YEARS AGO Businesses could get away with what happened at this place YESTERDAY, but now, THANKS TO YELP, they can no longer get away with this kind of thing!!
Senior Living Residents in their 70's, 80's, 90's, even 100's, don't very often travel around town to do things or have services like getting their nails done, because they are always VERY TIRED, and in many cases, weak & feeble. BUT WHEN THEY DO VENTURE OUT, it is a HUGE deal to them. This was the case with a lady who made an appointment ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE here at V Nails.
She had a 10:00am appointment, which is when V Nails is supposed to open & begin their day. We arrived a little early, at 9:52 am. But it seemed reasonable to wait, especially given the fact that she had waited all week for this appointment to get her acrylic nails done. As we waited a Daughter/Mother couple showed up, also with a scheduled 10:00 am appointment. The Mother said they had booked theirs last night, after extensive Internet research done by her daughter, which the Mother seemed proud to share how great her child was at researching places to patronize. "This place got some great reviews" she said.
We waited the rest of the minutes until opening time (10:00 am), when all of us started to notice that V Nails was still dark inside with ZERO SIGNS OF LIFE OR ACTIVITY. The OPEN sign unlit. No stand-up signs that usually adorn the sidewalk in front of their shop. As time ticked away, each minute of growing frustration started morphing into outright anger!
HOW DOES A BUSINESS THAT HAS APPOINTMENTS TO OPERATE, NOT HONOR THE APPOINTMENT TIME? The Mother and Daughter both decided to find their second choice to get their nails done.
The time was 10:07 am.
We tried calling V Nails, but of course there was no answer. All of us had tried knocking on the door, in the hope maybe someone was in the back, yet, even in the dark. Nothing.
As it neared 10:10 am and no signs of life my Senior Living Resident became very upset and said "Let's just leave, this is ridiculous" I agreed with her statement and tried to find her a different place, but without an appointment she would have to wait longer than the time she had available to get her nails done. So she was returned back to the assisted living/nursing home facility, defeated and very upset.
Since I was in the area about 40 minutes later, I decided to drop in and at the very least find out why this happened, or perhaps get not only their apology, but a future discount I thought was in order as well. Seniors like most of us, love discounts!
IMAGINE MY SHOCK AND OUTRAGE (which still has yet to leave me a day later!!) WHEN THE WOMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER LOOKED ME IN THE EYE AND SAID "Oh, We Were Here, We Opened On Time". I WAS SO ANGRY IT TOOK ALL I HAD IN ME TO NOT CURSE OR SCREAM AT HER, as I said "Is that a joke?" And I then told her the fact of how two of their 10am appointments, one being the Senior Citizen who had the appointment for over a week, had left, VERY upset!!
She insisted on looking at me and continued to bs, saying they were there on time. To which one employee lady piped in saying "I was here at 10:05"
"NO YOU WERE NOT!! I said with anger in my voice but still subdued considering the rage they were building in me, "THERE WAS NO ANSWER AT THE DOOR, COMPLETE DARKNESS, NOBODY HERE, AS WE LEFT AT TEN MINUTES AFTER WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN AND HONORING YOUR APPOINTMENTS."
I just couldn't believe the audacity of these people!! Was it they couldn't "lose face" in front of the customers waiting in the lobby, and admit they were wrong, or they didn't know HOW to apologize, or just too cheap to offer a warranted discount to enhance an apology, or were they actually racist against Caucasians, or was it simply that they were just so brazen and arrogant knowing there was nothing we could do about it; and they have plenty of clientele already, so who needs a new customer, type of terrible attitude? Perhaps all of the above; but I knew I had better get the heck out of their before my emotions got the best of me. They essentially, without actually saying the words, were calling ME a liar!!
Then as I left I realized my one only real recourse was to do what I hoped the Internet Savvy Daughter would be doing- Simply explaining to the world and the other millions of Chicagoland Residents, Seniors and All; what had just taken place at V Nails in Des Plaines.
I can only hope that enough of their potential new clients and maybe even some of their repeat customers feel our outrage and make them accountable for their rude and unprofessional behavior !!
I know about 100 Senior Citizen Ladies who will not be patronizing them. And many more as I cannot stop telling others about what happened until the rage subsides. I am literally still in shock!!!
Thank You for taking the time to read all this. You've been warned. Have a great day. read more