'Some haircuts are better than others': B.C. tribunal dismisses complaint against Vancouver salon

A stylist cuts a person's hair in this undated stock image. (Shutterstock)

A woman's complaint that a haircut she got at a Vancouver salon was "lopsided" and too short has been dismissed and the salon's counterclaim of online defamation won't be resolved by a B.C. tribunal.

In a decision posted Monday, Civil Resolution Tribunal member Micah Carmody dismissed Sapanjit Chohan's complaint about a haircut she got from a Commercial Drive salon last June.

According to the file, Chohan was unhappy with the cut she got at Kokopelli Hair Salon and Lounge Gallery and wanted to be refunded $111.75 and rewarded an additional $100 in damages.

The decision outlined that Chohan wanted no more than an inch and a half cut, but that she also wanted split ends addressed.

"Ms. Chohan says she walked out of Kokopelli with worse hair than when she came in. Specifically, she says the haircut was lopsided, there were clumps rather than curls at the bottom, and she had 'more frizzies' and wispy bits," Carmody wrote in the decision.

Chohan claimed the stylist "snipped away randomly here and there" and "razor cut" her bangs, the tribunal heard. Carmody wrote in the decision that photos included by Chohan don't support the claim that three or four inches were cut, instead saying it appeared Chohan's hair falls just past her shoulders in all the submitted pictures.

"I agree that the 'after' photos show some long frizzy ends, and one side of her hair slightly longer than the other," Carmody said.

"However, I find this is insufficient to establish a breach of the standard of care. I find it is common experience that some haircuts are better than others."

The stylist's manager, Lorri Darr, who responded to the claims against the salon, argued that Chohan "had unreasonable expectations," and that she didn't return to the salon to have her haircut fixed.

Darr alleged Chohan posted defamatory comments on social media and tried to encourage clients to cancel their appointments. The manager requested that Chohan remove all public comments about the salon, apologize publicly and pay $1,500 "in compensation for lost revenue" as a result of those comments.

No negative reviews appear to be on Kokopelli's Facebook page from around the time of Chohan's appointment, but a review posted on Google by someone with the same last name said, "The worst hair cut I have ever had. They would not reimburse me my money. I would give a zero rating if I could."

Carmody wrote in the decision that the CRT doesn't have jurisdiction to address libel or slander and therefore refused to resolve Darr's counterclaim.

In the end, Chohan's claim was dismissed.

"Ms. Chohan says she usually wore her hair up and she wanted a great haircut so she could feel confident to wear her hair down again," Carmody wrote.

"I acknowledge that Ms. Chohan was disappointed this haircut did not give her that confidence. However, I am unable to conclude on the evidence before me that (the stylist) breached the standard of care."