With great disappointment, I am writing this extremely long, but detailed review. I must start off by saying that the massage itself was 5 stars. I'm giving Illa Spa 1 star for that. I had a male masseuse, I don't know his name. But he was great. Anyway...
I came in on Oct 16th for a foot reflexology appointment. I booked the appointment online on Oct 12th through their My Time website and paid online. I had a 50% off voucher from Illa Spa for the positive feedback I left previously. I entered the code and it took me to a confirmation page that said the charge was only $32.50. Great, right?
My appointment comes along and my masseuse checks me in and says everything is good because I'm prepaid. Perfect. The massage was soooo relaxing I almost fell asleep. It was my first foot massage and I felt pretty anxious having someone focus on my feet lol, but it went well. After the massage, a masseuse or someone named Tanya was at the desk. Masseuse told her I was prepaid, I left out and she ran out the door to call me back.
Although there was a big green button that said PREPAID on my account, she still wanted to charge me again. And for the full amount of $65. She tried to call Hana multiple times to no avail. She brought out some other worker, an Asian male, and I showed him my voucher and my bank account which to my surprise, showed a $65 lending transaction from them (vs. $32.50). He said because it says pending I'd be charged again... Uhm what?? It's not my fault your online system takes 3+ business days to clear smh.
I go back and forth with Tanya I swear for 10-15min because I felt that is was so wrong to charge me again, especially at full price, when it says prepaid. My masseuse stopped by several times and told Tanya to just let me leave and he also mentioned how a situation like this has occurred before. He was very kind and tried to be helpful. I had a training to go to that I was late for so I asked Tanya what did she want me to do? I should've just walked out again, honestly, but I don't like leaving businesses on a bad note. What makes me upset all over again is that Tanya said to me, if I leave and for whatever reason the pending transaction doesn't clear, the money will come out of her check. Like she was trying to guilt me into it... And that's not good customer service. Alas, I paid AGAIN and was told to come back if I was charged again. I already knew I would be back anyway because I'm not paying $65 for something that should be $32.50.
I go back two days later since they were closed on Tuesdays. I provide them with my bank statement and voucher to show that not only was I charged twice, but I was never charged $32.50 like it should have been. Hana came over to assist me. She seemed apologetic and said we would get it straightened out. She asked me to write my debit card number down and I did and she said she'll submit it tonight.
Two days (Oct 20) later I follow up via email. I needed a paper trail. I heard back from whoever reads the emails on Oct 22 and we got the My Time $65 charged sorted. Awesome. She said the $32.50 refund will have to be done at the terminal at the spa. On Oct 23, I was told that since they had my card info, they'll be able to do it. I didn't hear anything for four days. I emailed again on Oct 27. I received a response on Oct 30 and was asked to send my debit card number, expiration date, and security code... Uhm no. Why would I send that info over email? I told the person I would stop by on my lunch break. Visited on my lunch break. Hana assisted me again and gave me a receipt to show that $32 will be put back on my credit card. That cleared today and I finally received all my money back. I gave another star because I did eventually get back what was owed to me and I am appreciative of that. But the incompetence and lack of customer service I experienced from some workers is highly disappointing. The feelings of relaxation I had after my massage immediately went away. It was for nothing.
P. S. If you do give them a try, please use the PAY LATER function on My Time. Either Tanya or Hana told me to do that next time to be safe but I don't think there will be a next time for me. read more