I hate to do this, especially because of how pleased I was with my first few visits but after maybe my 3rd or 4th visit, the quality of work and customer service just went down hill. Vivian did my acrylics and they looked beautiful, I received A LOT of compliments. But after my trip to get a fill I did not receive a single compliment, and for good reason, they looked hideous.Before I sat in her chair I showed her a photo of what I wanted and mentioned that if she couldn't do it, that would be fine and I would choose to have the acrylics removed and get a gel manicure instead. She said it was cute and she could do it. After she shaped the acrylics, I told her they were very crooked and the shape did not look like it did last time, to which she replied that my fingers were crooked and that's why they look like that. I became so angry I didn't know how to respond without getting completely out of line myself,so I didn't. I just thought she'd attempt to fix them. She didn't. Then when it was time to do the design I showed her in the beginning, she said she couldn't do it, that it would be too hard. Now, I'm even more upset, I showed her another photo of a design with a little bit of glitter, she said she could do that one and proceeded to dump glitter on the nails, and stated, "Look that's so cute!". I did not reply. Mind you, she never fixed the misshapen, crooked nails I pointed out. Grrr.
Wait, it gets better. I left in such a fuss I forgot my keys(my fault not hers). I walked there because I live about a mile away. I arrived home and realized I didn't have my keys. It was over 100 degrees that day and I had made a couple of stops on the way home at CVS and a taco restaurant. So I called Vivian because I wanted to make sure theyw ere there before I walked back. When I asked her to see if they were in one of the two chairs I sat in during my appointment there, she told me she was too busy and to come back and look. i explained my situation further; her reply was the same. Of course my keys were in one of the chairs I sat in. In fact they were in the chair at her station. The friend that referred me to Vivian saw my nails, had a good laugh and asked if I paid for them. I told her that I did. She said I shouldn't have. My philosophy behind that is that if I perform less than average at work one day or make a few mistakes, my hourly pay isn't docked so why should I be able to do that to someone else. Now I do have the right to tip less or more, or not at all. I still gave Vivian my standard $5.00 tip(I'm not sure why, I think I was just kind of shocked and unfocused). My friend went back to see Vivian and brought my dissatisfaction to her attention. That weekend I received a text message from Vivian apologizing and asking me to come in so that she could fix them. I was hesitant as I'd already made up my mind about not going back...free of charge or not. I was prompted by my boyfriend to give her a chance to redeem herself and accepted her offer. I explained to her that I had already cut off the majority of the acrylics and if she would instead remove what was left and do a regular gel manicure that I would come in(I paid for gel polish and a design on the acrylics anyway). She said okay. When I arrived for my appointment she was apologetic. She was chatty and polite like she always is. I was happy because her shop is so close to home, it really is very convenient for me to get my manis and pedis there plus I love Sue(she does my pedicures), so I wanted to remain a customer. I asked for a heart on my manicure. The gel polish could have used another coat and the hearts, well they don't look great but I wouldn't complain. I'm not paying this time so I felt awkward and I'm not really a complainer by nature. When she finished, she said, "I put two top coats to make it extra strong, that's $22.00.". I asked he if she was serious. She listed the services she had provided and their prices, "nail removal, gel polish, design....". I explained to her that I paid for a fill with gel polish and a design last time and that I was under the impression that she was giving me a complimentary service because the services I received last time were given so poorly. She said, okay. $20". My response to her was that if she truly felt I owed her money today then I would pay her but I also let her know that had that been made clear from the get go, I would not have come back. It really is a shame because she does a wonderful job on two other women I know personally who have been long-time clients of Vivians' and I really don't know why the service level i've received has been so poor; I never tip poorly. I always tip at least 20% of the cost of services I receive anywhere I go, and at the nail shop it's usually slightly more. read more