Really disappointing experience. Poor communication and management.
This is the second time this business has canceled on me at the last minute. The first time was earlier this year, and I still decided to give them another chance. I booked this appointment a MONTH in advance for my milestone birthday trip, and I was really excited about it.
The only reason I even found out they were canceling was because I texted them on October 19th to ask if they had any earlier availability for my appointment on October 20th. They initially told me they had an earlier time, and then suddenly, within minutes of them telling me they had an earlier time slot, I get a message saying they're pausing services because of issues with their landlord and studio space.
I understand that things happen and that the situation with their studio may be out of their control. What IS in their control is communicating with their clients. Nobody reached out to tell me my appointment was canceled. I literally only found out because I contacted them to see if they had early availability for my appointment the next day.
What makes their explanation even more frustrating is that they told me they didn't realize my appointment was booked for October until the start of the month of October and that they thought they were in the clear to service clients until November. It's already the middle of October! If they knew about these leasing complications and thought they needed to stop servicing clients, why wasn't I contacted in early October when they supposedly realized my appointment was coming up? Instead, I found out the day before my appointment, and only because I reached out first. Their booking process might explain how they missed my appointment, but it doesn't explain why I was left to find out at the last minute. That's a management and communication issue.
What made this whole situation worse and what I found especially atrocious was being told that I'll have other birthdays. Honestly, that comment was rude and incredibly dismissive. This wasn't just some random appointment to me. It was an appointment I'd booked a month in advance for my MILESTONE birthday trip, and I was genuinely excited about it. For them to essentially tell me that it doesn't matter because I'll have other birthdays felt belittling and completely insensitive. You don't get to decide how important someone else's milestone is to them, and telling a disappointed customer that they'll have another birthday doesn't magically make the situation okay. I wasn't asking for special treatment. I was asking for basic communication and accountability. Instead, I felt like my disappointment was being minimized and I was being made to feel unreasonable for being upset in the first place. That comment honestly made an already frustrating situation so much worse. Seriously? Yes, I have a birthday every year, but this is my MILESTONE birthday. I have been planning this birthday trip for MONTHS. I had been looking forward to this appointment and planned it a month in advance for my trip, specifically to avoid scenarios like this one.
Then I was told I had no compassion or respect for their staff. I'm sorry, but I can understand that they're going through a difficult situation AND still be upset about how they handled this. Both things can be true. I wasn't upset that they were having issues with their landlord. I was upset that nobody bothered to contact me, that this was the SECOND time they'd canceled on me, and that when I expressed my frustration, they made it about me supposedly lacking compassion instead of acknowledging their lack of communication.
I will also own up to the fact that I used profanity in my messages. I shouldn't have done that, and my frustration isn't an excuse for the language I used. But I was extremely frustrated by the way my concerns were dismissed. I was disappointed, upset, and scrambling to figure out alternative plans for something I'd been excited about for a long time.
At the end of the day, I understand that unexpected things happen in business. But communication matters, and so does how you treat your customers when something goes wrong. An apology followed by being told I have no compassion because I'm upset about a last-minute cancellation is not good customer service.
I will not be booking with them again. I gave them a second chance after the first cancellation, and this experience has completely put me off the business. I hope they figure out their studio situation, but they seriously need to work on their communication and how they handle customer complaints. read more