1/5
After multiple visits to Escape Nail Spa, what happened following my wife's September 13 appointment and when she returned September 19 ensures we will never return.
My wife had previously visited around our wedding when she needed a correction. She was specifically told she did not need to tip for that correction, but she did anyway because she values people's time and effort. In fact, my wife has ALWAYS tipped here. She has never expected something for nothing and has NEVER "freeloaded" from this business.
On September 13, she spent approximately $100 having her fingernails and toenails done. Her toenails were scuffed and streaked before she even left, she did not receive the massage that was supposed to be included, and her cuticles were not touched. When she mentioned the cuticles during today's visit, she was told cuticle work costs extra and has to be specifically requested, despite it being done during previous visits without her having to ask.
She also had to explain how she wanted her fingernails done 4-5 times, and they still weren't done correctly.
Only SIX DAYS later, her fingernails were already lifting, separating, popping off, and looked terrible.
She returned today simply asking for the work to be corrected. She intentionally raised her concerns discreetly because she did NOT want to embarrass the technician who originally did the work. She also attempted to show before-and-after photos demonstrating her concerns, but the woman she was speaking with wouldn't even look at them.
My wife also tried to explain why she hadn't returned sooner: she had been dealing with what she believed was food poisoning this week and wasn't able to come in. For some reason, even that turned into an argument. According to my wife, the technician responded that she had eaten McDonald's and Chicken McNuggets all week without getting sick and told my wife, "that is just your body having a negative reaction to the food, it is not food poisoning."
Whether or not someone agrees with my wife's explanation of what made her sick wasn't the point. She was simply explaining why she couldn't come back sooner. There was absolutely no reason for a nail appointment to turn into an argument over what caused her illness.
After arguing with her about the nails and even why she couldn't return sooner, they eventually agreed to make the corrections. When the correction began running into another customer's appointment time, however, the situation became completely unacceptable.
In front of several other customers, my wife says she was called a "freeloader" and told never to return because she was "freeloading on a small business."
My wife paid approximately $100 for the original service, has ALWAYS tipped, and returned only because the work she paid for was already failing after six days. She wasn't asking for a free manicure. She was asking them to correct a service she had paid for less than a week earlier.
What makes this even worse is that she went out of her way to address everything discreetly so the original technician wouldn't be embarrassed, yet she was ultimately the one publicly embarrassed.
We live in this community. Those customers could be neighbors or people we encounter regularly, making this experience even more uncomfortable for her.
My wife recently lost her stepmother. Getting her nails done was supposed to provide a little self-care and relaxation during an incredibly difficult time. Instead, she came home from today's experience in tears.
Mistakes happen. Nails can have problems. Businesses and customers can disagree about corrections. None of that requires arguing with a customer about why she was sick or publicly calling a paying, tipping customer a "freeloader."
Approximately $100 resulted in a scuffed and streaked pedicure, no expected massage, untouched cuticles, fingernails that weren't what she requested and began failing within six days, photos they wouldn't even look at, and ultimately public embarrassment when she asked for the work to be corrected.
How a business treats someone when there's a problem says far more than what happens when everything goes perfectly.
We will respect their request that my wife "never return." Neither of us will ever return to Escape Nail Spa, nor will we suggest or recommend this salon to our friends, family, neighbors, or anyone else looking for nail services. read more