This is so unfortunate, but I will move forward in reporting what happened this past Sunday.
Let me start with what went well--I have been to this salon approximately three times and have had good experiences before. There has never been an issue with products, service or staff...until my last visit.
My old set of nails needed to be removed, so the tech did a standard procedure which was to soak them to expedite the removal. I asked her directly and clearly if my watch was going to be ok and she said yes so I put my nails in the cotton/liquid/plastic bag/bowl. To be honest I never have known what the liquid is, but it turns out it is acetone. Perhaps this is common knowledge, but I never thought about it. Well some of it got on to the band of my watch and it peeled off a coating that was on top of the leather band. The official nomenclature of this piece is called "Versace Greca Logo Mini Black" VEZ100221. MSRP $1,245. I have owned it for six months.
Ok. I did not notice the damage until I got home. I then called the salon and told them what happened. I talked to Tam and she asked me to come back to the salon so they can look at it. I go back up there--bringing all documents, receipts, boxes, ownership papers and warranty cards that shows I own the watch-- and speak with Tam and another employee who I am assuming is the acting manager. They were both apologetic, however that's where it ends. Tam tells me there is no way to tell when the damage happened and they (I am paraphrasing) have no liability. She is not wrong, but this is not helpful. The manager looks at my watch and says "That's not even real leather!" Um, what? Yes, it is real leather, but the embossing on top is not. This was insulting to my character and to my critical thinking. What was she implying? That a watch with a real leather band wouldn't have gotten damaged in acetone? It was very condecending. Tam also said the tech may not have understood my question about the watch because she does not speak English.
Tam suggested that we take pictures of the damage of the watch and send them to the owner of the salon and see how he would like to handle this matter. I agreed to this plan and left.
In the meantime I called the Versace store in the Galleria in Houston only to find out that any replacement bands have to be ordered directly from Switzerland and the delivery time can be as long as four months. There is no way around this. At all.
I waited three days for the owner to call me and nothing happened. I called the salon and asked Tam if he intended on doing so, and she said no "he doesn't really do that." I thought that's what we were taking the pictures for? He wouldn't even discuss the matter with me. So not only do I have a luxury watch that is damaged, I have been completely dismissed by the staff and the owner. In good faith I must report that he offered to give me a free set of dip nails, but I am so insulted by the way I was treated that I will pass on his generous offer and go to a different salon. I certainly will be more careful in the future to be more mindful with my jewelry. I admit that I do have some responsibility here, but being marginalized is bad business and the owner was wrong for that.
My gut feeling is that it may be an industry-wide problem that salons such as these are often targeted by people who are looking to rip them off, and therefore they are skeptical of customers making claims like I did. This is understandable. At the same time, I am a combat veteran, hold a bachelors degree and while there is usually no need to announce these things , I am not used to being brushed off. Do they think I am fabricating this for gain or do they mostly believe me and just don't care? Again, this situation is unfortunate. Live and learn. read more