Blush Hour Nails & Spa — Attraction in San Diego

I’ve gone to this nail salon quite a few times. While they generally do a good job on nails, their attitude when it comes to customer service is consistently disappointing. Every time I call to make an appointment, they come off as rude and dismissive—as if I'm bothering them just by trying to schedule time with a recurring nail tech.

On several occasions, I’ve shown up for appointments only to be told they were canceled—always due to an issue with the technician I requested. There was little to no communication beforehand, which is frustrating and unprofessional.

Additionally, during appointments, I’ve often had my hands slapped or yanked with comments like "relax," despite explaining that I have arthritis and run a hands-on organizing business. My hands are naturally tense after a long workday. I’ve tried to kindly let them know that I am relaxed—this is simply my baseline—but they still tug and twist my fingers as if I’m being difficult. I’ve also heard similar complaints from friends in the beauty industry, so I know this isn’t just my experience.

It would be great if management took the time to train their staff to treat clients with basic respect and understand that every person’s body is different. It feels like this salon has gotten too big for its britches—like they believe they no longer need to provide good customer service because they have enough clients.

I’m updating this review after another unfortunate visit. I arrived for my appointment and went straight to the back. When I came out, one of the front desk staff (who wasn’t there when I arrived) rudely pointed to a small sign and said, “We don’t take credit cards.” I asked if this was a new policy, and she replied coldly, again pointing to a sign that was easy to miss unless you were specifically looking for it. I asked if the ATM in the back worked, and she curtly said, “It’s not working.”

I said that had I known about the cash-only policy, I would’ve come prepared. Why didn’t anyone mention it when I arrived? She then asked me to leave my ID before going to get cash. I explained I didn’t have my ID on me—my husband had my purse in the car— I felt like I was being treated like a criminal. When I returned, I said that a heads-up would have helped me plan better. At that point, the original girl who took me to the back overheard and said, “Oh, that just started.” Again—no apology, no courtesy.

I'm not sure if the front desk girl is related to the owner, but she acts like she’s doing customers a favor just by acknowledging them. It’s a shame because the nail techs themselves seem like good people, but the toxic front-desk behavior impacts the entire customer experience.

I haven’t been back in over a month and have since found a new salon where customer service is actually a priority. Just because a salon is busy doesn’t mean customers should be treated poorly. People talk, and they eventually take their business elsewhere. I get my nails done not just to look good—but to relax. If that’s not something this salon values, they’ll continue to lose loyal...

Do not use KEVIN. He is rude. He had a bad attitude as soon as he sat to do my manicure- I assumed he was blunt by nature and didn't read into it initially. He did 1 sample nail and asked me for my opinion. This resulted in his eye rolls, bouncing his leg impatiently, scrolling on his phone, and he LITERALLY threw his hands to his head like a dramatic diva. I went with 3 other friends who saw this all go down.

I do not get my nails done often. My BF is popping the question soon and I wanted to be ready. When Kevin asked me to review the FIRST SINGLE nail, I had concerns over my design choice. I asked my friends for their opinions. Kevin chimed in with "then you should have asked for XYZ" and "well it bothers you because you are focusing on it. Don't focus on it and you won't notice it" I was not criticizing his skills, just my design choice.

I tried to explain that i may get engaged with these nails so i wanted to be sure and that I'm not a picky person in general but i may have many photos of this nail set so i can't just "not focus" on the design. Kevin was rolling his eyes, bouncing his leg and threw his head into his hands in frustration. All of my friends saw this and i was shocked and couldn't fight back tears. This period of discussion could not have lasted more than three minutes, likely 2.

I understand that it can be frustrating if someone is unsure of the sample design you just did, but this was so rude and uncalled for. I just shut up like he wanted and went ahead with the nails that I wasn't sure with as I sat in silence fighting back tears.

Kevin, sorry you had to go into work today and I'm sorry that your coworkers have to deal with your terrible personality.

Jessi on the other hand was amazing and did an amazing pedicure! I have come here a handful of times over the years and everyone else is so...

NEW updated review: I’ve been going to this place pretty often for months now and I overall am really satisfied with everything. I’m actually going here soon again! It’s a beautiful place with lovely decor and there’s always a lot of people always there.

My only complaint is that sometimes the customer service isn’t as it SHOULD be. One time I had scheduled an appointment and arrived on time, but everyone was busy. I ended up having to wait a long time, about an hour, to get my nails done, even though I had made an appointment. I saw other people get their appointments in before me, who had just arrived as walk-ins. I was confused and stressed out, since I had something else happening later that day, which I had to move. On another note, I really LOVE the nails I get done here. Although sometimes they rush their work to get people in. You can really tell that the work could’ve been done a lot better when this happens, I know the people working there do know what they’re doing! I personally feel like they should expand their nail art and offer more things to do. Sometimes I’ll show a picture and they say they can’t do that because they don’t know how, so we end up having to think of an alternative way to do the desired look. It would be awesome to see more advanced work, if that makes any sense! Either way, the designs are always beautiful.

Also like I mentioned earlier, sometimes customer service isn’t the best. One time I was asking a question about the nails in a really respectful tone, and the woman doing my nails quickly said “I know what I’m doing!” I didn’t really say much after. Overall this place is OKAY. Definitely need improvements on...