Not a Friendly or Polite Place
I have been going to Kanwa Nails and Spa for manicures and pedicures for maybe a year or a little more now. While my nails always look perfect, the customer service is extremely lacking.
Even though I make appointments in advance, I always have to wait in the entrance area for at least ten minutes. I never see my tech out on the floor; she always comes out of the backroom. The two or three times that I've arrived exactly on time, rather than a few minutes early, I have received a phone call from the receptionist, as my hand is literally touching the door handle, asking me where I am and if I intend on keeping my appointment.
My tech has never been very talkative. When I've attempted to engage her in conversation, my efforts seem to fall flat. I figured that she doesn't like to talk, so I dialed my efforts back to polite chit chat, please, and thank you. However, when I've observed her with certain other customers, she seems very talkative and animated. I thought, okay, it's me she doesn't like. I'll just continue to be polite and keep my conversation to a minimum, which is okay, but when she's does talk, it's mostly to the other techs next to her. They speak in Vietnamese, so I don't know what they're saying, but their whispering, facial expressions, and body language indicate that they are frequently upset or unhappy about something. It's difficult to relax when this happens.
Recently, as I was scooting back my chair and getting ready to stand up, I nearly collided with a customer who had started to walk behind me. As we were apologizing to one another, I could see my tech and another tech watching us and rolling their eyes in a way that clearly conveyed that from their perspective, we were just a couple of stupid old ladies. And yet, I continued to go to Kanwa because I didn't want the inconvenience of having to find a new nail tech. My mistake.
Recently, when I needed a fill and shellac, I knew my tech was out on vacation, so I thought I would just stop by the salon to see if I could get a walk-in appointment from someone who was available. I was fully prepared for the possibility that I might be turned away and have to make an appointment for a date and time in the future, but I thought I'd take a chance, just in case. When I entered the salon, there was apparently no receptionist on duty, so I stood at the front desk and waited for someone to come and assist me. And waited. And waited. And waited some more, while one by one, other techs would just glance my way and return their gaze to their work. After it became incredibly clear that no one was going to acknowledge me or call out and ask if I needed help, I left. I finally realized that none of this was worth tolerating.
I've always been very polite and kind. I've always tipped 25% on my bills, and I've always put between $2 and $5 in the receptionist's tip jar on the way out, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
What I do know for certain is that as the economy continues its devastating downward trajectory, people will become increasingly unwilling and unable to afford the little luxuries in life, and places like nail salons will be among the first places to go out of business as people try to figure out how they can continue to pay for necessities like food and housing. Makes me wonder why so many nail salons and nail techs seem not to care if they hasten the process by being rude to customers and alienating them. read more