I have been going to the Oak Brook Terrace Waxing the City location since it opened. Over the past…read moreyear or so, I've noticed a general decline in the overall experience, but I continued going because the location is convenient when I'm already in the area running errands. After what happened today, however, I will not be returning.
I came in today, September 30, around 10:20 a.m. in the pouring rain for a simple lip wax. I apologized for being 7 minutes late. The front desk employee immediately told me, "I'll take you this time, but next time I won't." I said I understood, but mentioned that I thought there was a 10-minute grace period. She corrected me and said it was actually 7 minutes. I pointed out that I was, apparently, still within that window. Her response was visibly irritated.
Then she asked me to complete a customer profile form. I explained that I had been there within the past few months and asked whether I really needed to complete the entire form again. Her response was essentially, yes, this is what you have to do, which I found odd, but I started filling it out.
I then said I needed to use the restroom quickly and would finish the form when I came back.
This is where the interaction became completely bizarre.
She told me, "We don't need to wax you today."
I honestly didn't understand what she meant and asked her to clarify. She then indicated that I didn't need to fill out the form and didn't need to get waxed there today, in a tone that felt like she was refusing to provide the service. She also mumbled something under her breath that I found derogatory.
At that point, I said, "What is your problem?" I explained that I had a pedicure appointment immediately afterward anyway and would simply have the service done elsewhere. I then asked for her name because I intended to contact corporate about the interaction.
Instead of simply giving me her name or allowing me to leave, she told me I needed to leave and picked up the phone and said "I'm just going to call the police."
Yes -- over a customer asking for the employee's name after an uncomfortable interaction about a lip wax.
I remained at the front desk and told her that I thought the response was completely extreme and that I would be contacting corporate from my car. I left, contacted corporate, and also contacted the local non-emergency police line to document what had happened. I was told they would conduct a wellness check at the business.
I am still genuinely confused about how a routine waxing appointment escalated into this.
I have been a customer of this location for years, and I have watched the experience decline, but today's interaction was on an entirely different level. There was no reason for the interaction to become hostile, and certainly no reason for a routine customer-service issue to escalate to the point of possible police involvement.
I would strongly recommend going to the Elmhurst Waxing the City location instead. At this point, the convenience of Oak Brook Terrace is not worth the headache.
Management/corporate: I sincerely hope this interaction is reviewed, including what happened at the front desk and why a customer who was simply trying to clarify the situation was treated this way.
What should have been a five-minute lip wax turned into me leaving in the rain, without the service, after having to make two separate calls to report what happened. Absolutely bizarre.
