UT Nails & Spa — Attraction in San Diego

Overall, this is a nice salon, and I know many women who come here. However, I think I'm done. *Things do seem clean, their prices are competitive, and everything appears well-organized – especially during the day. I’ve visited a few times without major issues, though each time there were minor things I didn’t love – just not enough to write a review about until now. Unfortunately, my most recent visit made me feel uncomfortable and question whether it’s worth coming back.

I understood a little of what the staff were saying, assuming I didn’t understand. I couldn’t follow the entire conversation, but I caught enough to know they were talking about me, other clients, and even the owner.

When I first arrived, I asked for advice on a nail color to match a bridesmaid dress. Since I’m not particularly into general beauty, I was hoping for some guidance. As soon as I asked, the woman made a comment to her coworkers that I couldn’t fully understand, and they all laughed. It immediately made me feel uncomfortable.

During my manicure, the nail tech mentioned something about adjusting the cost to the tech who appeared to be the manager and told her to just let her know what price she should tell me. I ended up being charged an extra $5 because my nails were supposedly “long” and needed to be cut. When I asked about the extra charge, she said it was because of the length of my nails, which were natural and not long at all – she barely trimmed them. Isn’t trimming part of a manicure? Earlier, I heard them saying amongst themselves that they sometimes make up their own prices, which I initially brushed off. However, when I was charged an extra $5, it felt like they might be doing this to many others. Now, about two weeks later, my gel polish is peeling. Not sure if that's a standard time for gel? This was my first time getting gel, and I was careful to preserve it, especially since I was so happy with how they looked. Interestingly, my toenails, with regular polish, still look fine and aren’t chipping.

My husband also got a simple mani-pedi with no polish. They strongly recommended a callus removal add-on, which he agreed to, but he received the same treatment I did, without any extra service. Now that I think about it, it seems to reinforce the impression that they make up their own prices and add-ons. I understand that some clients may not tip well, but this approach of assuming we wouldn’t tip well and adjusting the bill instead doesn’t seem fair. At the end of his manicure they left his nails quite long and seemed to only have shaped them. It wasn’t a big deal, but we had to repeatedly emphasize that he wanted them as short as possible.

Overall, it’s a nice salon, but it seems like the night staff have their own approach. They should be more cautious with their comments, assuming others don’t understand. I feel for the owner and hope they maintain the salon’s standards even when...

Wow i am incredibly disappointed in their customer services and mannerism. I have been coming here for 1 year and getting my nails done by Alex who is the owner and loved the way she did my nails. Until today i had scheduled an appointment over the phone for gel nails (no manicure) and pedicure with no gel just regular nail polish. Alex did my fingernails and Lisa is the one who did my pedicure. Everything was going fine, i sat down on my chair and communicated to Alex what i wanted for both my nails & toes as always. When Lisa was done with my pedicure i gave her a $3 dollar tip because they looked great! Then i went upfront to Alex to pay and and told me it was $20 for my nails & $32 for my pedicure. I asked why my pedicure was $32 when we had agreed to $20 and she said oh Lisa used gel because you wanted gel and i said no i did not, i only wanted it for my fingernails. She argued with me and i told her it was her fault if she communicated that to her and Lisa should have asked me first what type of polish she was going to use before she began. ALEX said fine it will be $40 for both but i have to take off the gel from your toes and do it all over again with regular nail polish. I was appalled, she had already swiped my card for $40 and i sat down for her to redo my toe nails. Which is a waste of product and time. Bad customer service. After she removed the nail polish with the filer she was gonna put nail polish on my toe nails without wiping off the dust and i said excuse me you have to clean it with alcohol or else its going to look bumpy when you put nail polish on top and she said ok. She finished doing my toe nails and did not even clean up the edges around it, as you can see on the pictures i have attached. I was so appalled and i told her to give me back the $3 tip i gave Lisa because now my toes look horrible and it was both their miscommunication, so she goes and tells her and when Lisa gives me the $3 she said to me "you're crazy.".....incredibly RUDE!!! Alex was right next to me when she said that and didn't even tell Lisa to ask for an apology. I turned to Alex and said you have bad customer service and will leave a bad review of what you've done and i left. I will never come back here again and neither will my family members, what a lost...

I normally enjoy coming here; never had a single thing to complain about until today. I came in for a full set to start my nails over fresh but it was suggested to me that I get a fill with gel instead- which I am normally charged $30. As Tom starts to do my nails he fails to ask me how long I want my nails or if I even wanted them shaved down at all. He instead took it upon himself to shave my nails more than half way down & because they were extremely short “I couldn’t get my usual coffin style because it wouldn’t look right wl nails that short”; then he tells me coffin would be extra on top of the fill anyway. Now again normally when I come here my nails are fairly long & coffin style WITH the gel & I am only charged $30 out the door... every time. He not only gave me nubs but I was not able to get the style I wanted & he proceeds to charge me $3 extra ($33) for the fill while trying to convince me the whole time “look how nice, they look so much better”. I am very particular about my nails especially when I have my heart set on how/what I want them to look like. I am highly upset with today’s results & will not be asking for Tom’s...