I am a huge supporter of local businesses and am pretty reliably not the can-I-speak-to-the-manager type of person, but the ridiculousness at this salon put me in a situation where I felt compelled to... Read More
I am a huge supporter of local businesses and am pretty reliably not the can-I-speak-to-the-manager type of person, but the ridiculousness at this salon put me in a situation where I felt compelled to stick up for myself. As a consumer, that's a rarity for me.I came in on a Monday afternoon. When I arrived there were only a few customers and I was getting a pedicure within ten minutes, not bad for a walk-in situation. It sounds nit-picky in the big scheme of things, but I'll mention it anyhow, there is no AC here; it's uncomfortably hot.Lady One did my pedi and did an acceptable job, took about 30 minutes. As she was working on me, two mani customers came in, one pedi customer, and one mani-pedi customer. Keep in mind, there were only 3 people working so this created a wait. Towards the end of my pedi, I was told that Lady Two would do my mani. No problem. I'm in SoCal on a trip--this isn't my normal salon; I'm not picky about who I get. As soon as I sat down at the mani station, Lady Two pulled Lady One into the back area. A couple of minutes later they both returned and I was told Lady One would do my mani after all. She started by removing my gel from my last manicure. It became clear quickly that she was inexperienced. All said, it took her over 60 minutes to remove my weeks-old and already peeling shellac. With what I thought was the worst of it over, she began the actual manicure. No issues until she started to paint my nails. The painting of my nails easily took an hour. She was unsure of herself and was visibly struggling. Lady Two came over to take a look and began quickly firing off what I assume was instructions (I don't speak Vietnamese). I, not wanting to make a scene, waited it out. A whopping two and a half hours after it was started, my manicure was done. A mess is the only accurate way to describe it. Gel manicures require experience. Without it, you end up with an uneven and lumpy look. The ring finger on my left hand had a lump so big it was like a pea was stuck under the varnish. Several nails had air bubbles and all of the tips were unpainted. Aesthetics aside, the cuticles were mangled and my hands felt a little sore. I wanted to pay and get out of there. Unfortunately Lady Two came over to inspect my nails and the look on her face was unmistakable. She clearly knew my nails were a mess. She handed me a business card and wrote "Free Gel Manicure" on it, asking me to come back in so she could fix it. I had no intentions of returning. It was an uncomfortable setting and I had literally just spent 3 hours there to get a simple mani-pedi. I took the card and went back to my hotel.Fast forward to this morning when I wake up and my nails are absolutely sore. I suspect it is from Lady One's inexperience in removing shellac. When I press on my nails, it's painful. I decide I can't just walk away from this one. It's a positively ugly manicure coupled with painful nails. I head back to the salon.Lady Two (part-owner as I know now) and her husband are the only two people there. I let her know I do not want the free gel manicure and instead I want a refund. She begins yelling at me that the shop policy is no refund. It's tempting to be a huge jerk here, but I am calm at this point. I explain to her that my fingers are in pain and I do not want to subject myself to the removal of the botched gel manicure. I just want a refund. I tell her I don't even want a refund on the pedi, only the mani. This review is already sufficiently long reading, so I will condense the back and forth of it all to a couple of lines. Lady Two accused me of using the shop to get a free manicure, despite both of us admitting the manicure was hideous. She threatened me with God several times, indicating that the almighty will be ashamed of me for requesting a refund (if there is a God, I am positive he's got plenty to do without snubbing me). I really gave it an honest effort, explaining the need to refund my money. The lady who did my manicure wasn't qualified and mangled my nails. I had no opportunity to change that. I did not know she was going to struggle so horribly. If I knew I obviously would not have participated. I was not at fault and refused to take the hit. I am not a swindler. In a last ditch effort, I asked her to show me the cosmetology license of Lady One. She refused and then quickly agreed to refund my money. This, more than anything, made me sad. I don't know if she had a valid cosmetology license, but I know that they are required for a reason. And a license probably could have prevented the situation I had to endure. The bottom line is I don't recommend supporting businesses with customer service that is this blatantly poor. I also recommend, as ridiculous as it sounds, you ask to see your nail tech's license before they begin working on you. And, as I found out later today, indeed it is required that a license be displayed and readily viewable by clients. The more you know. Read Less