My family

My family

Monday, August 26, 2013

Nail Salon Frustration

It is one week before I am to be 40 years old and we are heading to Vegas for the big day.  Vegas trips mean lots of pampering the week prior and it is a necessity for me to feel okay with this new number.  Nails, spray tan (maybe), massage, new clothes are all part of the pre-Vegas planning.  As a treat I combined the nail day with my daughter to have a "Girls Day Out".  She was so excited and was looking forward to it all morning.  Read on to hear how I had to let my O'side girl come out at the salon...

We tried a new salon because I was given a gift certificate from a friend (thank you Fran P.!).  I checked beforehand to ensure they had the cute bear chairs for the little ones, they did so our day was set.  We arrived at the salon and nobody greeted us, this is not terribly abnormal since someone usually just yells "what you want" then says "pick a color" when you walk into most salons. (Please ladies help me understand why this is acceptable customer service.)  I noticed a sign-in sheet on the counter so I signed us in and someone yelled from around the corner "what you want", I giggled to myself and said mani/pedi for both of us.  There was no response so we ventured to the polish wall & picked out our colors, we then sat to wait,  a lady came over and said "no, over here".  We followed to 2 chairs side by side to start our pedicure.  The smile on Katrina's face was so precious that I ignored her rudeness.

We both sat back and turned on our massage chairs and placed our feet in the warm (not scalding - thank heavens, I've had that too many times and just cringed & said nothing) water.  2 beauticians/nail techs, for purpose of this blog I will call them ladies, came over and started drying our feet.  At this point I handed my lady the gift certificate, she got up and walked away saying nothing to me, I placed my feet back in the water.  Another lady came over and said "it cost $27 for her" motioning with her chin towards my daughter.  My first thought was, really $27 for a child, isn't it normally $30 for an adult, but said okay because this was a splurge for us. I said that was fine and asked how much to have shellac/gel for me.  She said $15.  I confirmed $15 on top of the gift certificate (which was $42 for a spa mani/pedi).  She said no, only $5 more.  I said okay, that is good and our journey began.

When my lady sat back down she handed me a wheel of nails and said "pick a color", I showed her my bottle of polish and said I want this one, she grabbed the wheel again and said "no, pick a color".  I again said I want this one, now holding the bottle of red towards her face.  She said "pick on there" and motioned to the wheel.  I was clearly not understanding and she was not giving me any more to go from so I found the color closest to the bottle and pointed at it, she said "what number?".  I looked at the wheel and said "22".  No comment, no okay, nothing, she just continued on my feet.  Being the OCD person I am I seriously thought - wow, they must keep an inventory of the color of polish so they know when to order more - LOL, not the case.  Meanwhile my daughter and her lady were trying to figure out the DVD player sitting on her chair.  The lady didn't know how so Katrina tried her best but it was out of battery, they replaced it and then the disc was bad.  The lady was so confused that I told Katrina to not worry about it that we could just talk, she said "ok, momma", gotta love my girl!  Our toes were getting purty and we were relaxing! 

Once they finished our feet they stood up and started working on our hands.  I HATE when they do my hands while I am still sitting in the pedicure chair.  It is uncomfortable and awkward.  My poor baby looked totally contorted trying to reach her little arms over to her lady.  I have to ask - when you get a manicure shouldn't they place your hands in warm water to soften your cuticles before working on them?  I thought so.  Well, they didn't for Katrina, they cut, filed and painted hers - um $27...I can do the same at home for FREE!  Katrina didn't mind so I let it go.  Once filed and cut my lady grunts something at me that I don't understand, I stare at her and she says it again and points to the back of the salon.  I say "do you want me to wash my hands?", she says "no", um...we are at a stand still.  I stand up hoping this helps and she motions towards the back again.  I ask where she wants me to go and she shakes her head as if saying no and points at my feet.  She takes the toe thing off and puts my shoes on my feet then starts walking away.  I grab my purse, look at Katrina and shrug my shoulders, I guess I was to follow her somewhere?  She lead me to a nail bar so she could properly do my manicure.

As I sit I glance to see if I can still see my daughter and I can, I breathe a sigh of relief.  She starts putting the first coat on my nails and places my hands in the UV light machine.  (Side note - I don't get this done often and have read somewhere that putting your hands in these machines a lot could potentially cause cancer.  Look it up so you know the risks before you back to the salon.) My lady gets up and comes back with a bottle of orange-red and shows it to me, I ask what it is and she says "your color".  I shake my head and say "no, I don't like that".  The original lady who quoted me the prices was working next to us and she looks over and says "u pick 22", I said that I did and she says "that your color".  I say "no, I don't like it".  She seems very upset with me and says "that your color".  I am shaking my head which irritates her more and she meanly says "that what u pick".  I finally say "yes, I picked 22 but that is ugly and I don't want it".  Guess what happens next, the wheel of nails is brought back out and my girl points at it and says "u pick".  Seriously, can we speak in full sentences PLEASE!!!!  We decide on a new color that I am not 100% with and she leaves to find it.  Meanwhile I decide I don't want color, I would rather avoid not liking it so I want a french manicure instead.  I ask the other lady how much more for a french manicure, she says $35.  I ask $35 on top of my gift certificate.  She says "$27, $42 & $35".  I ask again about the gift cert.  She repeats the numbers.  I look at the customer whose nails she is doing to see if she can decipher it and she says the french cost $35.  I am still confused and look back at the lady and she says again "$27, $42 & $35".  I try a different tactic and say "I don't have a calculator, what will my total be?".  She repeats the same numbers.  ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!  That is what I wanted to yell but didn't.  I looked at my girl who looked just as confused as I was and I told her to do the french.

I glance to see if Katrina is still okay at the front of the salon and I can't see her.  I ask my girl, "can you see my daughter?", the other lady says "you dry your nail", what? my nails are being polished. She meant that Katrina was drying her nails.  This is just crazy!

In the end I had them write down everything.  It was $27 for Katrina's mani/pedi and $62 for mine.  $62 for a spa pedi & shellac french manicure.  They did subtract the gift certificate.  I guess there will be no spray tan for Vegas, this was too expensive!

So I know many will say that english is not their first language and they were trying, I know if I was in Mexico and I was using improper pronouns that they would cut me some slack BUT you are running a business.  Shouldn't customer service be your #1 priority.  I think speaking in complete sentences should fall under that category.  Now I know this happens at all nail salons - as you can see from the attached video -Comedian - Nail Salon.  I would like to got to a salon where the prices are listed and the ladies speak to me and not to each other in a language I don't understand, because you know they are talking about us...


1 comment:

  1. It's sad, but it is like that everywhere I've ever lived. And when I don't feel like having to play translator, I go to a "fancier" day spa type place and pay more. But they all speak English correctly! Since English is my mother's second language, I try to be understanding, but my mother speaks English very well, and has been told this many times. People need to take pride in their business, customer service, and presentation. I'm sure your Vegas trip will outshine your terrible nail salon experience. Have fun!!!

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