Inconsistent Nail Techs, insincere service.--Let me qualify that I've only gotten Pedicures at Highlight Nails.
I keeping hoping that Highlight Nails won't disappoint, but it continually does. While it's one of the more reasonably priced, and maybe even the "best" Nail Salon in Sierra Vista, AZ. "Best" isn't saying much, as service here is inconsistent at best. For every five times I get my nails done here, I get decent service, MAYBE once in that five times. My last pedicure done here was great (Lisa was my nail tech), and I was hoping to get that same level of service today.
The nail salon was pretty empty when I arrived, with one other customer. The nail tech who greeted me was sitting lazily at a pedi spa station. The apathetic way she looked at me immediately made it seem like this was not going to be a relaxing time.
First, she turned on the spa tub, and told me to sit down. She didn't even test the water, and told me to stick my feet into the tub--it was cold. I lifted my feet out, and waited for her to turn her attention back onto the pedicure tub (she was watching a movie on FX). When I informed her that the water was too cold, she turned the hot water dial up (not by much). It was still cold. I gave up fighting this issue. However, when I put my feet in the water, she didn't put in any spa crystals. Note: the last time I had a pedicure at Highlight Nails, Lisa put in these crystals.
Then she put on some gloves with a rip in the left thumb. I wondered if she reused her gloves (I would discover the answer to this question a little while later), as she immediately began remove my nail polish off my toes without letting my feet soak in the water at all. Once, she even dropped a nail utensil on the floor, let it sit there for a while at her feet. She then picked it up and put it back without cleaning it.
I came to find that she didn't care about the sanitation of her nail utensils or reusing her gloves, was apathetic, and in a hurry. At the end of the appointment, she put the dirty gloves back into the station in a manner obvious for reuse later, and didn't sanitize any of the utensils she just used (she just put them back).
While going through the routine of taking off my nail polish and cutting down my nails, and cuticles, she took no care in doing a good job. She hurried through the motions. She then dropped the pumice brush, and mumbled something about $5 extra for something that I had to ask her to repeat twice.
When her shift replacement came in (the old woman who works there), it was clear that this woman was her translator (my nail tech's grasp of English was basic at best). However, the older woman who was translating my concerns, did so in the most obviously insincere, and false manner possible. She was very much entitled; and brushed off my concerns using their "lack of understanding of English" as a crutch for their poor behavior and customer service. (This is one of "those" nail salons where I felt like I was putting the nail techs out of their way by being there).
The older woman was only half-listening to my concerns, and giving me canned answers (as if she encounters customer complaints frequently, and uses her "lack" of understanding of English and canned answers as a way to keep her customers from continued complaints). I am only saying this because I know that the older woman knows and understands more English than she is admittedly letting on (I have spent a lot of time around multiple Asian communities).
At the beginning of the appointment, I told my nail that I wanted a French Pedicure with a nail design (I was going to a wedding). She couldn't even draw a straight or consistent line width for each my french tips. Also, she didn't even put on a base coat, and only put on half of a top coat.
Then finally when it came to putting on the floral design, she did a horrible job. I informed her that I wanted the same design that I had when I came in (the design Highlight Nails painted on them the time prior). She knew what it looked like, she had even paused to inspect the design prior to taking the old polish off my toes.
I re-insisted that I wanted a red and white nail design (I had given up on getting my French tips painted evenly), after she tried on two different occasions to put on two different magenta colors. Those two colors were already at the nail station. She didn't want to get up and walk 10 feet to where the wall stand of different colors were to pick up a true red color. When she finished the outcome was so atrociously ugly, it wasn't worth fighting. I am driving up to Phoenix to get my nails redone in ASAP!
Highlight Nails is a health risk and a waste of money, buyer beware! read more
