Josie's Studio One Salon

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! This woman is operating illegally out of her home in Middleton. She does not have a salon in downtown Madison. Since I had purchased a $99 Groupon for this salon before I read these bad reviews, I was pretty nervous. I figured I would take a chance and make an appointment anyway because on the salon’s website, everything looked legitimate. Because of the bad reviews, I had made a point to specifically ask her (Josie) at the time I made the appointment "So, you're located on 1 S. Pickney Street in the US Bank building...the one with all the windows?" and she said "Yes." When I asked where I should park, she wouldn't answer me. She told me if I had any questions before the appointment that "…I could text her."



On the day of my appointment, Josie called me 1 hour before my scheduled appointment letting me know that my appointment was going to be at a different address. I asked why it was a different address and she said "Groupon had the wrong address." When I asked her why the address was also incorrect on her website, she said "The person who does my website hasn't updated it yet." Then I asked her how long she had been at the new location and she said "Six years." None of this was adding up to me and I didn’t understand why she didn’t let me know about this when I made the appointment. Since this new location was so much further from me than the original one and she had called with such little notice, we had to reschedule.



On the day of my rescheduled appointment, Josie called me 2 hours before my scheduled appointment and said she was sick and asked if we could reschedule again. I agreed.



The day of my next rescheduled appointment on, she called me an hour and a half before my scheduled appointment and said "Something came up" and asked if we could reschedule again. I told her I had rearranged my schedule 3 times and had been waiting for weeks to get the service done. She asked if I just wanted my money back and I said yes. She asked me to send her a text with my address and said she would send my money back "right away." That was 6 weeks ago and she never sent me a refund. When I tried to contact her, she would not respond.



I knew there was something shady going on, so I called the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services to verify whether Josie had an establishment license for 3702 Pheasant Branch Road, Middleton, WI 53562, where she was operating. I was told she did not. I was asked by the woman who provided me with the information to please submit a formal complaint so this matter could be investigated.



By this time, a friend of mine who had also bought a Groupon did get her service done at this woman’s home and said it was a terrible experience. Not only is Josie practicing illegally out of her home, but she is misleading people by advertising in a way that allows for people to buy services online through websites such as Groupon and Living Social for an establishment that is very different from her actual one. They believe they are purchasing services at an upscale salon on the capital square in downtown Madison and they are actually going to one woman in her home in Middleton. Please do not waste your money!

Same thing happened to me

. Wanted me to go to another location one and a half hour before appointment. Then sent text would be late and turned phone off when I called to question all the last minute changes. I did not go and called Groupon who gave me refund.

*** Do NOT go to this woman!!!***

One of the weirdest salon experiences of my life. Even though I saw the bad reviews, I bought her Brazilian Blowout on Groupon. I've had several of these done in different locations, so by now I know what to expect.



First off, when I called to schedule an appointment, she told me to send her an email with some dates and times. After sending her the email, it took her a week to respond to me - even after I sent her several follow-up emails.



I finally got an appointment scheduled with her. She then told me that she wanted to communicate via texting (fairly unprofessional in my book.). She texted me the location that she wanted me to meet her at. This location was NOT the location listed on the Groupon website, or on her site. I was a little wary, but went anyways. It turned out that she had converted a very small room in the bottom of her house into a small salon. It was literally the size of a bedroom, and had no ventilation.



Josie started to pressure me about buying the Brazilian Blowout hair products/shampoo/conditioner as soon as I started to arrive. She denigrated every other place that I got my blowout done at, saying that if they hadn't told me I needed THE Brazilian Blowout products, they were screwing me over. She wanted (I believe) an extra $150-200 for these products. I did not want to buy these, but she continued to pressure me during the entire appointment. She told me (after already starting) that if I didn't buy the products, the blowout would fade from my hair by the next day, and that I HAD to buy them if I wanted it to actually work. This information - even if it was true, which it wasn't, as I've had several of these done to my hair, and I also called several other salons to check - was NOT included on the Groupon description or on her website.



To make the appointment even worse, due to the lack of ventilation, my eyes burned and teared the entire time. I am aware of the risks of using the Brazilian Blowout formula, but have NEVER had this issue before in other salons as they take the proper precautions to prevent the formaldehyde gas (which is created as a reaction between the heat and the formula) from irritating your eyes. My eyes also burned for days afterwards, especially in the shower.



The overall quality of the blowout seemed to be fairly poor as well. Like I said, I've gotten these before and know what to expect. The blowout has not lasted very well, and I shampoo about twice a week, and use sulfate free shampoo and conditioner.

I almost bought a groupon.com coupon for this salon until reading the reviews of this business, WOW, that's all I can say. Glad I didn't waste my money on this! Thank you everyone for being so bluntly honest about Josie Studio One Salon, you saved me pocketbook, sanity, and time apparently!!

I also bought a Living Social deal, but for a haircut. I called and left a phone message TWICE, and emailed once. Over a one month period, I got NO REPLY. Thankfully LivingSocial refunded me!!!

Josie was the most unprofessional person I have ever dealt with. I bought a coupon from Living social for a Brazilian Blowout.When I went to my appointment she wanted me to pay an additional $40 with the coupon, which is NOT allowed when dealing with Living Social.The blow out DID NOT work! I called her two times within 24 hours to tell her the situation and then again the next day.I also emailed her. She refused to contact me, so I went to her salon to show her my hair and ask that it be done over. She was confontational and said that it would be a waste of their time, but she would do it if I paid for the supplies. What salon does that!! I did get a refund from Living Social and HIGHLY recommend them. Also, her employee, Michael is great! Hopefully he doesn't stay there long!