Finding a loctician may not be easy, especially if you are new to keeping locs. What's much worse however is making payments for a service you may never receive. Sadly, scammers are actively taking advantage of people all over the internet, and making money off of people who just want to get a good loc appointment.
Whether you have dealt with pretend locticians or not, it's important to know the warning signs. So, here's how to find a good loctician without falling into the wrong hands.
Signs that your loctician may be Trying to Pull a Scam
- Hurried payment demands
Standard hair salons may require you to book an appointment, and make a small deposit towards it. However, if the amount is unusually high, or if the vendor requires you to pay up in full upfront, you may need to take a step back. So, unless it's a popular location where you can easily request a refund, or trace your payment, don't give out your money in a hurry.
- Unprofessional Communication
If a vendor is usually cordial with you, or starts to make it look like you are old besties, then they are worth some suspicion. Remember that it's simply a business transaction, and actual business owners do their best to stay respectful without being overreaching.
- Zero or little online presence
In today's world, every innovative business has a Google listing, a social media page or two, or a website even! If you cannot find reliable information about them online, they are probably not worth your time. This is not to say that all businesses who aren't online are fraudulent. But it might be safer to get referrals from people you know.
Also, most times, when they have social media pages, they have little engagement there compared to the number of the followers. Most times, they don't have old posts because they just recently created one. So if the page looks too good to be true, trust your instincts
How to Find a Good loctician
Here are some tips to keep in mind when finding a good loctician. You could also use these to verify your potential loctician.
- Read reviews and ratings
While reviews and ratings may not be the best way to determine how skilled your loctician is, you'll definitely know that they are real. So, scroll through their website or search page, and read what clients have to say. If the page has pictures of past customers, but no comments or likes, it's probably a fake.
You should also watch out for objective reviews. If everybody says only nice things, then that vendor is too good to be true.
- Get an image of the location from your maps
Fraudsters have been known to put up random locations. Imagine how disheartening it would be to arrive at a fake location after paying for your dreadlock appointment? Instead, type the location on Google maps. You would get an image, sometimes a front door view of that location. This could save you a lot of stress and perhaps some cash.
- Referrals
There is nothing better than using a loctician that your friends, social media contacts or loc specialists recommend to you. You can rest assured that such a person will offer good services, or at the very least, real services.
- Look up their social media pages
Social media pages like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest are great places to see pictures of what your loctician is capable of. You can put a face or personal identity to the business. So, check out their business pages, or trace their personal social media pages. If you cannot find the vendor's name or business information, it's probably a scam artist. There's also the added advantage of reading through comments, and reading feedback from previous customers.
Conclusion
While finding a loctician, it's important to stay alert. The warning signs could be a strange social media page, lack of reviews or sudden changes in address. If the loctician keeps making unusual demands, these could be red flags. Setting up a hair appointment is not rocket science. So, if it looks sketchy, it probably is.
We are working on a data base for Loctitians at Going-Natural.com, the longest running natural hair website. If you know a good one, please shout her/him out in the comments or email us.
