Makalha (forgive the spelling?) is the very best nurse to work with. Despite the poor service from operations, she is attentive and provides responses to all questions. She deserves a 5 star! When appointments could not be found on the computer, she offered to come to work on her day off to support the promise I was given for a quick appointment. Apparently, she was not permitted to come on her day off so another person was assigned to me, My appointment was scheduled for several different procedures from 2-6. Instead, after the first procedure, a nurse left at 3 pm and said "we are done for the day". At no time did she explain why my treatments that were scheduled could not be done or why they were canceled except...I have other customers. It felt so dismissive and uncaring. The business has desperate challenges to fix before I would refer anyone here. After they took my savings they told me they could not give me an appointment for another 30 days. That's not what the salesman promised BEFORE I signed the contract. On three separate sales calls before my contract was signed, he promised that once signed....I would be able to get my appointments booked. Corporate and the computer system forces them to take your money and sign a contract before they can check on availability. The digital platform they have doesn't;t work so you can't sign the docu form from home. By the time you get to the office, they tell you "all the appointments for the month are now booked". Oh really...all of a sudden? Had I known this, I could have gone to a competitor. They tell you at the first meeting, you need 16 treatments to see results and then refuse to do the 16 treatments for 90 days....after the contract is signed. As far as the actual treatment, I was freezing and asked for a blanket. I was told to bring the blanket back for all my future treatments. I wasn't given a bag to keep it sterilized en route and for thousands of dollars spent, I would think I would not have to carry their blanket, wash the stickiness out between services and carry it back and forth to stay warm. I have cried many tears in the office from such poor, unprofessional service. Never have I received an apology from anyone except Ms. M! In the office...they act as if it is "business as usual" to scam customers and they do it with a smile. I am a pastor and a business owner and I have never seen service done with such intentional deception. I know how to compare good customer service because this is not my first time having cool sculpting and cool tone. I chose this location because the drive to my former doctor was an hour away. I will return to my former doctor next time. Will write details in 90 days and hope the results will make this saga worth it. I hope the service improves for my remaining sessions this year....since getting a few dollars off your bill requires a one-year MEMBERSHIP. Should the service improve...I look forward to writing a positive review. I am an organizational consultant from Harvard Business School and a faculty member at Duke and consult to CEOs throughout the world and will be reporting this company to BBB if I do not see improvement soon. read more

First off I'll start by saying yes, laser hair removal is EXPENSIVE. Before coming to Ideal Image I tried laser hair removal at a smaller location for a cheaper price, but I had an awful experience. Every treatment caused me immense pain, the hair never stopped growing or shedding at all. So disgruntled I stopped getting treated at that location. Fast forward to some years later I heard about Ideal Image and gave it a shot. Minus how expensive treatment can be I've been nothing short of happy. You get what you pay for is how I look at it. The technicians are licensed and knowledgeable. The treatments are working. I'd suggest Ideal Image to anyone who can dish out the money and wants a permanent no hair solution. read more

I had a wonderful experience at Ideal Image in Durham. From the time I walked in to check in for my consultation, my time in the consultation, and my treatment, I received nothing but excellent service. The front desk staff is friendly and accomadating when scheduling appointments. The sales consultant is helpful and knowledgeable about the services provided. I was able to sign up for the laser services I wanted at a very reasonable monthly payment. The nurses at Ideal Image are all licensed professionals and are willing to help in anyway possible as treatments are provided. They answered any questions I had regarding the treatment procedures and what to expect during and after in a professional and knowledgeable way. Overall this was a great experience and I would highly recommend this location! read more

Ideal Image lied to me when I bought my laser hair removal package. I made sure during my consultation appointment to ask if appointments could start right away. I also asked if there would be reliable and available appointments given my ever-changing schedule as a healthcare provider. The consultant said yes to this and "booked" me for an appointment for the next day. I showed up to this appointment to find out that not only was it the completely wrong location but also the wrong service booking. It felt like the consultant booked this appointment to basically lie to me about appointment availability. I found out only after driving to the given wrong location by the receptionist that the laser hair removal treatment package that I half paid for likely could not even start till February or March if at all. This fact was never stated to me by the company and in fact I was lied to and given false advertisement about available appointments during my consultation. Ideal Image not only lied to me with false advertisement, but they can't even provide the services that I paid for in a timely or reliable manner. I have tried reaching out to the company multiple times and in fact have been unable to reach any representative. I notified the company within 24 hours of my purchase that I needed to speak with someone and have already filed a complaint. In my opinion this company has shown behavior such as unfair and deceptive acts affecting commerce since they are unable to provide the service that I paid for even though they advertise that they can and this is a violation under the North Carolina Deceptive Trade Practices Laws. In addition North Carolina has Consumer Protection Laws in place to protect consumers against companies like Ideal Image who are practicing false advertising, claiming goods are of certain quality when they are not (AKA "high quality services" that they can't even provide), making false statements about quality (they can't even provide "quality" laser hair removal as advertised since they can't provide it at all), are representing themselves falsely, and are practicing bait and switch. I have not utilized any of the services, have notified the company in a timely manner, and am disputing this charge since Ideal Image is not actually able to provide the service in a timely manner. Finally, in my opinion, Ideal Image actually broke the law in the state of North Carolina given their deceitful service and false advertising. read more

My last visit was with a provider in training. It was very uncomfortably and the service was not done well. The person providing the training was very nice and did everything they could to improve the situation. However, due to the training and situation it was a horrendous situation. I almost considered legal action due to such. Firstly, I NEVER signed any contract consenting to having a person in training provide laser hair removal. Secondly, I was not notified, or asked if I consent. I only knew because I specifically asked. The woman training handed me an info sheet (bc I did a new package for my legs) and stood two feet from my face to read it to me and explain sunscreen. I'm not an idiot. I can read. Then they proceeded to examine my vaginal area as though I was a textbook and openly discuss it. Not ok! My vagina is great and nothing I should be ashamed of, but having two women pull at it with tongue compressors and discuss the colour and direction of my hair is 100% not ok or anything I ever signed up for with laser hair removal. I'm there to have a contracted service performed. I'm not there to be inspected. Talk about making a woman feel uncomfortable!!! Totally unprofessional. Then with both my vagina and underarms they only did spot treatment, which meant two weeks later I have random black hairs all over. These were existing areas. My new purchase was bottom half of my legs. The woman in training missed areas and did NOT consistently laser. If you move from point A to B and skip a few inches then big shock, no laser in that area. I pay to have it all done, not areas missed. Also it took WAY TOO LONG! I work. We all work! I didn't sign a waiver or consent for training. I do not have time for someone to go through training. I need no breaks and no stops for laser. Full vagina and underarms takes me less than 12min to laser. This lasted over an hour! Although at least a good 7min was looking at and discussing my labia for training and as they kept saying 'when I flip over.' Massively uncomfortable and degrading. I cannot even begin to convey how uncomfortable and dirty I felt having my vagina inspected, discussed and treated like a display textbook! Truly disgraceful that ideal image thinks that's ok!!!!!! read more

I am both a client and treatment provider. I am so very blessed to work in a place that values professionalism and are VERY customer service based. I have not experienced an unkind or unprofessional person since I have started with ideal. Also, as a guest, they treated me with the same respect and courteousness they would anyone else. I, like another yelper, tried a spa with subpar lasers in the past. I had regrowth of hair, minimal shedding and little to no education on the process. This is absolutely NOT the case with idea image. Top of the line lasers, they ONLY employ nurses, nurse practitioners or PAs to perform these procedures on you and they are always looking for new and innovative ways to better serve their guests. Anyone who says that this business (especially the Durham location-though I am partial ) is other than top notch should visit a place that basically gives you a back alley type deal and then try to yelp bad reviews on ideal image. There really is no comparison. read more

Location rescheduled my appointment to a time that worked better for them and notified me of my new time and day. Then when on my way to my newly scheduled appointment I encountered an accident that closed the road completely and arrived 11 minutes late. When I realized that I may be late I called ahead and was told to come on anyway and they would work me in. When I arrived I was told I couldn't be seen (even though I had called and was told to "come on"). The icing on this is that the day and time I was given for my reschedule is the same day and time I initially had scheduled that they said they needed to cancel for "mandatory training." Terrible service and communication by the front desk staff. read more

Ideal Image has been a really wonderful place for me for laser hair removal! Their staff are super friendly and welcoming, and they make you feel very comfortable. They cater your sessions to fit your needs and they make sure that they are providing the best service for you! I would highly recommend Ideal Image in Durham to anyone interested in seeing life changing results for hair removal. read more

I've been to Ideal Image 3 times for treatments. I have been happy with the service they provide. For the people saying they lure you in by requesting you open an account during your "free consultation".... well, most people that come in for a consultation already have been thinking about receiving treatment. Therefore, when they asked me if I wanted to open an account I was ready to do so, as I had been thinking about receiving treatment for a while and had done a lot of research about it before hand. On one treatment visit for cool-sculpting, I accidentally moved during the treatment and caused the suction to stop working. The girls were very accommodating to fit me in to their next available appointment (as you have to wait a little while for your tissue to return to normal after a treatment has to be aborted). I have no complaints, they are very accommodating and based on my perception they are there to help their clients reach their ideal image. read more

This review cannot speak to the actual services provided by Ideal Image but instead pertains to my experience with the consultation for services. Specifically, I scheduled a consultation to get more information about bikini line laser hair removal. The waiting area was pleasant and the office atmosphere was generally relaxing and friendly. I stepped into the office for my consultation with one of the female consultants; shortly after, a male employee -- whose job title I do not know -- asked if he could sit in on our consultation. I agreed although I was confused about his purpose there. During the discussion I was having with the consultant (involving some uncomfortable but necessary conversation about different regions of the bikini line) he sat against the wall, shaking his leg nervously. My main objective in scheduling the consultation was to determine whether I could afford the service. Since the prices are not posted online, I did not even have a ballpark figure in mind. It became clear to me during the consultation that laser hair removal was not within my budget. (And I am not claiming this is specific to Ideal Image -- I'm sure other establishments would have similar prices for similar services.) The female consultant politely tried to help me figure out whether any modifications could be made so that I would be able to afford them. This is where the male employee interjected and told me I could go on a payment plan. He began to use common sales tactics like comparing the monthly cost of laser hair removal to the cost of other things I may spend money on. I expressed my aversion to that sort of mental accounting, and tried to make it clear that I just did not value the service at the cost they are offering, but the male employee really didn't want to give up. The reason I decided to write this review and give them such a low rating is because of the final comment the male employee made to me. The male employee asked me how much I thought it would cost and I provided a number based on a conversation I had with a friend who had laser hair removal done in another city. The male employee told me that establishment was probably using inferior equipment and personnel. Then he said he has a 9-year-old daughter and she is starting to grow hair and he would want her to go to Ideal Image rather than one of these places with inferior equipment when she is ready for hair removal in a couple of years. I think this comment is completely inappropriate and has continued to bother me in the past weeks. I'm sure a 9-year-old girl would be horrified to know that her been talking about her hair growth to strangers. It may have been an innocent comment, but taken together, the whole experience of the consultation/extreme sales pitch with that man in the room left me feeling uncomfortable. read more

I did not enjoy my experience at Ideal Image. It felt more like I was at a sales office than a medical office. I was pressured into purchasing something I can neither comfortably afford nor need by sales tactics that seem more suitable for selling cars than recommending medical procedures. I would not even recommend "consultation" at Ideal Image. read more