Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa — Attraction in Vancouver

Hand and Stone Hazel Dell has horrible service! When employees flee, you know a business is in trouble!

I had been a member of Hand and Stone Hazel Dell since they opened (maybe 10 years ago?). The service since owner Andrew bought the franchise and Danielle took over as manager has taken a nosedive as has the quality of massages and facials.

Several times my appointments have been mixed up, canceled, or changed without notice. The front desk staff do not listen to customers' concerns, even when the appointment information is available at their fingertips. They are overly triggered, rude and hang up when there is a problem with an understandably frustrated customer. Zero accountability. Assistant manager (Ashley?... some name with an "A") was unprofessional and unapologetic when she confused my appointment and tried for 10 minutes to send me to Camas, despite me insisting I had never been to Camas and had never booked there. This information was available to her - she asked my name four times - yet it was easier for her to argue with me about my facts. She also created a massively confusing situation by not knowing the difference between 1,600 points (their bonus program) and 16,000 points.

The source of most of the problems is manager Danielle who plays the passive aggressive and clearly doesn't believe the basics of customer service: listen to the customer, the customer pays your salary, the customer is right. She is currently turning away customers for "medical reasons" based on hearsay, insisting they have doctors notes to prove they don't have concerning medical conditions, relying on an unwritten and unproduced "policy". She cancels appointments without the courage or courtesy of a phone call to explain cancellation, wasting customers' time. This not only happened to me but also to another customer in the waiting room who showed up at the same time for an appointment that Danielle canceled.

When employees flee, you know a business is in trouble. Hand and Stone Hazel Dell used to have over 20 massage therapists but now has less than half a dozen. COVID is not to blame as many therapists returned upon reopening only to leave shortly after. The most experienced, those who had spent years at that location, are gone.

The business has become overly "lawyered". Each intake requires half a dozen disclosures (which they randomly choose to not believe) and a commitment to mediation (WHY?): 100% unnecessary overkill.

Canceling or freezing membership is a grueling process and often times the ball gets dropped. I was charged for 4 extra months because a front desk staff neglected to cancel my membership (when 6 of my favorite therapists fled). Danielle recognized the error but refused to refund my money, no small chunk of change. When you do finally cancel, they add insult to injury and charge ANOTHER month.

If you want massage from a chain, Elements is the best in town and doesn't require a commitment or lawyering up. Massage Envy is also really good. Stay away from Hand and Stone, though I suspect they won't be in...

One of the worst experiences I have ever had with any business ever.

My husband asked me to call and cancel his monthly subscription (we recently moved out of the area and he hasn't been to Hand and Stone in over 2 years anyway).

When I called, I was told they would "just confirm with management and get that cancelled" for us.

To my surprise, we continued to be charged.

When I realized we were still paying $60/month, I called again and was told that they couldn't do anything without management approval. They told me to call back when Danielle (the manager) was next available.

When I finally spoke to Danielle, she told me something completely different. Apparently my husband needed to call and provide a signature. (Why I wasn't informed of this before is still a mystery).

When my husband called, they told him they would send him a cancellation form, which we did not receive (possibly a technical error, because I'm told it was definitely sent, but we did NOT receive it).

We continued to be charged.

A few days ago, I called again. Admittedly, I was upset at this point, but the person I spoke to (who I later found out is named Jada) was the rudest, most unprofessional person I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with.

I explained the situation, demanded that the recent charges be removed, and asked to speak to a manager. Her only response was that corporate policy requires a signature and that she had already sent the cancellation form when my husband called. I told her we had not received it.

She offered no apology for the continued charges, no commitment to pass my message along to management, and no offer to resend the cancellation form until I specifically requested it. When I asked for her name, she actually hung up on me.

I called back and was finally put in touch with a manager (...from a completely different location...).

I actually feel bad that she had to deal with me when I was so upset, given that she was powerless to do anything other than agree to pass my message along (which is obviously what she did).

I recently received a voicemail message informing me that the owners have decided to refund us for two of the four months we have been charged for since I was first told our subscription would be cancelled. I do appreciate that gesture.

I would advise the owners/managers to vet and train their front desk staff more carefully. They represent...

got a gift card a few years ago good for one introductory 50 minute massage or signature facial.. Told the person this info when booking that i had this type of gift card and just wanted to book whatever one it covered. The person on the phone made my appointment and took my gift card number even. I had a great experience with my esthetician Kaitlyn. I was going to tip her on my debit card when the lady at the front told me after my gift card i need to pay $70 just for the signature facial as it’s $129 for non members and I didn’t book it as an introductory appointment! I was so upset and frustrated but I told the front desk that wasn’t what was on their brochure that came with the gift card and it wasn’t my fault of how it got booked because I told the person who booked that appointment I wanted the introductory facial and have a gift card that’s good for that or a 50 minute massage. The receptionist just kept telling me sorry but you owe a remaining of $70 due to it not being booked as introductory and just regular rate. I stepped outside to call my husband since he had purchased this gift card a couple years ago before covid 19 and when I was outside on the phone another receptionist came out and said that I in fact didn’t owe anything and that there was just an error.. I was frazzled and frustrated I just left, I didn’t want to go back inside and deal with them a second longer and felt terrible for not tipping my girl who did my facial. She did a great job and the front office was lacking in a major way, super frustrating end and I most definitely will never go back or...