts Advanced so much, and it only happens if they feel it is a sensible business decision to buy someone out.

If someone's had a bad experience with a company, then forewarning others is a very constructive move. If only more were willing to speak out and if only more did proper research before signing up. If you wanted to engage the services of a company, you would welcome the opportunity to hear the experiences of others before making such a decision. But what if this company attempted to prevent you from receiving such feedback by utilising the same tactics that Advanced do? You'd decide that it's a company best not to get involved with, I'm sure.

If you feel you can justify and defend the way you operate, then do so here on this forum, for everyone to read. Try this for a starter: why are all refunds made conditional on the signing of a release form, forbidding those from speaking publicly about their experience? What do you feel the need to do this? Surely this is hardly the action of an honest and up-front company who have full faith in the legitimacy of the manner in which they operate?

So I'm looking forward to hearing your justification, but I won't be holding my breath!

Bald-Georgie, As you seem to be a very intellectual person with a vast knowledge of the Advanced Hair Studio, it is my opinion that you are a rival company out to cause as much damage to the Advanced Hair Studio as possible, if I am not correct in my opinion I would be very interested in speaking with you direct. I'm sure you will be only to happy to have the chance to speak openly with me, after all if you are indeed a ligitimate client of the Advanced Hair Studio and have been dis-satisfied in any way with your treatment I'm sure you would like to discuss this with me direct, would you not? Please do not comment on the percentage of happy client that the Advanced Hair Studio Claims to have as you are not in a position to obtain or have access to the correct information, I on the other hand having worked with the Advanced Hair studio for nine years do have the correct information and am aware of an extremly high percentage of happy clients world wide, so please note that you can only presume this information and not verify this: I take this e-mail as a personnal attack as I deal with all client issues personally, not once have I told any client to SOD off as you so nicely put it, I would like to think that any person who is a valued client of Advanced Hair Studio will always be dealt with in a confidential and professional manner, I myself will always treat any client with the utmost respect that they deserve. I wounder are you confusing the company that you work for with the Advanced Hair Studio? Please do enlighten me further, as always my direct line number is 02920 227 285 or maeveduhy@advancedhairstudio.com, I'm sure you will contact me in person very shortly
Maeve Duhy (Client relations Manager Advanced Hair Studio)

__________________
I am the Customer relations manager for Advanced Hair Studio

Hi Gogi786, My name is Maeve Duhy client relations manager for the Advanced Hair Studio, I would not listen to any advise that Grav15 has to say as he is a bogus competitor out to slander the good name of Advanced Hair Studio, we know who this person is and are currently taking action against this person. Please contact me direct on 02920 227 285 if you are unhappy with any treatment you have had with the Advanced Hair Studio.
Many Thanks
Maeve Duhy

__________________
I am the Customer relations manager for Advanced Hair Studio

HELLO-

If he is telling the truth it is not slander. Actually you threatening him under false pretences is in fact a violation and is considered harassment.
Now you know where he is and are out to get him?
Keep digging a bigger hole a$$hole.
Do you have evidence that he is a competitor out to malighn your good name ? If not YOU have committed slander.
Also If he has to get a lawyer to counter your threats you will payout big as you invited it.
I am copying your post.
Your the PR guy. HAHAHAHAHA..
Could someone else copy this as well.

Aquarius,

I was thinking the same thing. For a "Client relations Manager", this one doesn't seem to be managing very well. If anything, I have lost all respect for Advanced Hair Studio based upon what I've read from their manager. The word "arrogant" comes to mind, and the term "smoke & mirrors" also seems like a good fit. Pathetic.

Wonder what the UK law thinks about class action lawsuits? Class actions, in part, made some of our own unethical companies (Blockbuster, anyone?) return money to folks and change their business practices.

This can only be interpreted as an acknowledgement that most if not all of what I've written is actually true, since otherwise you'd be concluding the complete opposite. Thanks for the admission!

Given that you make the same accusation about a great many other critics, I doubt whether this is your honest opinion. It's more likely that this is your defamatory way of undermining me as a valid complainant. But yes, I could be a rival as opposed to a former client. But there are other possibilities. I could be a former consultant who couldn't hack having to lie, thieve and cheat, and have decided to speak out despite the strong confidentiality clauses in my contract. Or I could even be a stylist. Either of these could explain my extensive inside information. There, that's got you worried!

I expected this request, and I'm surprised it was so long in coming. The real reason why you want me to contact you is so you can find out who I am. And once you know my identity, well, we both know what would happen next ... So nice try, and there you were describing me as being a very intellectual person! As a word of warning, should I ever receive any threatening letters from your solicitors, they will be posted on every Internet forum and distributed to every member of the media and every fair trading department within every country that you operate, along with everything that I know.

You are in a better position, I grant you that. But you're not honest about the true level of dissatisfaction or the number of clients demanding their money back, suing or threatening to sue at any given time. Not all dissatisfied clients come to you anyway. Some won't even speak out; others don't get past the being-fobbed-off-by-the-consultant stage. Yet there's an ethos that it's reasonable to assume that anyone who doesn't come to you demanding their money back should be deemed satisfied.

Get one of your satisfied strand by strand clients to post on this thread, explaining why he is so happy to have an Asian toupee glued to his scalp. Then I'll tell him where and how they're made, just how little Advanced pay for them, and just how easily he could get a much better model at a much cheaper price. I'll explain why the hair is so thick and coarse, because you've skimped on cost by using Asian hair rather than fine European hair. I'll also explain why the colour fades so rapidly, turning a shade of red. I'll see if they know why a lace front doesn't come as standard when surely it should do for the price they're being charged. And when he finally realises that he's been paying well, well, well over the odds for this "revolutionary hair replacement procedure", we'll see what effect this has on the satisfaction-ometer. There can be no question that the level of satisfaction within the Advanced client base, whether it be high or low, relies heavily on clients not being aware of the full facts.

I don't question that you try to act courteously throughout and don't literally tell clients to sod off, as it helps to maintain the face of respectability. But it's true (and I see you didn't deny this) that when a client comes to you claiming to have been deceived, threatening to take action if they're not refunded, you refute all accusations, refusing to agree to their demands and accusing them of blackmail. This to me constitutes the proverbial sod off. It needs the client to be persistent or for them to pose a threat before you'll refund. Even then the offer is typically only half of their money, leaving them significantly out of pocket and Advanced still with a handsome profit should they accept, with the client successfully gagged by your release form.

No, no confusion as I don't work for another company, and I know very well how Advanced operate.

Grav15 ??“ If it's true that they know who you are, don't be too worried. I can tell you that they rely on the mere threat of legal to be sufficient to frighten most people, and they'd only follow it through as a very last resort, for fear of bad publicity and for fear of losing. But if they do take action against you because you've dared to speak out, let me know and I'll post everything I have on them on the Internet. You can use much of it in your defence. What I've posted so far is just the tip of the iceberg. And if it's not true that you're a "bogus competitor", you should counter-sue for defamation.

You see, Maeve Duhy, I feel that people should be allowed to have their say on these forums without having their motives muddied and without facing threats of legal action. The only reason why I joined in was because I was appalled to see what you & Chris Atrill were doing. If you want to answer specific criticisms about your operating practices (a justification for gagging people with your release forms or why you charge so much for your hairpieces would be a good start), then great. Otherwise why don't you just let people have their say in peace rather than acting like a bunch of bully boys, especially as you know that most of what is written is not only true, but is barely scratching the surface. And then I will be happy to keep my nose out of your affairs.

Yes, I know I'm playing with fire. But so are you, and you have a lot more to lose than me.

Parable ; Are you now saying that a payoff is suffu\iciant?
If your motives are monetary I'll tell you right now to piss off.

Once they offer a refund you can no longer post that they won't honor their refund policy. If you refuse the refund they still offered it and you still can't say that they wouldn't give you one.

So basically I see his options as
1. Take the refund which was the original goal and stop posting about not getting a refund

OR

2. Refuse the refund and still be required to stop posting about not getting a refund becaus they offered it.

Seems like an easy decision. Why would you be mad at someone taking the refund that he was trying to get?