I got a leaflet through my door recently about a promotion in my local beauty salon… It’s a fairly small place but offers a good variety of treatments from manicures, spray tans, eyebrow tinting and waxing. I used to go for a facial now n then because the girl who did them was fantastic; she really knew her stuff and felt my pain when I was so spotty I didn’t wanna leave the house! (Long story short; she’s left now and there was a new girl waiting to greet me when I arrived)When I saw that they had a 50% summer sale on manicures and pedicures I decided it would definitely be worth trying, not least of all cos I’d love to have a local salon do all my treatments instead of having to get a bus into the city centre
I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to people touching my feet so this was my first ever pedicure and I pretty much gritted my teeth and got through it without looking at what the manicurist was doing. We chatted about her kids, her job, her holiday plans, how she’d decorated her house etc etc so 45 minutes later I knew pretty much everything that was going on in her life till that point…
Then she started on my finger nails and I settled back to enjoy it because I normally find it really relaxing. She didn’t seem entirely confident in what she was doing but I wasn’t too concerned… Until she got a nail file and actually started to file the surface of my nails!!! Now we’re talking about a proper, sandpaper-like nail file that could absolutely not be mistaken for a ridge remover or buffer!!My cuticles were pretty tidy when I arrived so when she pushed them back they were essentially sorted but she got her little cuticle cutters and “neatened them up” which seemed to be code for hacked to bits and really scraggly. Finally she applied the polish and made such a mess of it I was nearly tempted to just take the brush off her and do it myself
When I looked at the final result I could’ve cried. I’m not the most vain person in the world but I like having nice nails because I used to bite them so I look after them as best I can. To see them all scruffy and mangled was more than a little irritating I can tell you! But here’s the thing… I didn’t complain…
In fact I did the exact opposite; I thanked her for doing a great job and admired my nails along with her because she seemed to be extremely proud of her handy work. Then I came home, took the polish off, applied lots of cuticle oil and sat in a bad mood for a while thinking about what I would’ve liked to have said to her! I don’t like confrontation at the best of times but if someone else had been in my position I’d have been appalled if they didn’t complain! Yet because we’d chatted and I felt like she’d done her best I just couldn’t bring myself to criticise what she’d done :(Have you ever complainted about a bad treatment or would you just grin and bear it?
15 comments:
I think in that situation I would have dropped in things like "Oh that's not how my regular manicurist does that" in a polite and friendly tone to let her know she wasn't doing it right without offending her.
I ALWAYS make sure to complain if something doesn't meet the right standards because people will never learn to do it right if nobody tells them when they do it wrong, it's much kinder to be constructive than to let them carry on doing things badly.
Wow! I can't believe a "professional" in a nail salon did those and got paid for that!! Sorry-don't mean to be mean! I probably would not have been brave enough to say anything to her but she needs to stop chatting and pay attention to what she is doing!!!!
While I am not always assertive with individuals I am close with when it comes to getting bad service, I always complain. I would have probably spoken to her manager (if she had one), but completely understand how it would be hard to talk to her.
xx
Alicia
i cant believe she was actually filing your nail bed its not as if she was applying acrylics :S
i feel that she probably was quite nervous but i agree that you should maybe nip in and have a quiet word as it will make her improve :)
Argh I know how annoyed you must be, I've had the exact same thing! Maybe it's the same place haha. I have pretty much none existant cuticles (I'm not sure why cos I've never done anything to them, they just don't appear to be there!) and the girl said they were fine yet started hacking at them anyway!
I've also been burnt with hot wax having my eyebrows done :( xo
if i was you i would have said something its not too late to go back and complain to the manager, the girl obviously needs retrained
shel xx
Hmmm I don't like confrontation either but when I am not happy, I don't say it's great just because I feel bad for the other person. I mean it's counter productive. How can she improve herself if no one is telling her how bad she is? Let alone if people compliment her.
But I understand you anyway.What I do usually is I don't really say anything and they're on my black list.
OMG this looks horrible ... i'm sorry :( I had a pedicure once and when she was removing some callus , she cutted in my feet ... aw this was pretty painfull! I had to walk home for 15 minutes but it was bleeding like hell . She said Sorry and i had to pay just half price for it . So okay , but if i had an issue like you ... i wouldn't pay for it or she had to redo it .
I don't like confrontation either but I have spoken up when I felt like my beauty treatments weren't up to par. I always called to the person to the side and explained my feelings. In your situation, it seems like maybe she is new? But either way you should talk to her. She could give someone a nasty infection hacking on other peoples cuticles in that way...
I hate confrontation and I'd liek to say I would have stood up and said I wasn't happy but I'd probably have done what you did!
This is one reason I don't get my nails done, I'm a littl ocd about them so I just do themself and save some pennies!! x
Oh no, what a shame she didn't do a good job. Was the pedicure similarly bad when you looked? I have complained about a bad haircut before and did it after the event but I did it via email. I think I would struggle to go back and do it person. I think I'd probably have to leave it but tell everyone I knew to give it a miss!
Jx
ok, This is a really big moment for me and I'm proud to say... I complained!! Better late than never, eh?
I called in and asked to speak to the manager (Carol) who was absolutely lovely. I basically told her what sort of state my nails had been left in, they weren't nearly as bad after I'd tried fixing them but I brought my pics... She was unbelievably apologetic and offered to do my nails herself (for free) and gave me a full refund.
I have to admit I was so nervous I was actually shaking (how sad is that!?) but I'm still really pleased with myself :)
P.S. ModestyBrown if anything my toes were worse!
Good for you. I can well imagine how nerve wracking it was but it's definitely makes you feel better in the end. It should stop it happening to other people too x
Nightmare situation! I probably would have done the same. I am too hate confrontation. However, I wish that I was braver.
Nightmare situation! I probably would have done the same. I am too hate confrontation. However, I wish that I was braver.
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