HighPark Nail Bar — Attraction in Wake Forest

UPDATE: not even 3 days later, the nail that he damaged and made bleed had the polish chip right off.

I visited HighPark Nail Bar today at 3pm and had made an appointment for an acrylic removal and gel manicure. My husband came in with me and sat next to me at the table. I had Khoi, who decided it would be okay to trim down my acrylics, and then use an artificial nail tip to jam it in between my natural nail and acrylic nail to remove them. Mind you, these acrylics were very well done by another salon and they were not budging. It was unbelievably painful. He didn't look up at all to see if I was okay. I kept wincing at my husband and then Khoi proceeded to force the one off my left thumb and broke my natural nail and cut the nail bed underneath. No apology. Just silently repaired it and kept moving.

For starters, I have never had acrylics professionally removed by any other method than soaking them, and he just decided that he didn't need to do that. He rushed through my gel manicure as well, and I was in his chair for 30 minutes even. That type of appointment is listed on the website as taking an hour and 10 minutes for a gel manicure and acrylic removal. He spent about 10 minutes on the acrylic removal (should have taken 15 minutes, according to the website) and 20 minutes on the gel manicure (should have taken 55 minutes, also according to the website). My husband and I had both ordered drinks from the bar, and they were very strong but okay. By the time the actual manicure had finished, Khoi slapped some lotion on my hands and arms and barely rubbed it in (I had my husband wipe it off for me) and then put two VERY hot towels on my arms and slapped them and then took them off. Didn't check to see if anything was too hot, he just flippantly threw them on. He then dumps a handful of this sugar scrub that was in an unlabeled container and tells me to wash my hands. Uh? I have never had to do a sugar scrub myself, let alone at the very end of the appointment, after lotion and hot towels. Whatever was in those products gave me an allergic reaction that caused bumps to form on the back of my hands.

As we were checking out, my husband and I were speaking with the guy at the front desk and said we weren't pleased with the quality of work today and that I had damaged nails from Khoi's "work". Khoi emerges from the back and my husband asks the front desk if they can do anything to comp us for Khoi's mistakes. Khoi then comes up to me and starts telling me, while laughing, that they do acrylic removals that way, to save time and to "keep hands from getting dry". The manager ultimately agreed to comp both mine and my husband's drinks and we were on our way. Khoi was so unprofessional, did not apologize for my nails and the damage he caused to them. Not to mention it was the WORST manicure I have ever had. He didn't prep my nails at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they start chipping soon, as other reviews have stated. We will not be back.

PS: my acrylics were done by Lavish Nails the day before my wedding, and I will definitely be...

Today I had the worst customer service experience of my life at this nail salon, and I’ll never be back. I had a routine dip appointment with Nick, a technician I’ve always liked. I chose a color (number 43), but once Nick started, I noticed the shade was more moss green than the seafoam green I wanted. After pointing it out, Nick suggested trying a darker color, which turned out even worse. I expressed my dissatisfaction, but since it was late and closing time was near, Nick suggested finishing the appointment and coming back on Monday to fix it. I agreed. However, when Nick spoke to the manager, I was told the color actually looked great on my skin and that I should wear it for two weeks because it’d be unfair to redo the work. To make matters worse, I was then told not to come back on Monday to fix it, as it would be unfair to the other technicians. I’ve been a loyal customer for over a year, and to be told to accept something I didn’t like and then not allowed to fix it is unacceptable. As a business owner myself, I know that customers should always come first, and clearly, this salon has lost sight of that.

Update: Since I wasn’t sure how to directly respond to management’s comment, I’ve decided to share my thoughts here. I stand by my original review, as the statements made by management are inaccurate. I was told it would be unfair to return on Monday to have the issue corrected—yet management now claims otherwise, which simply isn’t true. I was offered a $10 discount on a $50 service, which I declined multiple times. Despite that, I still ended up paying $60 with tip. I made it clear to the manager that I wasn’t seeking a discount as I’m always happy to pay for services rendered. However, when a concern is raised, whether to management or the technician, it should be addressed promptly and professionally. As I mentioned before, I expressed dissatisfaction with the color after the very first nail was dipped. There was ample time to switch colors, but the technician repeatedly reassured me that the shade would even out after multiple dips and resemble what I had requested. To now claim that the issue couldn’t be corrected because I didn’t speak up soon enough is simply false. During our conversation, the blame was consistently shifted onto me for not informing the technician—despite the fact that I did. It’s disheartening to see inaccurate information presented publicly as if it were fact. Moving forward, I hope management understands the importance of listening to clients and resolving concerns in a timely and respectful manner. Additionally, if a technician agrees to correct a service on a different date, management should not override that agreement or tell a dissatisfied customer that returning would be “unfair.” That comment, along with the overall handling of the situation, is what led to my negative experience and review. When a business misrepresents events that didn’t occur, it erodes trust. Unfortunately, this experience has made me reluctant to return, and I hope future patrons are treated with more care and...

It is disappointing that I have no other option than to write a negative review. Especially since my first visit here was so good! But yesterday, I had the worst experience I have ever had at a service establishment. My services were both done by a technician named Cindy. At first, she seemed pleasant. But after my pedicure, I stepped to get up and I stepped onto water all over the floor. I slide, she did ask if I was okay, but then preceded to tell me to be careful, as if I was a toddler. Then she started to work on my nails. I could tell she was not happy after the water incident. I put my headset in and let her do my powder set. Well, she was so agitated that she accidentally knocked over the white powder jar. She was not happy! She was angry and got really quick and hasty with me. She tossed the brush down and was trying to finish my powder set as soon as possible. She was done in no time and my nails show it. She proceeded to tell me to go by “her”, which was my SIL. She did not put oil on my nails or anything. I reached to take out my headset to ask her about it, and she hollered at me, “No, don’t touch, no don’t do that!” She did not stop, everyone looked at me. I treated here her with respect throughout this experience. She however was extremely rude and disrespectful. Later she came back and put oil on my nails, and told me to go wash my hands. I have never been treated as rudely by anyone!!! She never apologized for either the water being all over floor or for hollering at me. When I paid, Julia (who is always so sweet and kind) asked how my services were. I showed her my nails and told her what happened. She was very apologetic and asked for my cell number. She said Kevin, the manager was on the way in. She said he would call me. I waited over 24 hours and no one called me. We all work too hard to pay for this kind of treatment. If I had received a phone call from management, it would of at least made me feel as if they cared about their customers. Such a sad thing to have to write this review, and to know management did not care enough...