Dear Seana, you have asked for more details so here are a few:
James insisted on the pre-payment due to his busy schedule. He told me that his clients always stay at his “guest apartment in the rear of the office property” for $40 per night. This also includes “car service”. Regarding the treatment itself he said the rate was $100 per hour which he made sound like a good deal as he planned to increase the rate in the new year. He promised that the pre-paid time would be honored because I would pay in 2013. He said a full day buyout would be a minimum of 6 hours, so the total was $8400, plus $560 for the room and transportation. The treatment time was between January 27, 2014 and February 10, 2010. He said feel free to arrive on January 26. He also confirmed that he would pick me up from the airport.
To my question whether I had to bring anything in particular such as towels he replied that “Unless you have favorite linen and towels, you can rely on those provided here for the blissfully comfortable king sized bed that will be your home away from home.”
I also asked about his treatment plan…how long he recommends to wait in between clearances. He told me that 8-12 weeks is typical providing a full clearance has been achieved. I asked whether I can book the time for the second clearance while in Buffalo but he insisted he could not guarantee it would still be available due to his busy schedule. He said, “Were it not for the prepayment requirement, I would likely be prebooked for the entire year on the first of January every year. The best plan is to get what ever dates you are sure of, buy your time, and know that I won’t be unavailable when you are free to do the work.” I said I didn’t know how long he would need for the clearance so it was difficult for me to make such a decision. He then told me to buy the same amount of time as the first clearance and then said that 6-12 weeks would be an appropriate time in between. He told me to “Let me know dates and you can pay via PayPal, credit/debit card or bring cash to your appointment.”
I challenged him because I didn’t believe there would be enough hair present in such a short time interval to justify going back for the same amount of time, to which he responded that “The second clearance is usually 80 to 90% of the time the first clearance required. Since we have not done that, I can’t say what that amounts to”. I had serious doubts about the numbers after what I had learned from Hairtell.
He then pressed me to pay the time immediately rather than when I’m in his office. “It is best to go on and charge the card for the other dates, so we have them locked in. People are thinking ahead to wanting to be bikini ready. ;)” Of course, I was more than suspicious by then and that is when I contacted Mike Bono. My father also said to insist on paying during my stay which at that point was only 3 weeks away. James’ response: “I can understand your dad’s concern, I just can’t say that the time will be held back for you until paid for. I am sure we both understand the prudence on both our parts here.” My father was angry at his reply and disappointed that the initial trust we put in James by making such a large prepayment 6 months in advance was not mutual. I told James that I would only make another payment after completing the first clearance. He said, “It is not that I don’t trust you. What I am dealing with is juggling a crushing schedule of hours, traveling and sometimes not knowing what city I am waking up in.Today is a good example, we have a snow storm covering 25% of the nation, and my client decided to leave early rather than complete the work to avoid potentially being stranded in Buffalo and missing work (which could be closed anyway) tomorrow. On the other hand, I have been in other states, and had problems getting back to Buffalo for an appointment there myself, and I really must be careful with how I schedule myself. It would be one thing if we were talking about a day or two, and not two weeks.I hope this is understandable. In any event, we will do the best we can when you get here.”
Unfortunately, I never asked about assurances and guarantees. He made me feel like I was annoying him asking questions or challenging statements.
My flight was due to land at Greater Buffalo Niagara Falls Airport at 4.15 in the afternoon. He told me to call him when my plane had touched down. But due to my flight arriving late in Newark I missed my connection to Buffalo. I was told that due to a storm all flights were going to be canceled. The only option I had was to fly to Rochester which is an hour away from Buffalo. I called James to ask what he preferred me to do. When I could finally reach him I heard kids screaming in the background. He didn’t know who I was at first. He said he had to babysit the kids (at that point I thought they were relatives) and didn’t know when the mother would return. He told me to wait but I needed him to make a decision on whether to stay somewhere overnight or take the flight to Rochester. Finally we agreed that he would pick me up from Rochester airport. However, when I had landed there was no James to be seen. I called him and he told me he was still at the office (the “office” or treatment room was just a small room in the guest apartment. He doesn’t live there) and couldn’t leave because of the kids.
At that point I was extremely frustrated because I was aware that he wouldn’t have been able to pick me up from the Buffalo airport either with the kids around and also because he had specifically agreed to pick me up at from Rochester rather than staying overnight in Newark. I feared I would be stuck there. He said there was no way he could pick me up that night but finally he told me to find an airline official for him to talk to. Luckily after a long debate between the two of them, the airline admitted that it was their fault because they didn’t calculate enough time to get through customs at Newark airport. Therefore they agreed to pay for my taxi which cost $180 to get me to James’ place.
Even though I was exhausted I was happy to arrive and meet James. The neighborhood looked rather rough and the taxi driver asked me numerous times whether it was the correct address. When James opened the door he had an infant (6 months) on his arm. I instantly noticed that the hallway was completely muddy. There was snow outside but I couldn’t understand why they didn’t take off their shoes. He made me sit down in the front room which also functioned as the living room. There was another child (18 months) crying and a young woman who was only wearing a t-shirt. I was shocked at the smell, the dirt and the chaos. I didn’t want to take off my coat because I was disgusted by the couch.
James told me to wait there while he went to the back with the girl. I was alone with the toddler who sat in front of the TV all day watching cartoons. After a while I noticed a camera pointed in my direction. From that moment on I never felt at ease because I didn’t know how many cameras he had. After waiting over half an hour James took me to get dinner. Before went to the restaurant, he had to stop at a supermarket and while I was waiting I called my parents. They said they would book a hotel for me first thing next morning. They said if I felt uncomfortable I should come home but I really wanted to get the treatment I had come for. James only showed me my room after we returned and it definitely looked as if the sheets hadn’t been changed. James excused the mess and robbed all over the bed with his muddy shoes on trying to straighten the sheets. It hardly made a difference as you can see on the photos. There was no bedside light and clutter on the floor and furniture. Tons of vitamin pills, wrestling figures and dirty clothes. When James left me alone for the night I was desperate because there was no way I could sleep in that bed. I also realized that it was impossible to shut the door completely. I never unpacked my suitcase and tried to sleep whilst sitting on my coat. It was very hot and humid in the apartment which was especially bad in the bathroom. The dirt there made me feel sick and I knew I would not be able to shower there. I didn’t know what the black stuff on the walls and bathtub were but I was told later that it was mold. When you went to the bathroom you had to step over dirty towels and clothes. There was hair and sticky stuff everywhere.
I couldn’t wait for everyone to get up the next morning. I was eager to begin treatment and hopeful to move into a hotel soon. I left the room when I heard noise. James had left over night. I was alone with the young woman and her children who slept in the room next door. James had told me she was kicked out of her parents house and had nowhere to stay. He said he always takes in women in need but he hadn’t mentioned this before I got there so it came as a surprise. (The children were home all day while their mother went to work. She only returned late at night and James had to watch them during the day.) When I left the room on the first day I met a lady who introduced herself as as James’ client. I was confused because I had booked 6 hours of treatment time. He had made breakfast which was unpalatable. His client and I sat on the couch and talked while I tried to force the food down. (She was smart to have declined to eat.) She was nice and I could tell she felt sorry for me. She said it’s not the best area of Buffalo and that she had told James to move to a better area. She couldn’t believe I was staying at the chaotic apartment but said that he is a good electrologist. After hearing her treatment history, her understanding of electrolysis and seeing the results, I started to get doubts whether he was really that good. James left us waiting and didn’t return for a while time. When he finally returned he said that’s why he told me to arrive a day early. I said but you told me to arrive a day early on the 26th and start treatment today (27th). He said “oh ok, I mixed it up” but didn’t seem very bothered. He could not tell me how long it would take and left me waiting all day without offering any more food or drinks. At around 5 pm he the client had to leave early (otherwise he would have continued working on her!),and he asked me to go for dinner. After dinner he said he could start on me now but worked less than an hour. I was so frustrated but he assured me to make up for the lost time after I asked what he would do about the lost hours.
The short treatment time however set the tone for the upcoming days as he kept getting distracted by the children (and other stuff). He had to change diapers, feed them and play with them which meant constant interruptions. The treatment room is very tiny Seana. There is nothing else but the treatment table and the cluttered desks on the one site and the rest of the room with shelves of DVDs and wrestling memorabilia. The door leads directly to the front room/living room where the kids were all day in their respective bouncer and crib watching TV. During the day when we were alone with the children he left the door open so I could see very well from the treatment table how he changed diapers and attended to the kids without changing his gloves/washing his hands.
Seana, if you wish more details I will gladly continue.