American Laser Centers

American Laser Centers

October 14, 2006

American Laser Center

3193 Howell Mill Rd,

Atlanta, GA 30327,

404-603-8515

Purchased a 2 year laser hair removal treatment package to remove facial hair 10/01/04 and paid $1299.50. The manager at the time was Shannon and she informed me results were guaranteed or I would get a full refund. I should see hair loss after the 1st or 2nd treatment & should be completely hair free by the 6th treatment. No results 1st few treatments and Faith the person who was doing the teatments suggested mocrodermabrasion treatments before she did the laser. Tried that... no change ... After a few more treatments still no results and 02-06 requested a refund. The manager Nicole said I was likely a "poor responder" and she would complete a packet to send to the corporate office to get a refund to me. Said I should receive a check in about 1 week. 2-18-06 after several unreturned calls, spoke with Nicole on the phone and she said she had not received any response from her request. She placed me on hold & Regional manager Julia picked up. Julia contradicted Nicole and said they had received a response and they would not be issuing a refund. ( 10-9-06 current manager Leslie told me nobody ever even requested a refund from corporate at all)She said the corporate office suggested I come every 4 weeks and at a higher setting. I tried the every 4 weeks treatments and a double pass ( going over the areas twice). Still not a single hair lost. Asked for another refund when Kristina became manager (3rd manager to promise a refund) went through the same unfulfilled promise of them saying they would get a packet and send it to corporate. This time no response at all and nobody returned my calls. 6-12-06 or 7-12-06 Faith did another treatment and said she would get a packet together and for sure this time I would get a refund.

8-12-06 treatment said they were still working on it. After that treatment I was burned so bad I was not able to get treated 09-06. 10-9-06 had most recent treatment. A new manager Leslie (4th or 5th in 2 yrs) said nobody had ever sent in a request for a refund for me and the managers in the past must have beeen giving me the runaround. stated several other customers have come to her with similar complaints since she started and she would send in a request and I would have a refund within 1 week minus an administrative fee. left mesages for her 10-10-06, 10-11-06, 10-12-06, and she did not ret the calls. Finally got her on the phone 10-13-06 and she states corporate rejected the refund request and they suggested I have treatments every 4 weeks. I have already tried every 4 weeks!!! "double pass treatments", a new stronger laser, Microdermabrasion before treatments, microdermabrasion after treatments. An employee from American laser told me during a past treatment some people have had over 20 treatments and it just does not work. This company has lied in their promise of results or your money back. Also said treatments were not painfull and they are very painfull and I was burned 8-12-06. i would like this company to issue a full refund. i appreciate any help you can give me. I have called the corporate office at 248-426-8250 ext 210 and left messages for the legal secretary twice and they don't return my calls. Please help.

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Do not waste your money or time at this place. I had laser hair removal done in Europe for a third of the price I've paid at ALC in Buckhead....

I was able to get results immediately in Belgium and complete removal after 8 months. I have been going to ALC, on the other hand, for two years now for another body part and still no change/no results. They are fake, slimy scammers with poor customer service. They also have a 'no refund policy.' My father is a lawyer and we are considering suing this place. Please don't waste your time and money here--go somewhere else, because laser removal can work, just not with their awful lasers.

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I've been having laser hair removal treatments from ALC for over two years on my arms and legs and guess what: NO results. I've not had hair loss or even hair reduction. They turned up my setting last month and I was terribly burned. They are completely unapologetic and rude! They assure me that "a nurse will call me and put me on products to help," but no nurse has ever called me! I've even left a message asking a nurse to call me about my burns and no one returned my call. It was a waste of money, time, and now I have burns. Terrible company.

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I used to work for American Laser Centers in California. Believe me, they are the WORSE company you can go to for services. I walked out finally one day and it was the BEST decision of my life. They can give refunds, but they drag their butts hoping you will get tired of trying to get your money back. They are NOT honest, and they are a horrible company to work for.

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American Laser Centers charge a $75 cancellation fee & will not waive it under any circumstance. I've been going to American Laser Center (Fort Worth location) for over a year now & have had very little hair loss. My contract states that I can continue to receive treatments for two years after my initial treatments are over. Recently, American Laser Center changed their cancellation policy. It's now $75 to cancel an appointment if you do not call the day before. They some times give reminder calls, but you can't depend on it because they're not consistent. They seldom have a human answering the phone, so you have to leave a message. And many times, they don't call you back until the following day. It's one of their many ways to gain extra $$ from you. I have almost two years left on my contract, but they will not let me come back until I pay their $75 fee. Beware of American Laser Centers because it's very expensive & you don't get what you pay for.

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I have experienced the same poor results, empty promises and terrible customer service in Houston. I will be filing a formal complaint with the BBB

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This hair removal process DOES NOT WORK. Do not give your money to this company, you will never see it again. I have gone through the six months of standard treatment, plus the additional two years guaranteed in the contract - I have seen no improvement. Plus, there is no refund given if the service does not work. Which it DOES NOT.

Save your money, ladies. This is a scam.

Three words: Class. Action. Lawsuit.

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I have not heard of recent burning, they don't set the lazer high enough to remove hair in troy michigan. shannon was very pushy and made promises over and above the guraranteed brochure. Now she is with corporate training new office managers. hmmm deceit fully training them to promise things they can't deliver. you will need at least 5 times the 6 pkg guarentee to get any results at about 50 percent hair loss only. it is not worth the money. heather who replaced shannon in troy michigan is always following procedure and will not adjust your treatments over the pkg amount. you will be VERY dissatisfied.

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Time to take action against American Laser Center. It seems very complaint site I visit has a comment from their customer service dept. promising upgraded service, but I have yet to witness it. I have been complaining for almost a year and have recently resorted to the Better Business Bureau. There are hundreds of BBB complaints against this company! Banding together against the company is the only way you will get noticed. I've also contacted a class action attorney.

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I would like to add that I am also a client of American Laser Centers. The laser WAS working great, until management changed. Mary is the manager at their brighton office. I schedule each appointment after I've finished one while I'm still in the office. That means at least 10-13 weeks in advance. For the past year, on SEVERAL appointments, they will call me and tell me I need to change my appointment and they come up with several different excuses. One of my appointments is 3 hours long, and I've paid them over $4,000.00 since I started. When they reschedule me, they tell me they have nothing open for months. Obviously, the laser will not work then. They offer for me to try their other offices, which I'm pretty sure they're just as busy, and I've told them everytime I have no way of getting to those offices. Why do they wait until a couple of days before? Now, pretty much everything I had gotten rid of, is back. On top of that, because the rescheduling was normally done on the phone the manager tried to say there was only one reschedule in Nov. 07. I forwarded her an email from June 2008 that was from her when they had rescheduled me again and I had sent them the same complaints. There doesn't seem to be any real "customer service". I'm still in the process of working this out, and I hope the situation will improve. I would like to add that the corporate offices should get more involved with customer service as well. I saw a link for a phone number, that I will try, but there should be more ways to contact them, so that customers do not feel as if they are being taken advantage of. This is a lot of money, their customers should be taken care of better.

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Hello all,

I represent American Laser Centers and we’ve made some adjustments to our customer services protocol that we wanted to bring to your attention.

We would like to let you know that we have been listening to your feedback about our customer service process and have incorporated your requests in some recent changes.

When you call our customer service team at (877) 252-2010, a live customer service representative will be able to take down your information and assist with your request. There will be a representative available to speak with you from 8 a.m. EST to 6 p.m. EST. If the customer service representatives are assisting other clients, there is an option to remain on-hold or be placed into voice mail. Our representatives check the voice mail system regularly and you will receive a prompt response if you leave a message.

Please understand that we are constantly looking at ways to improve our client experience. We genuinely appreciate any and all feedback and appreciate your patience as we continue to evolve our customer service approach.

Thank you,

Allen

customerservice AT alcpartner.com

www.americanlaser.com

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A friend and I signed an agreement for 100% hair reduction with American Laser Center last May 2007. They said it would take 4-6 treatments to see close to complete hair reduction with a two year guarantee of no hair returning in the area. It has been an entire year (6 sessions) and we have seen absolutely no results. I just want the public to be aware of our experience with this deceitful company. We spent together more than 5000 dollars on these services to see no results. When we researched the company more on the internet, we found hundreds of others with the same experience, paid thousands and saw no results.

When we told them of our concerns, they told us that we just needed more treatments and that they had never had anyone not see results. Well, if you look on the internet at complaintsboard.com, you will see a different story or BBB.com or pissedconsumer.com.

We inquired about corporate numbers for this company, the manager said, "It's funny, I know the corporate number but it is just isn't not coming to mind." Then, she gave us two numbers for corporate that were disconnected. She claims to have faxed us a copy of our contracts 5 different times but all we ever receive is the cover letter. She has lied to us numerous times and we have caught her in these lies. She claimed the reason that there were no before pictures taken was that the computers were down for a year....A year? a company with such sales can't get their computers fixed for a year?

I just want everyone to know our experience has been a disaster and I believe this company to be a complete scam.

I have never written a complaint against any company before, but I just really want everyone to be aware of this company's intentions.

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False advertisement on hair removal.

It has been a year and 6 treatments for laser hair removal of my bikini area at the American Laser Centers in Brentwood Tennessee. This location is a few miles from Nashville Tennessee. I only have about a 10% decrease in the amount of hair that has been removed. I was not a hairy girl to start with (6 sessions ago) so I was expecting faster changes then the average person.

On my sixth treatment they took a photo before they started the treatment. The purpose of the photo was to show progress.... That is no way to measure progress. Hello.. I shaved before I came to the appointment as I was instructed to do. So of course there was no hair. There was no hair in the photo because I shaved NOT because of the laser treatments.

Making appointments have been a huge challenge. Staff often did not return phone calls. Arrived once to find out the laser was doubled booked and was in use by someone else.

Was promised I would see results after the third treatment which was not true. I did not see any change until the 6th treatment and that is just a rough 10% change. I was asked if I had taken medication that might make the hair grow, which I had not. After reading these post I will be shocked if they continue my treatments as they promised until all the hair is removed. I was told (but never seen in writing) that the two year guarantee did not start until all the hair was removed even if that time period happen past the 6th treatment. However today I have read complaints where that was not the case. I am not surprised, just disappointed yet again.

Unhappy hair removal client who still has 90% of the hair I started with from Nashville Tennessee.

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I really want to thank you for sharing your experience..you truly saved me..actually I got a mail from ALC regarding free treatment worth $ 400..which now i came to know that most of us get..and I was about to make appointment with them fo Foto Facial.But now I will never ever visit them and I also don,t have thousands of dollars to spend on skin treatment which ultimately gives no result instead damages your skin..I really want that you get your refund soon..

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I too have been dealing with ALC in Temecula, CA since 2006. I walked in with a $300 "coupon" and walked out with a $2200 bill for microdermabrasian and foto facials. I have seen no results. I have dealt with four managers in this course of time. After my complaints, i did get an extension and a few more treatments. Still no results. I was recently sent to their office in La Jolla for something they called "Affirm". I saw the first positive change in my skin (which was very minor and could have been achieved with a high quality face cream); BUT was told that the clinicians in Temecula were using the wrong setting on the laser and that's why I didn't see any results.When I told the Temecula office to adjust the laser they said there was some miscommunication and their setting was correct. I am frustrated and tired of being co-erced to buy more treatments and seeing no results. Most of the girls in the office are rude and really don't listen to my concerns. They are truly a rip-off company and I would not recommend them to anyone. Beware, once you speak to someone in the office either by phone or in person, they GOTCHA. And they won't let go til they also have your money - lots of it. I'm still paying Care Credit $2000 for something that provided no results!

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I too used to work for this company. This has been one of the worst, stressful jobs. If you are looking for high stress, under paid job then go for it. The only upside to this job was some of the people I met. Everyone at the location I worked for is looking to WALK. Does that say it all? You get NO OVERTIME pay in this company if you ARE over hours. NONE! They will "roll it over" to another day. You will work your ass off doing what the high paying "manager" should be doing, only to get nothing in return, No matter how much you "upsell" it is never enough. Also you are forced to do a minimum amount of standing orders on their products, which coming from an estheticians point of view- is not a good line either. The training they have you do is VERY SHORT. You are expected to learn everything in a short period of time and to meet your monthly sales goals. My manager would sell cellulite reduction treatments to severly overweight women- giving them false hope of losing "5 inches" or more. Every person that walked is just valued as dollar signs. NO REAL VALUE for the customer what so ever. I really grew to dislike this position as I had NO IDEA what I was in for in the begining. Everyone who enters those "raffel boxes" ends up with a 300$ coupon- it is their way of getting you in the door to high pressure you. I was a patient there before I started working there as well. I feel so cheated and MISLED. I got hired shortly after that in which THEN I could revieve "free" treatments as an employee, but I could not get a refund because I had already started treatments. HORRIBLE! I hope enough people read the complaints on here and are smart enough to save their money. I have already looked into the class action lawsuit.

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My mother and I were approached by a sales team of ACL at a Bridal Show 3 years ago. My mother was skeptical from the beginning. She unfortunately agreed to give her contact info and they claimed that someone from there corporate office would contact her to answer any questions she may have.

My mother decided to give it a try before getting me a package as well. The employees at ALC told my mother that if she were to buy me a package, that I had enough time (1 month before my wedding) to see results. She bought me a package, hoping that my battle with facial hair, due to having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, I would be able to finally get rid of..

ALC has a 2 year guarantee that no hair will grow back and that you will see instant results. Since my first treatment til now, I have only seen about a 20-25% reduction at most, but still have the unsightly facial hair along with embarasing bumps (in grown hair).

On top of not seeing the results that I was promised, I had to argue with them on what areas were to be treated. Depending on the employee, I would get my way, others would simply tell me that I would have to pay additional month because the areas I stressed to be treated were not covered by the package that I had already purchased.

Regarding being pushed into buying other packages. Ah, yes, that is a bit of a problem. Like my husband, I am not fast to jump at sales pitches. If you can't proove your sale point, I will not buy. I have yet to see the results I was promised back in September of 2005, so obviously whatever they are doing they are doing it all wrong. People want to see real results before paying a fortune for hair removal.

One thing to mention that is very frustrating is that I was told by one of there employees that they cannot guarantee that hair will not grow back if you become pregnant and experience hormone changes. Would have been nice to have this disclosed in the beginning before paying money for something that is not FULLY guranteed.

I had complained about a new employee back in the earlier part of 2007. She was very rough with the laiser during my treatment, pushing the laser as hard as she could against my skin.

There are other laser treatment places that I am considering looking into and hopefully they can proove such results.

Would not recommend

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I used to work for ALC and I didn't like it at all. We had to make $2000 every single day or else we would get into trouble by the regional manager. My manager would make us call clients everyday to try to get them to "buy more". I felt way to pushy, that just wasn't my style. Some clients would get so irritated because we called them so much. when I first started, I was asking some of the girls what to say to sell packages to people, and they literally told me to say "anything to get them to buy". We had a pricebook, but we never went buy it, because all our treatments were so excpensive that we had a sale everyday. Nothing was ever the same price. The price was whatever the client was willing to pay (if it wasn't too low)I am so glad I don't work there anymore. And as far as the class action lawsuite goes, There is a ton of people who actually have one in the process. So there is one.

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Stay away from American Laser. They are nice to you, until you buy their packages of treatments, after that they are a big zero in customer service including their 1877 number.

I was getting foto facials and they ruined my face! Be aware, that they do not care if your taking legal procedure against them.

Not only I bought $5000 worth of treatments (at this point I didn't know how bad they were) no one has called me back to fix the mistake the made and it's now been over 1 year and I'm still trying to get someone to fix this problem.

Unfortunately, I am stuck with a big white spot on my face, my dermatologist said they killed my pigmentation (the color of my skin) and the color will never come back.

My face is ruined because of America laser.

Not only that, but the laser hair removal service promises you hair removal and I still have hair after 2 yrs and I'm not a hairy person!

I've been to 3 different clinics and one is worst than the other. Miami, New York, north California

Do not buy anything from American Laser Nationwide

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AMERICAN LASER CENTERS WILL BURN YOU! I have had the same experience..I have burns on my legs and have had almost no hair loss after seven treatments. I am going to fight as long as it takes to get a refund. The staff insulted me and cares nothing about my skin or my waste of time and money. Please tell everyone you know not to fall into this trap!

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I am a friend of a former employee for ALC. She found out that they actually put a lock on the lasers so they dont risk burning anyone like you would with an actual laser. This is why no one sees results. The treatment settings are not high enough to remove the hair. At least this is what she heard and it sounds like its probably true.It is unethical to do this, but they get away with it. Sorry for your bad experience. Keep trying for the refund you can get it if you keep trying.

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I am having the exact same problem getting a refund for my mother. The description of your experience is almost identical to her experience. Your complaint is from 2006, have you made any progress? If so please share so I can get my mother the refund she was promised.

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I have had the same lack of results from this company in troy michigan and bought the guaranteed package. they never said come in more often but i did what they wanted me to. my warrenty is over and 5,000 dollars later i am still hairy in all the places i paid for removal..many very young office managers later as well all promising results to no avail

*After notifying BBB and talking to the main office they reviewed my chart and have agreed to continue treatments since the hair was never gone December 7 2007..we'll see how it goes

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This company has unethical business practices and I have witnessed dozens of burned patients. I used to work in the same office for a different company. The management style of the ALC corporation is brutal and they use scare tactics to motivate their employees (de-motivate). They don't care about anything but making money. It wouldn't surprise me if someone files a class action law suit to put them out of business.