Complaint RE: Venus Day Spa - Commerce, MI

Venus Day Spa, Commerce MI

Phone number disconnected

My husband purchased a gift certificate for me in Dec ’04, in the amount of $265. This gift certificate was supposed to include several services, including; manicure, pedicure, massage, lunch, facial treatment, etc.

In August ’05, I finally had an opportunity to arrange an appointment for a fill and pedicure. (Their hours of operation are ludicrous, and they never had any openings!) Unfortunately, the only opening I could get was less than 4 hours prior to the time I was supposed to catch a flight to California. The young man who made my reservation informed me he would have the nail tech come in an hour early to accommodate me. I explained to him at length what I needed done – a PINK AND WHITE fill, which requires a knowledge of how to do this. He informed me it would be no problem, and if there was a difference in cost, I could pay it in cash.

So I arrived for my appointment 15 minutes early. I sat in the waiting room for a good 40 minutes before an elderly lady finally walked by me and asked, “Are you waiting to get your nails done?” (What did she think I was there for?)

Come to find out she was the nail tech, and no one had informed her I was waiting. She was instantly outraged, not only because she had been sitting there waiting for me for over 40 minutes, but because no one had even bothered to let her know she needed to be in early that day. She claimed SHE had to call in to find out what her appointments were that morning, and if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have even known I was going to be there. Needless to say, the experience just got worse and worse. After I sit down and explain what I needed done, she gets even madder. Ends up no one informed her I needed a pink and white fill, which she claimed takes MUCH more time. So she left me sitting there and stormed off to speak with the receptionist, who reluctantly cancelled her next appointment so she could tend to me. This resulted in 30 minutes of complaining about how my fill was preventing her from tending to her next client, and keeping appointments was what paid her bills. By this time I was completely uncomfortable. The lady doing my nails was blatantly cursing at everyone in the place, voicing her discontent with their ability to properly book an appointment. (This is a day spa, isn’t it supposed to be relaxing?)

So she tries to do my nails, and they’re so hideous it’s appalling. She claims it’s because it’s “so hot” in there her acrylic won’t set properly. Let’s face it, this so-called nail tech just couldn’t do a pink and white fill! So I paid an extra $30 for a pink and white fill, and it ended up she just painted on white tips to cover up the mess she had made of my nails! (When I had my nails done at a different salon the next time, they were literally shocked to see how horrendous they were!) To top it all off, she has 3 other staff members standing over me the whole time talking about some employee party that she wasn’t invited to, and how offended she was. This is immediately followed by several comments about her loser boyfriend, and how hard it is to find a man these days.

I finally leave, naturally disappointed. Once I left the building, I immediately called to speak with management. I am informed the “owners” are out of the country, but the Spa Manager claims she can assist me. She is rude and defensive, and claims they have issues with booking appointments because they’re not familiar with how long it takes for certain appointments. (This is somehow MY fault?) She is unsympathetic, yet claims she will have the owners call me when they return. No surprise that I placed 3 other calls and never got a response.

Now here’s the big kicker… The place has shut down, with no further information, and I still have about $175 worth of services left on my gift certificate! Wow, am I mad! Not only were they awful, but they walk away with an extra $175 of my money. It’s like they’re being rewarded for being THE WORST spa I’ve ever been to. I would definitely like to know how I can get a refund for the portion of the gift certificate that wasn’t used. It is my understanding they have NOT gone into bankruptcy, so technically they should still be liable for returning the difference.

Regards,

Nicole A. Ferguson

248-921-7042