SOHO SANDTON CITY, JOBURG, NYC Salon — Local services in Gauteng

It should be noted that I initially posted review on another beauty salon review site. After the owner, Getty Gizaw accused the site of removing her comments and accused me of being a paid writer via email, I sent her an email in response to advise that I was a client and that dealing with the public, whether they're satisfied or not is part of her profession.

I received an email response back from owner even though she had the platform and opportunity to post a public response to my review and quickly resolve the situation, but she chose to write a private one - and it was easy to see why - she did not want to resolve anything, but wanted to be privately rude, sarcastic and irresponsible with her response to me.

So, I published her response online - then I received threatening emails from her and her lawyer, advising that I had acted unlawfully, they demanded that I remove the "defamatory remarks" and take down her response. I was forced to amend some of the wording and the review website was demanded to remove the salon profile and with it, my review and her reply.

Here is my review of my experience at SoHo:

SoHo NYC Beauty Salon. Having frequented New York City, the name held so much promise, the location, - Sandton City - a tip-top Joburg shopping centre and the loft style decor made me feel like I had arrived. The disappointment I left with matched my enthusiasm upon entry.

South Africa is generally lacking when it comes to customer service delivery, and SoHo is sadly no exception. It was easy to spot where the problem stemmed from - the owner, Getty Gizaw.

The prices are not cheap and this may be excusable due to the location. However, we experienced several incidences where hidden costs were automatically included when it came to paying. Firstly, the beverages. Any salon in Johannnesburg or indeed the modern world offers their clients complimentary beverages - tea, coffee, soft drinks. Not SoHo. When asked if they can get us a drink, we were delighted and ordered a cappuccino. Not only did it take 25 minutes to arrive but they charged us R27 a piece at payment! This is unacceptable, I made a point of stating that this is not usual and at the prices charged for treatments, clients should not be asked to pay for a drink! Getty sarcastically replied 'thanks for your thoughts, I WISH we could make coffee for our clients but we just don't have space or facilities; if we could afford to provide coffee, we would.' I believe SoHo is in the process of expanding, so I should hope they now have the 'space' and will have the 'facilities' to offer this most basic of client service. And for a R370 pedicure, I'm pretty sure they can afford coffee, tea, water and milk. What a farce.

The person who did my mani was pleasant and professional. She suggested I buy some cuticle oil as it will get rid of my hang nails. I said 'that sounds like it might help'. At tilling up, I was asked to pay R350. My mani was supposed to be R260. The hostess said that I had asked for the cuticle oil and they were charging me for a bottle! Pardon? I swiftly asked for it to be removed as I had not asked for it.

My friend went for a pedi (R300), she got charged R370. The owner and hostess advised that this was for the quick dry varnish and something else that the pedicurist had used. At no point did the pedicurist advise that it would cost extra. This was made known to the owner who adamantly insisted that the ladies always tell clients when they're using something in addition to the usual. How are clients (who are first timers) supposed to know about the extra charges? And how, are these hidden charges acceptable under the Consumer Protection Act?

The abrupt manner of the owner and the questionable conduct that resulted in us being overcharged will certainly not encourage a return visit.

I only hope this salon stops taking advantage of clients and that same clients start asking as many questions as I did today. An utterly disappointing visit never to be repeated. My experience,...

Update: mar 12 2025- I can see a bunch of reviews were added at the same time after my review, to offset this one, including one mentioning they were there the day my card kept “declining” which is a lie because my service finished after the store closed around 9:30 and no one else was in the store expect for staff. I also only tried my card once before it was blocked, not multiple times. What sense would that make? I don’t understand why this store is so threatened by honest reviews to the point they have to get people to lie. If you are confident in how you handled the situation you would not feel the need to do that. Even the security guard who was made to hang around was shocked at how this was being handled.

Anyways, me review below stands!

I’ve been a loyal customer at Soho in Cape Town for years—over 50 visits. The staff know me well, I’ve always paid and tipped well for my services without issue, and I’ve even brought countless friends to support their business. But after my experience at their Sandton location, I will never return. I have never experienced this kind of treatment ANYWHERE before.

Yesterday, I went in for a mani-pedi, but my (international) card was unexpectedly blocked. I spent an hour trying to resolve it but couldn’t due to call restrictions and not being able to reach family in Canada for assistance. I explained the situation to the staff and manager, assuring them I could return the next day to settle the bill since the store was already closing. Instead of showing any understanding, they refused to let me leave and even called security to wait outside, treating me as if I were a criminal.

For context, I did have a balance from last year due to a situation at their Cape Town location. Twice in a row, I was denied service 90 minutes before closing, so I left a review. Management reached out, acknowledged the mistake, and invited me back, but I was leaving the country the next day and couldn’t return. To make up for it, they insisted on sending a home treatment. When the technician arrived, they had no card reader, so I asked how to pay. They requested an e-wallet transfer—which I couldn’t do because I don’t have a local bank account. They assured me I could settle it when I was back in South Africa, which I made clear would be months later. Given my long-standing relationship with them, I trusted this wouldn’t be an issue.

Now, back in the country but living in Johannesburg, I went to the Sandton location as usual—only to be treated like a thief. A blocked card can happen to anyone. I even offered to withdraw cash from the ATM using my backup card to pay off part of the bill and return to clear the balance once my main card was unblocked. Instead, I was escorted to the ATM by security as if I were trying to run away without paying. Before leaving, I was threatened by the owner with a permanent ban from all Soho locations if I didn’t return to pay the next day—as if I would ever come back after this humiliation.

I came in Monday to pay the r650 balance, like I promised, But after years of loyalty, a great relationship with the staff, and even meeting the owner, I can’t believe I was treated this way. Never have I experienced anything close to this. It was unnecessary, embarrassing, and completely unacceptable.

I will never return.

UPDATE – MAR 11, 2025:

After settling my balance and leaving this review, someone from the store—presumably the owner—reached out with a lengthy message essentially threatening to post CCTV footage of me at the store if I didn’t take this review down. This is absolutely disgusting and only further highlights their terrible customer service practices. I’ve now seen in another review that this isn’t the first time they’ve made such a threat, which speaks volumes about how they handle criticism. Instead of taking accountability or even attempting to apologize, they’ve doubled down with excuses and intimidation tactics—only reinforcing my decision to never return. Truly...

This is going to the a lengthy review and if one sees my reviews, they will know that I am usually fair and I have used the same vain for this review.

I was in Johannesburg for business meetings before going to Cape Town. I stayed at the Sandton Sun Hotel which is linked to the malI and hence Soho Nails. I came in a little after 4pm and explained that I had only an hour and a half max for a manicure and pedicure which they confirmed was possible.

The reception and welcome was excellent and I cannot complain about that. The lady who did my pedicure was also excellent and did a very good job. My manicure on the other hand done by Petronella was an absolute disaster! She did an extremely poor job on the manicure and overlay to the point I enquired if this is how nails are done in SA. She used only manual equipment bruising my cuticles in the process and leaving them in such a poor untidy state that even a student nail technician would be embarrassed by! She kept saying she had to leave on time and this could have been the reason she was in a rush. I know I am repeating myself but I have never in my life had such a poorly done manicure especially for the price! She proceeded to do a shoddy job with the shape of the nails and apply the heaviest layer of polish which I am sure was to hide the awful job she had done. I rarely complain but this was so bad to the point that I requested to speak to the manager. I was due to fly to Cape Town the next day and asked to come back before my flight to get the mess corrected. I was advised that the Joburg branch was not open on Wednesdays. The manager advised me to go to their branch in Cape Town where my issues would be resolved.

To say that I was unhappy, would be an understatement. Other than the poor workmanship, over 2 hours of my time was wasted that day and in the end I had to ask them to remove the nail polish as it was a real embarrassment which made me late for a speaking engagement.

I went to the Cape Town branch and as usual the welcome was fantastic. My toes were repainted and the nail technician who saw my nails and redid my manicure was shocked at how poorly my nails were done. I asked him if I had presented with my nails that way, how long would it appear I last had a manicure. He and the receptionist both separately agreed it looked like I did my nails 3 weeks ago. These were done 3 days ago! Thankfully the Cape Town nail technician resolved my issues by redoing the full manicure from scratch! This was unlike the pedicure which was only a paint repair job that I know I contributed towards messing up but no doubt worsened by Petronella trying to 'correct' the issue by using her usually 'whack a thick layer' on approach to everything!

I know that this might not be the norm for Soho Nails as the reviews and my personal experience are at extreme opposites. I probably suspect the individual involved is probably inexperienced or unqualified. Irrespective of this, it is really wrong for a business to let such a technicians waste over two hours of a client's time no matter how nice they and for that price. Yes, the service other than the poor manicure was great but I would rather a place with worse ambience and service but leave with beautiful...