LEE NAILS

I went late afternoon on Sunday, August 21 for a basic pedicure and manicure. I had used Lee Nails in the past and the cost was $35. I was stunned when I was given a "menu" listing package and a la carte pricing. I opted for the #2 combo--no priced at $54. I agreed figuring that this was simple inflation since it had been awhile since I had frequented this shop. In the midst of soaking my feet I discovered that services that used to be included (e.g., callous removal) now were additional a la carte items. The technician was nice enough to tell me he would include it for me for free--but then he kept pressuring me to upgrade to a gel finger nail polish for an additional $7. I resisted, but ultimately gave in--that was a huge mistake. I didn't realize they would need to roughen ("distress") my nails for this polish--much like they do for actual gel nails. When I got home and got a good look at the finished job on my finger nails I was dismayed to find that the polish had a weird irridescence and was applied unevenly, with big glops and bubbles, and parts that spilled past my cuticles on to my fingers. My toenails also were rather sloppy, but not nearly as bad as my finger. The manicuret was ugly. I returned the next day to get the manicure redone. At first they thought they would just redo the worst fingers, but I asked to replace the entire manicure. The young lady who was doing my nails stated that she would need to charge me "a little more" to redo the manicure even though the manager indicated that there would be no cost to me. She tried to get me to replace the one (free) nail tip I had received on Sunday with a fancy gel tip that would cost more. I declined the nail tip, the gel polish and asked for just a basic regular manicure. She stated that the regular polish wasn't good--just cheaper. When I looked at my unpolished nails I realized they were a mess--deeply grooved and dusty white. I was upset. I thought I deserved good looking nails for $75! Instead my nails were damaged and ugly. I finally insisted on just regular polish and left--visibly upset. They were apologetic, but I did feel they were just trying to get more money out of me. If the technician had just redone my complete manicure--including the fake nail tip with a new gel polish, without trying to sell me something additional or making me pay more, I would have been content and even given her a tip. Instead, I felt extorted and that I left with unattractive, noticibly damaged finger nails and a sloppy pedicure too. I obviously will not go back to Lee Nails and I will encourage others to find lower cost mall-based nail services, or to go to a nice salon for a comparable cost.