I originally purchased a babysitting package here for
about $160 bucks, but would soon realize it was a massive mistake. The childcare environment was very cold and simply not warm for my little ones. My boys explained that they fell on the slide and no one attended to them. They then said they sat to color and no one colored with them. They are toddlers. At first, I figured they were just missing mommy, and when they yelled to come sit with me at the cafe instead, I figured it's something they'd adjust to. I thought it was a great idea to be able to work at the cafe for an hour while they play, so I bought the package. But each time I suggested it after that, they just begged not to go back. Because of my non-use, management agreed to let me transfer the remaining balance to a salon credit instead.
I booked a nail appointment using part of the credit, and this is where a bad experience turned completely unacceptable.
On the day of my appointment, I called to let them know I was running a few minutes late. The front desk explicitly moved my appointment to 11:45am and assured me I had a 15-min. grace period. I arrived at 11:52am, checked in, and waited as instructed.
At noon, the nail tech informed me she was going to skip the scrub and hurry through the service. I declined to pay full price for a partial or rushed service as that was not what we agreed upon. But instead of apologizing for the scheduling crunch, the front desk representative initiated an argument. She claimed the rushed service was essentially payback for me being late, and argued it was their policy to skim a service for late customers. I professionally stated that this was inapplicable, given that we had mutually adjusted my appointment time and I arrived within the grace period.
Since they refused to provide the full service, I requested a refund back to my credit card. The front desk called the manager, who refused, telling me I would forfeit my money if I didn't accept store credit or transfer the balance to a friend. I asked to speak to the manager directly, and she refused to get on the phone with me, stating through the front desk rep. that she was "not speaking with clients today."
When I calmly stood my ground and asserted my right to a refund for a service they repudiated, the front desk rep decided to call security to escort me off the premises. She accused me of being out of line for handling what she perceived to be a small matter. As I again simply explained that I felt it was unfair to be asked to pay full price for a partial service, she became robotic, stating she was having security escort me out. Security arrived, and I walked out.
Rather than handling a standard billing dispute with neutrality and empathy, management decided to weaponize security to humiliate and intimidate a paying customer. Upon leaving, I sent an email stating again that it is not right to force a customer to forfeit their money after repudiating a service, and that using my valid objections to attempt to intimidate me was out of line.
Bottom line: I will never return. I am sharing this so others are aware of how this establishment handles standard customer dissatisfaction. Such a shame that the line between poor customer service and unjust business practices has completely vanished in a place that brands itself on being "nurturing and supportive," especially for mothers . read more