“We didn’t expect that. We are shocked. »
Many of them suffer from the inconvenience. This show operated with subscriptions. Sophie, a 55-year-old resident of La Couronne, paid €64.90 debited on the 5th of the month and was entitled in return to a shampoo, color and touch-up of her roots, once a month. She had an appointment on Saturday December 21. Her partner Alexandre paid €19.90 for her monthly shampoo and haircut. They settled but were not styled.
The salon opened in 2020. Aurore Delias, 46 years old, resident of Champniers, was a devotee. She paid €22.80 per month for a shampoo, cut and styling of short hair. She didn't have her appointment either, scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. She immediately objected to her next debits and requested the cancellation of that of December 5. No guarantee that it will work. “It was a good formula. I found myself there. The same thing in another salon would have cost me between €30 and €40,” she calculated. For a blow-dry every week, some paid €85 per month. Christelle Guérin, a new customer of Champniers, just had time to monetize her subscription at €19.90, which entitled her to reductions on her haircut and products.
€500 salary in November
The four employees were not so lucky. They learned the news on Wednesday December 18 at 6:30 p.m., during a meeting with the bosses. “When we asked them how we were going to notify customers. They told us they would see them on the door. We had ten minutes to collect our things. »
More serious, the employees were not fully paid. Only €500 in November, on salaries of €1,300 to €1,900. And nothing for the month of December. “I make my Christmas presents from my savings,” complains an employee. The bosses told us that it was complicated at the moment to pay the bills. But we didn't expect that. We are shocked. We all have credits. I don't even have the strength to get back into the zone anymore. »
Still, the show seemed to be doing well. “It was always full,” testifies Josette Rafin. “You had to make appointments well in advance,” said another. The employees confirm. “The schedule was extremely busy until the end of the month. »
As for the poor health of the company, Frédéric Devige, the boss, explains that it is due to “the economic crisis, the drop in activity, staff absences and the excessively high price of charges. We tried to find solutions, but by October we had no more cash. I presented the file to the commercial court on Monday December 16 and on Thursday the 19th, it declared liquidation. »
“I don’t know if they will be reimbursed”
The manager, also at the head of a salon in Limoges, claims to have had time to honor the services of three quarters of the customers who had paid their subscription. “The others unfortunately will have to see with the legal representative. Our accounts are blocked. We no longer have control. I don't know if they will be refunded. The employees' salaries should be covered by insurance, the representative told me,” he says in a flat voice. “I have been self-employed for 26 years (he also has shares in a furniture sales company) and this is my first liquidation. We managed as best we could. This impacts us a lot. I did not pay myself a salary and my wife not every month. She was not a hairdresser but managed the reception of clients. »
The samples for the month of January have been stopped, he says. A year ago, the Make up design beauty salon, right next door, also suddenly closed its doors. The fact remains that the news comes at a bad time on Christmas Eve. The employees will look for another job and Josette Rafin will have to settle for a comb. “It will save me time preparing for New Year’s Eve,” puts the client into perspective, who will look for another salon near her home, in L’Isle-d’Espagnac.
The salon burglarized the day before the liquidation
Without pay and above all without papers attesting to their dismissal, the employees asked to pack up immediately on Wednesday evening returned on Thursday morning, hoping for some explanations. New surprise. “The door was open. The living room had been broken into during the night. All the products, bathrobes, computers and the coffee machine were missing,” says an employee. Strange coincidence.
“On our video surveillance images, we see three hooded men,” confirms Frédéric Devige, the boss. An investigation is underway at the gendarmerie. For this curious coincidence of the burglary on the very evening of closing, he has no explanation except that “several Addict salons have been robbed in Saintes and Mont-de-Marsan over the last ten days. »
