james where do u buy from now

OMG, I was at a wedding yesterday and bumped into an old friend of mine that actually introduced hair systems to me back ten years ago. He was wearing the absolute, absolute, worst and most diabolically styled hairpiece that I have ever seen in my life and he is still getting all his systems and fitting done at Advanced in Nottingham. For a fifty plus he had been fitted with a density of about 90% and the colour was a deep black being of asian ethnicity and it was so obvious that so many people made comment on his hair that I actually felt annoyed that Advanced could treat one of their loyal customers like this.

The one and only reason for having a hair system fitted is so that it gives you back your confidence and your sense of looking a little more youthful and healthier.
You are meant to be able to feel that as you go out into the world with a full-er head of hair that suits your age and your style, in other words you should look like you never lost it in the first place.

I was with Advanced for nearly two years paying nearly three thousand quid for a unit plus fifty for fitting per month. I would assume that they charge similar prices today. I started using Captain Hair when I found that their units cost three HUNDRED pounds and they taught you how to remove, clean and re-attach the systems yourself and they looked fantastic..as if it was your own hair..in fact people still don't know that I have a system and I do Tae kwon do, I swim, play tennis and golf (on windy days) and if the system gets damaged I can easily afford a new one with 5% grey hair and 60% density so the scalp is visible and with a lace base I actually feel the wind in my hair..lol

I am writing this post because It actually makes me really angry that Advanced are still getting away with selling inferior systems at prices that make your eyes water and their adverts (clients) are walking around wearing diabolically bad systems that may as well have a label hanging at the back stating 'wig wearer, please laugh discreetly'.

The so called hair fitting technicians at Advanced should have as their primary goal to have their client walk out of the studio, a person that is 'unnoticeable', who has a smile on their face that beams confidence and feels that he or she has had excellent service and value for money.
In my friends case he is struggling at the moment with the recession hanging in the UK and he has stuck with Advanced as a loyal customer who has placed his trust in a company that has eluded him into a 'comfort zone' and he feels he is getting a service that cannot be equaled by another company.
I say to Advanced, that if you cannot send your customers out of that salon door that and you and your hair technicians know that they look like a right t*at then tell them that you cannot help them and help them to break out of that comfort zone and help them find another solution that will actually work for them and not for you. You have made enough money out your clients who you are openly ripping off and it is disgusting that you can carry on with these standards in this day and age and you have to be stopped. You should be taken out of this business and made to repay the money you have torn from people that actually come to you for 'professional' help but walk away with a product that actually costs about ?17 to produce, look like an animal has landed on his head and cause people to laugh at him behind his back.

I am meeting with my friend sometime this week and I am going to 'force' him to make an appointment with New Look Hair - Hair Replacement Systems ( i hope the forum moderator leaves this address here so people can find this company as a personal recommendation) because I know here he will be looked after and the priority will be to make him look good and look natural AND for a cost that will probably allow him to take his family on a short holiday with the savings he makes.

@Mark19800: When I was in UK, I went to Stag of London, in NW11. I'm now in New Zealand, and use Aussie Hair in Australia. Both are on the internet. Both are very reliable and run by good people. Aussie Hair supply most of their customers by post.

If you want a supplier to supply you by post and then have the units cut-in locally, it's not difficult to find someone to cut them in. Easiest way is to search the Yellow Pages (or www.yell.com) under Hairpieces or Wigs. Or you can phone around the women's hairdressers in your area - they will know someone who is experienced in hair replacement hairdressing: women's hairdressers are the people to contact first as quite a few women wear wigs. Phone around until you find someone with the right experience. They will have private rooms. These hairdressers will cut in units that you bring along yourself.

It would be helpful to others if when you find a good replacement-hair hairdresser you post their details on this forum.

Once you've found the right person, you will find that they will have much information on correct washing, conditioning, drying, correct maintenance, counteracting fading, repairs*, correct density, colour matching, getting the most life out of a unit and so on. This advice will make a big difference to the appearance and longevity of the units.

On this topic: I received a very small amount of advice - negligible really - on these topics from AHS. Their main advice was to buy a large number of different lotions and so on from their expensive proprietary range. I have since found that there was an awful lot of advice I should have been given by them, and that normal commercial hair products (chosen carefully) work just as well (or better) than those from AHS.

On the subject of ordering units from a distant supplier: I send them an old unit so they can copy the dimensions, plus some samples of my own hair cut from various places (as the colour will vary). Alternatively they ask for detailed measurements of my head plus measurements of the bald area. This has worked well - I have not yet met one of my suppliers, but have had a very good service from him over the years. One time I received a unit from him which did not match my hair - it was replaced in a few weeks by one which did.

(*Now that I can buy high quality units which are value for money, I don't have repairs to my units as it's more cost effective to buy new units).

I have just received this private message from AHS:

Hi james

I have read your posting and feel very sad that the London head office did not resolvce your complaint, It is true that when a client contacts the customer service department we do have to notify the studio manager where the client is to resolve the complaint, if the complaint has not been resolved by the manager, then please e-mail me full details and I will ask the overall Director to get involved for you.

Kind regards Maeve Duhy
maeveduhy@advancedhairstudio.com

Several points here:

1. Ms Duhy did nothing at all when I complained to her after one particularly spectacularly bad new unit except to pass me to her boss in London who passed me back to her, and so on for some weeks (until her boss stopped taking my calls).

2. I have the feeling that they chose to put AHS' UK Customer Service hundreds of miles from London for a reason.

3. My feelings are now that her task is to find out who posts negative (but truthful) comments about AHS by asking for posters' "full details" so that she can "help".

4. I feel that once AHS has your "full details" this would most likely lead to threats of legal action against the poster of the comments unless he or she deleted the posts.

5. I feel that if you have already tried gaining redress from AHS and failed (like me and others who have posted), and have related your bad experiences on this site, you would be unwise to now give Ms Duhy your "full details".

6. At no time during the several years that I used AHS did I feel that I was dealing with honest people.

I've just read this on Hair loss help in the thread: is Advanced Hair Studios really a fake?

I was a client (of AHS) for many years here in Australia, from the early 80s, because in those days that was one of the only options around. There were no online vendors and very few local companies, and they were all highly priced. AHS had a big advertising program claiming they had beat baldness. For the young, impressionable, desperate twenty something hair loser it was tempting. And remember back then long hair was still the norm and shaving one's head was unheard of.

They at first offered only synthetic pieces ($2000 please in 1983) which they tied to my head by pulling my own hair up through it. This hurt like hell when sleeping for the first few nights. And it was thick, so thick. They claimed it cost so much because it was custom hand made in the US by highly skilled technicians using a process exclusive to AHS. The knots used to break regularly and had to be redone. Every 6 weeks I went back for a retension and wash'n cut - at $60 to $80 a time plus tape and Carl Howell's exclusive branded - and priced - maintenance products

After a few years they switched to human hair held on by a string of beads, which often broke, then glue. To be fair the service was quite good, the girl stylists were friendly but often seemed a bit sheepish about their role and employer.

But the managers, who came and when with staggering rapidity, were very, very pushy and would always try to upsell when you were in the salon with your unit removed for cleaning and presumably most vulnerable.

They used hard glues applied to a track cut into your own hair which held on ok but as the hair grew the unit became loose and flopped around on top of your head.

And all the while the units were all so thick. After the first fitting I used to go home and spend an hour in front the mirror plucking out handfuls of hair just to get the density down. The synthetic units got frizzy in the sun and turned pink, while the human units faded and shed from their thick mono bases. If you wanted skin or lace - AHS used fancy names for these - it cost thousands more.

I even had one manager ring me at work to tell me he had seen me out at a club the night before and my hair looked crap so I should definitely buy a new one (another $2,500 by now please).

On average I went through one unit per 18 months, although the hair used to shed so you'd need intervening re-venting - at $90 per hour or something.

After I left and started buying online they tried to get me back with offers of free hair and service for a year. But by then the bird had flown to greener, less pricey, pastures.


What he describes is similar to what happened to me at AHS. Plus I had some even more horrible experiences.

Hi James23

As my message to you advised, the customer service department has to log all client complaints, we then ensure that all complaints are forwarded to the C.E.O as well as the studio manager. I have requested that you contact me direct if your studio manager has not been able to resolve your complaint. I will then speak to the C.E.O direct on your behalf. The client relations department is here to try and help legit clients who have complaints, who have been unable to resolve the issue or complaint direct via there studio manager. Again I ask that if you are a legit client who does have a valid complaint and wishes to try and resolve this complaint, then contact me direct. Unfortunately there is ex-employees and competitors who are posting malicious postings on these sites, that are false, and only been posted to tarnish the Advanced Hair Studio's reputation. If your complaint is a legit complaint and you are a client that is not happy with a product or service, then please contact me and I will try and help you.

Kind regards

Maeve Duhy
Client relations AHS

__________________
I am the Customer relations manager for Advanced Hair Studio

Advanced Hair Studio acknowledges the bad posting(s) on this web site.


We know that the postings were placed and incited by a well planed forum consisting of ex-employee(s) and or competitor(s). Their sole purpose being to tarnish the reputation of Advanced Hair Studio out of desperation for their own gain.


So this person is not an existing or a past client of Advanced Hair Studio and has not undergone any procedure(s) with us and so has nothing to do with this organisation.


Obviously we recognize the fact that Hair loss is an emotional and a serious problem and we are dealing with an extremely sensitive area (business). We do genuinely try to match expectations of each client by performing one or multiple procedures out of the 4 completely different unique/ patented procedures what we have under the same roof. This is provided the client follows the recommended procedure(s), we are then able to achieve highly satisfactory results.


Goes without saying that’s the reason we have become World’s LARGEST Company in this segment.


Common sense, no company can expand their network from one city to the other, one state to the other and from one country to the other without satisfying their clients. The very reason AHS operates and has expanded its network from New Zealand to USA is because we are committed to perform and produce satisfactory results for each client who comes to our doorstep.


If a client has any concern with our procedure(s) or with the results, we encourage them to write an email on feedback@advancedhairstudioindia.com and we will address the problem in satisfactory and timely fashion. So if someone is a genuine client, we request them to get in touch with a Studio Manager of that respective city and also write on the above email ID to discuss the concern.


If you are a legitimate complainant this would be much more productive and sensible then posting possible inflammatory statements on this site. If you’re not a legitimate complainant, we request the reader to ignore this posting and believe in the world’s largest company.




Yours Sincerely,


Advanced Hair Studio, India

Where do you get your Units from now ?

Please ignore all postings from Ms Duhy and any other AHS spokespersons.

My lasting impressions of AHS are (a) I was dealing with dishonest people (b) their products were greatly overpriced and (c) these products were frequently unfit for their purpose (wrong colour, density etc) (d) the client relations department (which in the UK consists of Ms Duhy) did nothing at all but fend off clients until they give up

I am not an "ex-employee or competitor" of AHS (see Ms Duhy's post above) but if ex-employees or competitors were to post on this site I would be very interested to hear what they have to say.

I thoroughly recommend trying to contact manufacturers/suppliers directly in China/India, and when I personally find a reliable supplier in one of these countries I will post their details here. At the moment my retail supplier is so cheap compared with AHS that I haven't researched overseas manufacturers/suppliers, but I firmly intend to

Hi James23

I am sorry that you have not contacted me to try and help resolve the complaint that you have as a client with the Advanced Hair Studio. I did send you a message asking you to contact the customer relations department direct and I would look into the complaint you have raised on this site. Again Advanced Hair Studio will try and resolve any legit customer complaint raised.

Kind regards
Mrs M Duhy
AHS RELATIONS
E-mail: maeveduhy@advancedhairstudio.com
Tel: 02920 641 290

__________________
I am the Customer relations manager for Advanced Hair Studio