I've been frequenting this salon for at least 5 years. When Henry owned it, he & his staff were meticulous, and I never had a problem. Last winter, Henry and his wife moved out of state, and the business was sold to Chi. The prices increased, but the quality was still close to on par from the previous owners, so I continued to visit 1-2x a month. Now again, the salon has undergone new management, and I have almost nothing positive to say.
I called ahead for an appointment this past Sunday for a full & pedicure. I arrived on time and was told I had to wait. After 20 minutes, I was seen for the pedicure. It was decent, but I had a schedule to keep, as I had a hair appointment nearby two hours later. The pedicure took a long time (a little over an hour), so the fill couldn't be completed without missing my hair appointment (which was decidedly more important than my nails, as my hair stylist books weeks, if not months out). The new owner said that the fill and polish could be completed in a half hour, which seemed awfully quick, even for the most efficient nail tech. When I explained that I didn't want it to be rushed, she suggested I do the fill and come back for the polish after my hair appointment. I let her know that I'd be back at 5:15, where she assured me that someone could do it then. I arrived back at my scheduled time, and was not seen until literally 35 minutes later. This time, a different gentleman painted my nails. I had explained that the first gentleman did not finish sanding and filing my nails, so the second nail tech literally took 2 minutes to buff them before applying an insane amount of Bond Aid and proceeding to paint them with shellac.
Everything seemed fine, until 14 hours later, when I was packing to leave for a business trip to California. The polish had begun peeling off after less than a day. Frustrated, I called and spoke with Lisa, who, in fairness, is the only staff member that has remained through the changes in ownership. She apologized and fixed my nails right away for free. She said that the polish was peeling right off because the second nail tech used Bond Aid under shellac, when Bond Aid should only be used with regular polish. She did not sand, but rather buffed them out quickly before repainting. The nails looked good when I left, after 3 visits in two days. Fast forward to yesterday, which was 4 days after my latest visit. The polish is already chipping yet again. Perhaps it's because she did not get all of the Bond Aid off just by quickly buffing them, but I refuse to visit the salon a fourth time in less than a week.
I sincerely hope that the new owners can get their nail techs in check before the business gets shut down. Three visits in 2 days + absurd wait times despite scheduled appointments + 4 cuts/nicks on my fingers = a salon that lost a regular.
Such a shame, I've been going there for years... Maybe I'll give it another shot when they inevitably change owners again, but I'm done with the current staff for now.*
*I'd consider visiting Lisa for a pedicure again, if I had nothing to do one day.
Here's hoping they get things figured out.. :( read more
