A beloved family member gave me a gift certificate for this salon, and I was excited to try a new place. I booked for deluxe versions of both the manicure and pedicure, and was looking forward to some... Read More
A beloved family member gave me a gift certificate for this salon, and I was excited to try a new place. I booked for deluxe versions of both the manicure and pedicure, and was looking forward to some pampering.My first hint that this was not going to be the most relaxing place was when I went back into the manicure area and a customer was speaking loudly on her cell phone - on speaker! Now, I'm sympathetic that she needed to cancel and rebook her physical therapy appointment, and I understand that finding a convenient time isn't always easy. And I understand that some people feel the need to scream into their cell phones. Quick call, I figured. But then she called her daughter! On speaker! I'm assuming it was her daughter because the woman was shrieking into the phone about her appointment and a woman screamed back, "Don't have a cow, Ma!" At that point, a headache started pulsing at my temples, and I almost left. I kind of wish I had. I took a seat in the pedicure chair and was offered a hot towel for my neck. Awesome! Thank you! But the thing that was draped around my neck was some sort of pillow with an odd odor and an oily texture. I tried for about 30 seconds to convince myself it was infused with an essential oil, but unless there's an essential oil that smells like unwashed hair with a soupçon of mildew, that's not what it was. I quietly removed the pillow from my neck and placed it on a table next to me.The pedicure was okay, but honestly, not much more than what you get at your average inexpensive nail salon. No big deal. The phone-screamer had left and my feet were in warm water and I started relaxing a little bit. I was slightly taken aback when the manicurist threaded a piece of tissue through my toes rather than the toe dividers most salons use, but I thought maybe they'd run out. Again, I was trying to roll with it.Then I moved over to the table for my manicure. It was really cold once my feet were out of the water. I was waiting for a foot dryer to be brought over, but nothing. As she started working on my hands, I asked if they had a foot dryer and she said they didn't have any. That's right: a nail salon that doesn't have heated nail dryers. For feet or, I'd later learn, for hands. But I digress. My hands were in warm wax then, so that helped offset the cold on my bare feet. Once my nails were painted, the manicurist brought a small fan up on the table and directed it towards my hands. In most salons, they use these fans on the hand that's not being painted between coats of polish, then move you over to the heated dryers. This fan was intended to be the only means of drying my nails. My options were: a. leave my hands on the table and have it skim over the nails, which would have taken forever to dry, or b. hold my hands up at awkward angles for ten minutes to try to dry them. (Great for carpal tunnel!) I asked about hand dryers, but again, no.Fives minutes in, between my bare feet and ankles and the cold air blowing on my hands, I felt really chilled. My manicurist had disappeared, so I sat there rubbing my palms together to generate heat. When she finally emerged, I said that I was cold. She said, "Oh, you're probably dry now, you can go." She didn't check my nails. I felt them and they still seemed slightly tacky, but I just wanted to get out to my car and warm up at that point. The problem was, I still needed to get my socks and boots back on.In other salons, the manicurist helps in getting socks and boots back on to keep the client from ruining her manicure. This manicurist wasn't offering. When I gestured to the boots and socks, she said, "Oh, you can do that!" Then she turned away to set up for a new client.Result: the polish on both of my thumbnails got messed up. But since it's almost symmetrical, I'm going to pretend that the new look is to have bare spots on the edges of one's thumbnails with a higher ridge of polish next to it. (Just kidding, I went home and redid both nails myself.)I tipped my manicurist after much internal debate, mostly because I hate stiffing anyone even when service is subpar. On my way out, I was given a "gift" as a first-time client. Cool! I love gifts! What could it be? Some bath salts? A nice fragranced soap? When I opened it up it was full of brochures for other services, and a pen. Obviously there are people who love this place since it has such a high Yelp rating. I find this puzzling, but then, there's so much about this country in 2017 that I find puzzling. Read Less