I don't recommend Star Nails & Spa. (06/2007)
Last Christmas, Tim got me a gift card for a manicure/pedicure, because I don't exactly have the softest of feet. It was good at Star Nails & Spa at the Irvine Marketplace (I list ther website as a warning, not a recommendation). After sitting in my desk for months, I decided to do it before Hawaii since I wanted to have nice-looking feet for the trip.
The gift card is worth $27, the price of a manicure and pedicure. On top of that I had a coupon for $2 off. While there, I also got a $10 eyebrow wax (want to leave the unibrow on the mainland). At this rate, I'm looking at $8 extra, plus tip.
The brow wax went fine, and then they started the manicure/pedicure. First of all, I was amused that the stereotype about the manicurists talking amongst themselves in Vietnamese while you sit there (totally true, I laughed to myself).
Then the scam began.
"You want hot lotion treatment for your hands? Only three dollars extra." In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought. Why not? Now I'm looking at $11 extra, plus tip.
"You want hot lotion treatment for your feet? Only three dollars more." Well, if you're going to do the hands, you might as well do the feet, right? Head calculation: $14 extra, plus tip.
"You want me to take off callouses with pumice stone? Five dollars extra." Well since that was the reason I went in to begin with, I reluctantly said, "Okay, but nothing else extra." So I'm thinking $19 extra, plus tip.
So at the end, when they gave me my total it was $30. I asked how it got to be $30, when it should only be $19. She said the prices quoted were per hand or and per foot.
Well I guess I must have had "Sucker" written on my forehead. By the time you add it all up, including the gift card Tim gave me, we're looking at nearly $60. It kind of reminded me of all the vendors I dealt with when traveling through Mexico. Everyone is out to rip you off, it seems.
I did ask to see a breakdown of the prices, but she pretended she didn't understand what I was asking for. So I brought out two twenties. She went to the back to get change (I noticed she didn't get it from the register, which made me wonder if in addition to ripping me off, she was also ripping off the store).
Oh well. It's sad for the nail industry really. The actual manicure/pedicure experience wasn't bad. I would have gone again if they hadn't nickeled and dimed me the whole way through it. Needless to say I won't be going back.
1 comment:
Yeesh. I feel your pain. I found a place that did such a good job, but haven't been back because they made me feel like such a beast. "We can get rid of the grey hair", "do you want your arms waxed?", "we will never run out of ways to call you ugly while just acting like we want more of your money". Am I paranoid? I've found a great place now, so I'm done with the random Asian girls talking about me in their language and laughing. Not nice.
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