Undoubtedly, this place is very cute, clean, and has a very extensive and brilliant color selection. Unfortunately, I left felt feeling completely ripped off. First, I made an appointment the day before for a morning slot, but when I arrived, there was only one technician doing another customer's nails. No one else was in the store. I had to wait almost an hour for someone to come to do my nails (a builder fill job). I wasn't too upset at the time because I wasn't in a rush and ended up having a nice chat with the other patron. When I was getting my nails done, everything was pleasant and the technician was very nice and competent, and when my nails were done, they looked good enough. The only thing is on one of my nails that the technician had to fix along the way, the color turned out darker bc she fixed the nail by applying one more coat than the other nails. I didn't ask for a correction because I had already been there for over 2 hours at this point. Still, that's not what made me decide I would never return here. Paying for the services is what has me decidedly against returning. Mind you, I was quoted $55 to do the fill when I was on the phone. That's more than my normal place, which only charges $45 (I only tried this place because my normal tech at my normal place was on vacation). When I went to pay, I was asked if I was a first time customer. I said yes, thinking I was going to get a new business promotion. Instead, I was charged all these additional line items...like a gel color removal fee and all this other nonsense. The explanation was that next time, I can get a builder fill for $55, but because it was my first time, I had to pay these other costs. So the total came to $70-something before tip (yes I still tipped on to of it all). Absolutely ridiculous considering the job was the exact same "fill" job that would have happened if I was a return customer, which was extra offensive after having to wait an inordinate amount of time even though I had an appointment. So while I "earned" the right to get a reduced price on a fill next time, sorry Aloha, there won't be a next time.
Edit: The store's reply to this post is very professional of them and I very much appreciate that. I truly do hope they improve and succeed. However, I need to make clear that the service provided was exactly what I would have gotten if I stuck with my normal salon when requesting a "builder fill." The surface of my nail was partially sanded like a normal fill and then builder was added at the base and then on top of preexisting, albeit sanded builder...again, like a normal fill job. Up charging simply because another store had applied the prior builder, especially upon asking the customer if they are new, is tantamount to charging more just because the customer is new. So if Aloha is looking to improve, they should think about how illogical their policy is. I get it, at my regular place, yes, you pay more for your initial set when they are first done and they are putting on brand new set on nails without prior builder. This is not a what I got. I got a true fill. read more