I rate part of my nail salon experience based on the trash talking I hear until they realize I understand. Got a gel mani/regular pedi here yesterday and they are some of the nicest nail techs ever!
Walked in without an appointment (big mistake, always make an appointment) and they were all busy and asked me to wait 30 minutes. After an hour, I realized it'll be even longer but I was already waiting that long with a couple broken nails that I'll lose for sure if not fixed, I wasn't about to leave. The techs were super tired by that time (I came in around 4:45) and even though they were lightly complaining among themselves (no one has realized I'm Viet at this point), they kept looking at me and saying they feel so bad making me wait but everyone else coming in after me had appointments. The entire time I heard them chattering about food and being tired but all 5-6 techs were so energetic and friendly. They used nice descriptions for each client and never had to call anyone "the fat one." I thought it was so cute that they described each client coming in as that young lady, even to the women you can tell is older than the tech.
My nails were done by Thinh, an older gentleman that was supposed to leave 2 clients ago. He was super nice and gentle. He was supposed to do my pedi only and someone else take over the paint application and the mani, but he ended up canceling his plans and staying to finish my services to help out his coworkers. I was happy with my mani/pedi and will definitely come back to see Thinh and any of his coworkers. He helped me pick out colors that match the colors I saw online and gave me tips to try and maintain my nails (they're naturally very thin and I was trying to grow them out), and fixed my broken nails without trying to cut them all off. He told me about their days (short staffed because some techs are on vacation, they all have pretty long commutes, and most of them have not eaten all day because it's been so busy) and everyone apologized for the long wait. Even before they realized I understood them, the techs were already talking about how bad they felt for making me wait.
I can't get a clear photo of my nails but I love that there's not a huge gap that makes it look like I got my nails done a week ago. The massage was strong and nice and I don't have any cuts around my cuticles. I'll definitely be making an appointment before coming in again to avoid the extra long wait. For those who have to wait even with an appointment, please be patient as they don't have anyone monitoring online appointments yet and they know it's a problem that needs to be fixed but they're short staffed at the moment (I overheard this convo, they didn't tell me directly). read more