nail_tec_victim
Member
I prefer to be really honest so I will tell the entire story which is going to be long. The last time I got acrylics I swore I would never do it again... that was 6 years ago. After Nail Garden opened in my Studio City (CA)neighborhood, I thought I would give synthetic nails another chance.
I walked in one evening and learned about gels. At this point my nails were short. A lady applied gels to my nails and whenever I objected to anything or the way it was done her response was that she has been doing this for a long time and knows what she is doing. What about what the customer wants? What about the shape that I prefer? Now I am learning that this arrogant mindset is an ailing condition among almost every nail tech I have encountered.
Anyway, I went again when it was time for my fills but the lady was not available. A guy who was still learning gels did them and he was a little more responsive to my requests. If I asked something that he could not do, instead of saying that he had been doing this for a long time, he would explain why it could not be done. I went to him again for the third time. My nails were growing and I was finding faith in synthetic nails again. When it was time for my 4th fill, I found out he was not working there anymore
The only other person that could do the gels there was the lady I had gone to the first time so I made an appointment with her but missed it because of work. I had to go out of town the next morning. I was in the DC area and desparately looking for a place to do gels. I found out NO ONE does gels the way they do at Nail Garden. They use a liquid gel and every one else uses powder. Nevertheless, I did a powder gel fill which was not that satisfactory... but enough to get by till I got back. In this case also, every time I requested that the shaping be done differently the response was that she knows what she is doing.
I went to Nail Garden as soon as I got back. I explained how unhappy I was that the only place I could do my fills was with only one lady at Nail Garden. I explained that this was simply not practical. I decided that acrylics would be a more practical choice because then I'd have more options if I could not get in. They agreed. They sat me down with a lady who they claimed was good with acrylics.
THIS IS WHERE THE HORROR BEGINS. I was about to discover that this lady had NO SKILLS WHAT SO EVER!!! They lady at the front desk had informed me that gels cannot be soaked off and that the nail tech needed to remove them by filing. I said ok. When I sat down, the nail tech filed some of the gel off but said that she would have to soak off the rest. I explained that I was told that gels CANNOT be soaked off. She said that it can be done if I sit for a long time. I refused to sit for an unknown length of time to soak something off that I knew could not be soaked off. This is where I should have gone back to the ladies at the front desk but I foolishly didn't. Instead I said, please file them off as best you can and then lay the acrylic. I watched closely as she did her thing and was getting really worried... no skill AT ALL!!! When it came time to shaping, she started BUTCHERING my nails. I kept objecting to the butchery that was going on and she said that she had been doing it for a long time and knew what she was doing. I felt like the hundreds of dollars I put into growing my nails out was being washed dowm the drain. I objected again and she said she will not do my nails. She handed me over to another lady who refused saying that she did not know how to do acrylics. Then I got handed off to a man who said he would not fix someone else's mistake. Keep in mind that management was or appeared to be clueless as all this is going on. At this point I was in a panic. I saw them go to a corner to talk to the management. I sat there with incomplete and damaged nails until I could no longer tolerate being ingnored. I lost it. I started yelling and demanding that someone takes care of this situation. Management got involved and they tried their best to get the man to finish my nails but he kept insisting that he would not fix someone else's mistake. Finally one of the ladies who only does manicures and pedicures (not acrylics and gels) came forward and said she would help. Bless her soul she tried real hard and shaped them as best she could. She had to patch some areas with more acrylic and file others. In they end my nails did not look great but at least they were complete. Management apologized and explained that they don't know some of the people there that well yet and that they never expected their employees to refuse to help someone. I was still charged for my fills. I also tipped the lady that tried her best despite her lack of experience with acrylics.
I spent hundreds of dollars on gels to grow my nails out. My nails are really short again due to the butchery I experienced last night. I am very upset. I don't want to go back there for fills even if it were free. I just wish I could find a place where the technicians are not only skilled but also have good customer skills. If only nail techs would just listen and pay attention to their customers!!!
I walked in one evening and learned about gels. At this point my nails were short. A lady applied gels to my nails and whenever I objected to anything or the way it was done her response was that she has been doing this for a long time and knows what she is doing. What about what the customer wants? What about the shape that I prefer? Now I am learning that this arrogant mindset is an ailing condition among almost every nail tech I have encountered.
Anyway, I went again when it was time for my fills but the lady was not available. A guy who was still learning gels did them and he was a little more responsive to my requests. If I asked something that he could not do, instead of saying that he had been doing this for a long time, he would explain why it could not be done. I went to him again for the third time. My nails were growing and I was finding faith in synthetic nails again. When it was time for my 4th fill, I found out he was not working there anymore
The only other person that could do the gels there was the lady I had gone to the first time so I made an appointment with her but missed it because of work. I had to go out of town the next morning. I was in the DC area and desparately looking for a place to do gels. I found out NO ONE does gels the way they do at Nail Garden. They use a liquid gel and every one else uses powder. Nevertheless, I did a powder gel fill which was not that satisfactory... but enough to get by till I got back. In this case also, every time I requested that the shaping be done differently the response was that she knows what she is doing.I went to Nail Garden as soon as I got back. I explained how unhappy I was that the only place I could do my fills was with only one lady at Nail Garden. I explained that this was simply not practical. I decided that acrylics would be a more practical choice because then I'd have more options if I could not get in. They agreed. They sat me down with a lady who they claimed was good with acrylics.
THIS IS WHERE THE HORROR BEGINS. I was about to discover that this lady had NO SKILLS WHAT SO EVER!!! They lady at the front desk had informed me that gels cannot be soaked off and that the nail tech needed to remove them by filing. I said ok. When I sat down, the nail tech filed some of the gel off but said that she would have to soak off the rest. I explained that I was told that gels CANNOT be soaked off. She said that it can be done if I sit for a long time. I refused to sit for an unknown length of time to soak something off that I knew could not be soaked off. This is where I should have gone back to the ladies at the front desk but I foolishly didn't. Instead I said, please file them off as best you can and then lay the acrylic. I watched closely as she did her thing and was getting really worried... no skill AT ALL!!! When it came time to shaping, she started BUTCHERING my nails. I kept objecting to the butchery that was going on and she said that she had been doing it for a long time and knew what she was doing. I felt like the hundreds of dollars I put into growing my nails out was being washed dowm the drain. I objected again and she said she will not do my nails. She handed me over to another lady who refused saying that she did not know how to do acrylics. Then I got handed off to a man who said he would not fix someone else's mistake. Keep in mind that management was or appeared to be clueless as all this is going on. At this point I was in a panic. I saw them go to a corner to talk to the management. I sat there with incomplete and damaged nails until I could no longer tolerate being ingnored. I lost it. I started yelling and demanding that someone takes care of this situation. Management got involved and they tried their best to get the man to finish my nails but he kept insisting that he would not fix someone else's mistake. Finally one of the ladies who only does manicures and pedicures (not acrylics and gels) came forward and said she would help. Bless her soul she tried real hard and shaped them as best she could. She had to patch some areas with more acrylic and file others. In they end my nails did not look great but at least they were complete. Management apologized and explained that they don't know some of the people there that well yet and that they never expected their employees to refuse to help someone. I was still charged for my fills. I also tipped the lady that tried her best despite her lack of experience with acrylics.
I spent hundreds of dollars on gels to grow my nails out. My nails are really short again due to the butchery I experienced last night. I am very upset. I don't want to go back there for fills even if it were free. I just wish I could find a place where the technicians are not only skilled but also have good customer skills. If only nail techs would just listen and pay attention to their customers!!!
