I called for a full set of sculptured gel nails and a pedicure Thursday evening. I did my pedicure first. The tech was warm, attentive, and detail oriented.He then switched me to a different tech for ... Read More
I called for a full set of sculptured gel nails and a pedicure Thursday evening. I did my pedicure first. The tech was warm, attentive, and detail oriented.He then switched me to a different tech for my nails. She was not as warm and even commented on how she wanted to go home. She used a drill on my nail bed to roughen it and I asked her not to thin my nails too much as it could cause pain after the nail application. The nails came out pretty when she was done although there was no massage or any of the usual spa things you would expect.I woke up the next morning at 4am in intense pain. Not a little soreness, not mild irritation. Pain that woke me and kept me up. I knew this could not be normal so I started googling. I learned that these ladies did a few things that are not only damaging but illegal in some areas.-She never had me wash my hands before application (bacteria/fungus could grow under the nail)-She cut my nail cuticle (they should only be pushed back. The cuticle acts as a natural barrier between bacteria and your nail)-She drilled my nail bed (completely unnecessary if the products they are using are MMA free. I believe she was using the SNS brand on me and that is MMA free anyways so light buffing would have sufficed. Drilling thins and causes pain. Also MMA is illegal, it can cause permanent nail loss).-it was hard to tell if their nail tools were santized because they would just throw them in their drawer when they were done. In fairness, I can't say for sure.I was mad after researching, as I trusted them as professionals. After work I called to (nicely) inform them that I was in pain and would like the nails removed and a refund. I asked for the owner and they had me speak with a woman who said she would look at my nails and we could discuss a refund in person.So last night I stopped by and she kept insisting that pain is totally normal and telling me I was wrong. I am not one to make a scene and I know other clients were there to relax and enjoy their Friday night so I kept my voice down and politely, but firmly insisted that I disagreed and that I wanted them removed. She kept trying to convince me but when she realized I was firm she finally let me soak them. As I was soaking she started working on another client next to me. Then she turned to me, "Did you pay cash or card?" I told her debit. "Ohh well I can't give you a refund. If you paid cash I can give you cash but now I can only give a gift card."I got mad, though I reeled it back because again, I have to respect the other clients want to relax. I said back firmly, "Yes you can." She finally admitted "You paid debit so the bank is going to charge me if I give you a refund". I paused, looked her squarely in the eye and said, "That is not my problem." She looked taken aback and stared blankly for a while. Then she kept arguing but I stayed firm. She finally shut up and got up briefly to go do something outside. I took this opportunity to apologize to the client next to me. She told me there was no need for me to apologize and I was right for asking for a refund after being in that much pain. She also said the lady clearly was just coming up with silly excuses to not have to refund me.When I finally finished soaking I went to the counter and she again fed me more bull about giving me a gift card. I said "Look, you can do it, you just don't want to. Just take my card and give me my money. I am no fool." Every time she opened her mouth to argue I cut her off and told her I didn't want to hear it. She started fumbling with the machine. Turning it left and right and even UPSIDE DOWN, feigning bewilderment. At one point she said she couldn't do it because she didnt have the password. Then it was because she wasn't even the owner (even though her husband is the owner and she talked to him on the phone in front of me). I asked for cash and she had excuses for that too. She even told me I was being ungrateful because most shops would not give me a refund (as if they did me a favor for making me stay up since 4 am, haha).Finally she asked if it was debit. I told her yes but she can try running as credit. She tried and it worked so she said, "See?? I TOLD you its not a debit!"At this point I lost it. The stupidity and blatant disrespect were just too much. I said "Dont try to tell me what the fu--(and nearly swore here but stopped short as I noticed her little boy was standing there, haha) what my card is! I am a grown woman! Everyone knows you can run debit cards both ways." I showed her where it said "debit" on the card and she looked and shut up.If they'd apologized, removed the nails and refunded me, I would have gone back for a pedicure. I wouldn't write off a business over 1 mistake. But they handled this so unprofessionally that they have now earned themselves a bad review and lost me as a customer forever. Read Less