I went to see Cory last week and I have to say that it was the worst haircut experience I have ever had in my life. For a mere 252$ for a cut and highlights, one would assume that it would be an amazing haircut. Regrettably, that was not the case - not even close. In addition to being completely dissatisfied with my service, the management doesn't care enough about their clientele to return a phone call. The same can be said for the staff. While I am young and appear not to be of the wealthy clientele they're targeting, I can assure you that I scrimp and save so that I can afford a decent haircut and I walk into their salon, only to be ignored by their staff. It's the most frustrating thing to have clerks sitting and assuming that because of my age I don't belong there. I hate the atmosphere and while I have only been twice, I have never been more uncomfortable in a situation in my entire life. Whether it be the pretentious clientele, the staff who are relentless with their selling techniques (because clearly I didn't waste enough money there) and the poor quality of service, I will never be back.

I had my hair cut by Cory once before and, I will admit he did a great job. That said, my experience last Wednesday was not so. I asked for blonde highlights. Blonde, not brass, which is current colour of my hair. My bangs are still too long and I walked out of there without a blow-dry - despite my having booked one – so I had no idea what colour my hair was or how the cut looked. Apparently 3 hours was not sufficient time to accommodate me. In my opinion, that is not my problem. You’re offering a service and if I’m paying a significant amount of money, I should at very least be happy with the results. More so, the 34$ “haircut” portion was considered by him a “quick trim”. I’m sorry, a quick trim? That’s not what I signed up for. I had to return from my hair cut and fix my hair before I was even presentable to go out for the evening - not exactly what one would have expected from a 250$ haircut. When I called the management to complain, they refused to call me back. I guess they don't need my business and that’s good because they will certainly never be getting again. And I will tell all of my friends and co-workers and anyone I have the opportunity to speak with exactly where not to go to get your hair done.

I went for my very first facial at Edward Carriere and I must say that it was an interesting experience all around. The Spa itself is one that I would definitely recommend in the Winnipeg area. I have had a hard time finding a spa with this type of atmosphere since moving from B.C. and will probably go back there for other treatments. In regards to the facial I was not as happy with it as I was expecting. I have heard people rave about Facials for years now and so I thought it was time to try it out for myself. I naturally have pretty nice skin and have never had much to complain about, the treatments itself was good but the aftermath was one that I did not enjoy. My face was quite flushed when I left and I felt that I had just had my life dose of oily materials for my face. I also started to get quite itchy pretty quickly after the facial. I am going to chop it up to having some sort of allergy to the products used. I have pretty sensitive skin when it comes to different products so once I find something that works I do not typically try out new stuff for my face (in terms of lotions and eye shadow). So overall, the experience was great and relaxing, however my face was not meant for facials!

In July 2004, I had a large wedding party (four bridesmaid and myself) scheduled for make-up and hair on my wedding day at Edward Carriere. Further complicating matters was the fact that I was an out-of-town bride and my wedding party would only be flying in several days prior to my wedding day.

This salon was highly recommended by two hairstylist friends in my hometown and I felt reassured that the level of service would not be compromised - in fact, that perhaps it would be greater since I was from out of town and somewhat ill at ease from being away from my usual hairstylist.

I can honestly say that the feeling of unease never really truly went away with my EC experience.

From the very onset, while I was trying to book hair and makeup from my hometown, I was receiving minimal service from the customer service person who books weddings. I repeatedly told her that I was calling from out of town and was put on hold numerous times, compounding my long-distance bills. If you had email at the time, I would have defaulted to that instead. I also felt that she could not (or would not) give me any assurances, despite the fact that I had sought this salon over other Winnipeg salons.

Still, I believed that everything would fall into place on my wedding day.

I arrived and my four bridesmaids were whisked immediately into hair and makeup. I was whisked into make-up where they did an amazing job.

After my make-up, I went to get my hair done - except my appointed hairstylist was with another client. I could not understand this as I believed I had the first appointment of the morning with her and my hairstyle would (presumably) take longer than everyone else's.

Further aggravating this, the hairstylist then turned to me and mentioned that this was a STAFF person who's hair she was working on and she'd be about 10 minutes.

That turned into 20 minutes.

I cannot tell you the amount of fury that I had watching my bridesmaids get ready faster than me, and knowing that every minute I spent waiting was costing me time in getting back to my hotel to change, in getting to the church on time.

While waiting, I was watching the other hairstylists get my bridesmaids ready - and they did an amazing job - a better job, I would say, than what my hairstylist wound up doing with my hair. However, one hairstylist working on my bridesmaid had asked for my opinion on how it looked and if I was happy with the result of this particular bridesmaid. I said yes, except that one side of her hair didn't seem as flipped out as the other side and mentioned if she didn't mind setting it with some more hairspray since we were in for a long day. That hairstylist graciously smiled and said "no problem".

Later, I found out that through my bridesmaid that the hairstylist was grumbling about me being a demanding bride.

This was one day that I will never get back or repeat and it started out shoddily thanks to "highly recommended" staff. Thankfully, the rest of my wedding day turned out to be spectacular, although I still can't bear to look at my wedding pictures because they remind me of a hairstyle that wasn't up to par and really soured my whole morning and experience with Edward Carriere.

As someone who stepped through these salon doors with an open mind and a fat wallet, I wrote a complaint letter to the salon, stating the following:

"- The customer comes first, always. If you don't have a staff-working-on-staff-hair policy in place, perhaps this letter would prompt you to immediately take action on this.
- If your staff does not like a client, ask them to keep it to themselves or go to the staff room to vent. Don't think we can't hear just because we're not in the room.
- While your salon is probably one of the best in Winnipeg, it won't always be. If you want to continue to get big wedding day clients, act like it and coach more service-oriented staff.
- Share this letter with your staff - all of them, including the hairstylists and make-up artists. It should serve as a warning letter."

The only thing that saved my opinion of your salon was the make-up artists who did a flawless job and the other two hairstylists who did a good job on my bridesmaids. I wish I could say the same for the rest of my visit.

I will not be visiting Edward Carriere anytime soon, nor would I recommend its services to anyone else, particularly brides.

I had my hair cut by Don, and was scalped. I asked for a wedge cut but got an Outdated Dorthy Hamel cut instead!
My friends comments - you look like Dorthy Hamil, the little dutch boy look is in?, you look like you got a lesbo cut.
I went back the next day for a "fix" and I am now hairless!!!!!!!
Not recommended by me!

I try to visit when I'm in town because the prices are so much better than Toronto but they do just as good a job. It doesn't matter which stylist you get they are all fantastic and my cut is only $25!! I also got my hair and makeup done here for my wedding. They use Cargo cosmetics, which I love. Lipsticks are very nice and the products don't bother my skin at all.

162 Spence St, Winnipeg (204)987-6441
I've been getting my hair done here for years. They are awesome at cut, colour or hilites. All of the stylist are great! I've also come here for updos for weddings and been really pleased with the results! Haircuts start at about $25 and updos are around $50. They are also great at makeup and waxing!