My wife has been visiting Rush for 10 years and my 5 year daughter since her first haircut at the age of 2. We called the Horsham Branch to make an appointment for the 25th May 2018. The appointment was for my 3 year son Adam who has autism, we enquired if any staff were trained to deal with a toddler with a disability as at times it can be challenging, people with Autism see, hear and feel the world differently and require a different approach. We was advised and assured that the staff are capable to interact with Adam and cater to his needs. My wife arrived 2/3 minutes late but called ahead to notify the receptionist, the hairdresser was not ready and it was 30/40 minutes before they were seen. During this time my wife needed to extend the parking and left my daughter in store with the staff who at the time agreed was not a problem. She briefly got upset but this is not an issue in the slightest. Victoria was our hairdresser on the day and was notified of Adam’s disability, that he can find the clippers to be ticklish. She laughed at the choice of haircut we asked for, a Mohawk and commented I wouldn’t but everybody is different. My wife sat in the chair with Adam, the hairdresser put the apron on, started to clip his hair, Adam was being a little difficult due to the wait, sound of the environment and was stopping the hairdresser from cutting he’s hair, in doing so Adam kicked her in the mid section, causing shock rather then discomfort. My wife apologised and calmed Adam down. The hairdresser became very defensive and clearly did not want to cut his hair, making various excuses to avoid any attempt to try again. My wife said fine we’l visit our local barber, apologised again, thanked them and left. We had no issue at the barbers and the individual took the time to engage with Adam, get him comfortable and cut his hair. My wife called the branch that afternoon as she felt that she was made to feel embarrassed about our son’s disability, the receptionist stated no manager was in, my wife explained the situation visible distressed and broke down in tears due to experience in store. She was advised the manager would call. No call for 2 weeks, my wife called herself on the 8th June 2018 and the franchisee owner Huw James picked up, gave the reason for not calling back was as Adam kicked Victoria in the face, there was no longer an issue, lying about the situation and accusing my child of something he didn’t do, stated no notes were left around Adam’s disability and became very defensive and patronising and not once apologised. He offered a free haircut on another day but in doing so insulted people with disabilities by stating we have someone who can deal with that, referring to Autism and disabilities. We refused and stated we would never revisit the store. Huw as a franchisee owner, face of Rush displayed no empathy, sympathy and actually showed lack of leadership and professionalism. Huw has truly let you down, he’s reasoning and lack of accountability resembled that of a child, who openly invited us to call Head office and complain and gave the number. We called Head Office straight after speaking to Hayley who was exceptional and offered the first and only apology. She took our details and said that due to the nature and severity of the complaint, a regional leader would investigate and call within 48 hours. We are yet to receive a response. I strongly believe the named individuals and the store does not cater for people with disabilities, its has no disability awareness, they are not held accountable for their actions and fail to put the customer first.