I hardly ever write reviews, but I just got yelled at (as a customer!) by Sarah Perkins the "manager" at the spa. When I say she lost it on me...Yikes. I'm not sure if she has some personal issues going on or what, but take a few days off if you need it, don't lose it on your customers like that.
So, I rescheduled a few times. Totally on me, I get that; I've been dealing with some serious health issues and have a hard time making it out of bed some days. So, I replied to the confirmation email I received. I should've double checked that I could reply to that email but I didn't, and apparently it didn't go through. So I sent it again the next day to their office along with a screenshot of the email I had sent the day before to the other address, and I called and spoke with an associate a little after 4pm (my gut tells me it was Sarah, although she denied this).
She assured me multiple times that she could reschedule that day's appointment to today at 3pm. She didn't say there'd be a charge or fee since I sent the email in advance. So, I drove 40 mins (!) to my appointment today. Sarah greeted me with an unusual sort of grin, "Oops! Sorry! Looks like we don't have anything booked for you at 3!" I was wondering why she was smiling like that as she said this, especially since this was a huge inconvenience as I drove 40 minutes to get here. "The best we can do is a 4pm with someone else." I explained that I wanted to stick with the masseuse from last time and I was also unavailable at 4pm. And frankly, I really didn't want to book any other appointments here with how this manager was treating me. I kindly asked what we could do. Sarah said it wasn't her problem.
I wondered how it was possible that I was assured twice on the phone yesterday that my appointment was being rescheduled to today at 3pm and all the sudden there's no record of it? As the "conversation" continued, it became exceedingly clear why there was no record. After losing it on me for 10+ minutes, Sarah finally burst out "I'm NOT going to keep booking these appointments for you if you keep rescheduling! It's not fair to my providers." Annnnnnd there it is. I was stunned. I was being "punished" for rescheduling? Seriously?
From her comments, body language, and the gaslighting, it's pretty clear she chose to "make me pay" for rescheduling by promising she'd book me an appointment that didn't exist. That's retaliation, and it can violate business conduct policies.
The fact that I was assured on the phone that I'd have an appointment only for them to tell me it didn't exist was no mistake; I was shocked and horrified at this realization. This kind of behavior at a business is unethical, not just inappropriate and unprofessional.
Here are some examples of other hostile comments Sarah made while glaring or smirking or both:
1. "I really don't know IF you rescheduled or not since you didn't speak directly with me." *clearly implying I was lying*
2. "I mean I'm not sure how I could possibly make myself any clearer. Am I not making sense or something?"
3. "You're pushing it."
4. "Trust me, I'm familiar...with you." *looks me up and down and glares*
5. "Sorry the director isn't available. Looks like I'm in charge today!" *smirks*
I was horrified at everything that transpired but remained calm, respectful, and composed throughout the interaction although I did feel like crying. I alerted friends and family who frequent the resort as I've never been treated like that before, especially not as a customer.
I mean beyond the passive aggressive, hostile, and demeaning comments and accusations, Sarah's facial expressions were horrifying; she looked like she wanted to jump over the counter and beat the living daylights out of me at certain points. I've never seen someone that angry. And all because I was asking for clarity for this obvious miscommunication?
She told me she charged me for yesterday since I "purposefully didn't show." She implied it was tough luck for me, there was no budging. I'm not even upset about the charge at this point, I'm just horrified at how I was treated publicly. It's alarming that some of the staff here feel it's appropriate to publicly humiliate customers and offer no compensation for their own "mistakes" that weren't really mistakes after all.
Thankfully, I was recording on my phone the whole time (fun fact, VA is a one-party consent state).
My mom was mortified when she heard this as she is a frequent resort guest and has been to the spa. She is planning to call the director and send her the recording just in case Sarah tries to lie about this whole encounter which I'm assuming she will absolutely do. Due to my job, I'm trained to hit "record," when someone starts losing it and going off the rails; I was so thankful for that today.
*Long story short, only visit this spa if you like being yelled at, gaslit, and publicly humiliated. This is the polar opposite of a relaxing experience.* read more