Pedicure = Five stars
Manicure = One star
I'm rounding down to two stars for total disappointment and blowing me off.
I decided to try Dream Spa because my regular salon had a wait. Dream Spa had good reviews and is near my neighborhood, so I gave them a call. On a Sunday afternoon, they were able to schedule an appointment for a manicure and pedicure within 30 minutes. It was off to a great start!
When I walked in, I was impressed. It's clean, spacious, and serene. The color selection was extensive. They had the Great British Bakeoff on the TVs during my pedicure, which was awesome.
I went with the "pamper" pedicure, and it was good. I didn't catch the name of the technician who did my pedicure, but she was nice and helpful.
I loved my pedicure. If I had left after my pedicure, my review would be five stars.
I *never* get nail art, but decided to get some for fun. I showed Amy an image I found on Instagram when I arrived. She said, yes, they could do that.
Amanda did my manicure and I was hopeful at first. She seemed nice and capable. It soon became apparent that she was way too distracted. She kept getting up and doing other things, then coming back to my nails. She was answering the phone, giving directions to other technicians, greeting visitors, etc.
I was fine with the distraction and rushed nature until she started painting the colors for my gel manicure.
I noticed on the first finger that she was painting the wrong finger, according to the image. She was painting blue on my right ring finger and the picture had blue on the left ring finger. I tried to point it out by saying, "I think that's supposed to go on this finger," and wiggled my left ring finger. She totally blew me off. She told me "the order doesn't matter for the design" and continued painting on my right hand.
She then painted burgundy on my left pointer finger when it's on the right pointer finger in the image. She kept saying the order didn't matter and that we didn't know which hand was which in the image. Yes, I know a left hand from a right hand, and there is a wedding ring on the left hand in the image.
When she got to my third finger, she painted it with the wrong color, a color that we had considered and decided against. She held it up to me and asked if it was ok. I asked "What about this one?" and pointed to the correct color we had agreed upon. She said, "Oh yeah, that's the one we were going to use." She WIPED OFF the wrong color with her finger and painted over it with the correct color.
I think it was obvious that I was totally unimpressed and disappointed at that point, so she finally said, "If you want, I can redo the first two." Why didn't she offer that immediately when I pointed it out on the first finger instead of blowing me off? After watching her just wipe off the wrong color on my third finger, I was skeptical that she would suddenly show any kind of care in redoing the other wrong nails.
I believe it was a half-hearted offer because there were now at least six people waiting for services. It was clear she was trying to rush through as quickly as possible. I declined because my experience couldn't be salvaged and I just wanted it to be over and get out of there.
As I left, Amy asked me if everything was ok. It was awkward because Amanda was within earshot, so I said, "Sort of. This is the exact opposite of what I asked for, even though she offered to redo some." Amy didn't say anything.
After I left as quickly as I could, I started looking more closely at my nails. I found more evidence of distraction and rushing through - three big spots of paint on my fingers, remnants from the color I had on when I arrived, uneven color on the front edges, and uneven sides. It was a waste of $44 and made me sad that I tried a new place.
I can't recommend a nail salon that blows me off by saying "the order doesn't matter for the design" when you show them a picture for nail art. The order and design are actually the whole point.
The lady at the station next to me loved her manicure with Amy. She said it was the best manicure she had ever had in her life. I wish I had that experience. Perhaps Amy would have listened to me and followed the picture I provided.
Edit to respond to the owner's comments:
- I spoke up AS SOON AS Amanda started painting the blue color, to give her the opportunity to correct it. It was still wet; I didn't wait until the color was cured. Instead of listening to me, Amanda told me that "the order doesn't matter for the design" and kept painting.
- The owner said they can't read minds. I didn't expect them to, which is why I didn't "stay silent." I SPOKE UP and "softly communicated" that it should be the other hand. Amanda chose not to listen to me and told me repeatedly that "the order doesn't matter for the design."
- The owner is correct that I was frustrated that Amanda didn't listen to me or apologize and only finally offered to correct the design after three mistakes. read more