And the consultant is...

I put all the high needs, high wants, low needs, low wants into a table, weighted each category and then selected the consultant that met my criterion. It is a well known FACT- that the following table is full of MY OPINIONS.


HIGHLY IMPORTANT items are listed in PINK
IMPORTANT items are listed in BLUE
OTHER items are listed in BLACK



My ideal responses are in GREEN

	Consultant A	Consultant B	Consultant C	Consultant D
Located in a traditional Salon?	Yes	Yes	No, home salon	No, home salon
Certified Consultant?	Yes, also Certified Teaching Associate and R-Certified	Yes, trained by Consultant A	No, Sisterlocks Practitioner/Trainee	Yes
Shampoo included in retightening service?	Yes	No, but shampoo services are available	Not sure, but shampoo services are available *	No, and not sure if shampoo services available
Quality of work for ESTABLISHMENTS(pictures from website/social media)	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Great
Wears Sisterlocks?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Keeps an Appointment Book; Provides Receipts	Yes, online booking and payment system	Yes, online booking and payment system	Not sure- I would assume pen/paper	Not sure- I would assume pen/paper
Establishment Fee	$$$	$$$	$$	$$
Retightening Fee	$$$ (up to 3 hours)	$$$ (up to 3 hours)	$$ (flat fee if new growth is less than a certain length)	$$ (up to 3 hours, $ for each additional hour)
Possibility of Team Establishment of my SLs? (read my post HERE)	Likely	Likely	Not Likely	Not Likely
Distance	2 hours	2 hours	1.5 hours	1 hour
Offers Styling Services	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Email Response time	Less than 6 hours	Less than 12 hours	3 days	Less than 12 hours
Number of other Certified Sisterlocks Consultants at Salon?	Two (2)	Two (2)	None- sole proprietor at home salon	None- sole proprietor at home salon

*At the time I made my final decision, the shampoo service was not available. In the timeframe between my decision and the actual posting of this article, the home salon was moved and shampoo services are available. The distance has also changed. I am basing this belief/assumption off changes in pictures posted on social media.


Here's the plan (clearly, this was written before my Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men posts)...

• I will reach out to Consultant A to schedule a consultation, establishment and follow-up retightening dates. Since I will be at a distance, I will schedule them at the same time.
• If there is a scheduling conflict- I will reach out to Consultant B.
• I want to have my SLs established during Batman and Ironman's school break since I will be away from home for potentially two days. I don't want Superman (though while he is perfectly capable) to have to actually break out his cape. (NO CAPES! In my Edna Mood voice)
• I will switch to Consultant D for retightening services after my locs have settled or 6 months, whichever comes first. My best friend T met a woman with SLs who goes to Consultant D for re-ties and spoke favorably about her work. Side note: the lady's establishment was done out of state; she relocated to the area not too long ago
• I will take the retightening class taught by Consultant A no later than year 2 of having my SLs established