I really wanted to love this salon because I had such a great experience here previously when I got a pedicure, and the salon has so many great reviews. Unfortunately, my experience today was extremely disappointing.
I came in with an inspiration picture of dark burgundy fall nails. At first, I felt very confident with how things were going because the shaping was AMAZING. However, once we got to the color and design, I started having doubts.
She started by painting one nail a burgundy color and asked if I liked it. I told her that it was much brighter than I wanted. She reassured me that after the second coat, it would be as dark as the burgundy she was wearing herself, so I trusted her. After the second coat, however, it was still noticeably lighter than the color on her nails. I pointed this out and asked if we could make it darker. She responded by saying, "It's because your skin tone is lighter than mine." After she said that, I was honestly appalled, but I decided to trust the process.
As she worked on the rest of the designs, she stopped asking me whether I liked them. The entire process started to feel rushed. After painting each nail, she would quickly move my hand to the light to cure them. I kept telling myself to trust the process because I assumed the finished result would come together.
Once she finished, she took pictures of my nails and I paid $130 and left. After looking at them more closely, I realized that I was extremely unhappy. They looked nothing like the inspiration picture I had shown her.
I went back inside and politely explained that I wasn't happy with the nails. She sat me back down and brought the manager over. Unfortunately, instead of trying to understand why I was unhappy, I felt like I was being gaslit. I was told that the nails looked just like the picture and that it was essentially my fault for choosing the design. I don't think that's fair. I understand that inspiration pictures are references and that results may not be identical, but these were not what I had asked for, and I had communicated my concerns during the appointment.
They did eventually offer to redo the entire set, which I appreciated. I kept the same shape but chose plain nude pink color because I no longer felt comfortable having another design done. After she finished she prepped my hands and started taking pictures of the new set. I felt uncomfortable because it was just a very basic nude set and I wasn't sure why so many pictures were being taken. She noticed that I was looking away and reassured me that she wasn't getting my face in the picture. While I appreciate her saying that, I still felt uneasy about the situation.
After the new set was finished, the manager came over and asked if I liked them. I politely said that I was satisfied with the new set. I then asked if I could receive a refund, or even a partial refund, since I had originally paid $130 for a detailed design that I was unhappy with and ultimately left with a completely plain set. I was told that a refund wasn't possible because the nail tech had spent time doing the original design.
I understand that she spent time on my nails, and I am not asking for free services. However, I don't think the amount of time spent should be the only consideration when the service provided wasn't what the customer asked for. At the end of the day, these are my nails, and I should be able to communicate when I'm unhappy with the result without being made to feel like it's my fault.
Unfortunately, after today's experience, I will not be returning. I hope the salon takes this as constructive feedback. The shaping was honestly some of the best I've had, and I would have been happy to return if the communication and customer service had been different. But the way my concerns were handled today completely changed my opinion of the salon. read more