Nail Queen inc — Local services in Holly Springs

SHORT: Told it would cost me 57$ and charged me 100$ and will not refund. Was pushed into doing my nails a way that I could not afford and most certainly did not like. Unpleasant technicians working on my toes. Ended up re-doing my toes at home they looked so terrible. Would not recommend to ANYONE!

LONG: I got my nails done here yesterday, December 12, 2012, and I had spoken to the owner on the phone about how much it would cost to get my nails done. She told me that it would cost 22 for the classic pedicure (I just had them painted sparkley blue for Christmas), in addition to 25 for a full set ( I just wanted blue tips with a decorative snowflake on 2 nails on each hand, again for Christmas). She told me that nail art was 5 dollars. I verified that the the total of my appointment would be 52 dollars, not including tip. She confirmed this with me.

Fast forward to when I got into the store (about 30 minutes later). The store looked nice and was clean. It is run by a mom, and a family of 4 sisters, 1 brother, and another unrelated employee. I walk in and tell them my name and the person talking to me starts yelling for Steve (the brother) to come out from the back to do my pedicure. About 5 minutes later Steve comes out do my nails. While he is working on my nails he does not say a word to me. His English was fine because he was speaking to his sisters occasionally. He simply would tap my legs when he wanted me to put them back into the water or lift a new one up. One of the sisters, Carol, came to do my nails and I explained to her what I wanted "a clear tip added with gel polish on top - not acrylic - and a simple light blue tip painted on to match my toes." She responded by saying, "Eww, why do you want them painted on?" I was a little caught off guard by how she responded. I told her I like the look of the tips painted on because it makes the nail thinner with the gel polish and painted tip. To which she said, "Oh no, not really, look at these [jar of acrylic tip colors] this is how it will look when I am done." I said, "but it will still be thick", and she said, "oh no I will do it thin for you." I was embarrassed because of the 4 other people in the store sitting next to me and so I just told her I would do the normal acrylic nail. I picked out the 2 light blue colors I liked and she responded by saying, "oh no, you need to do darker, it will make the snowflakes pop more." I told her I thought the light blue was more my style and she told me she didn't like it. At this point I am ready to say, "they are not your nails they are mine back off and just do what i ask please.," but I went ahead and did the dark blue like she recommended. I told her I liked the tips to be a thinner line, not big and bulky, and I wanted the nail to be thin. When she went to do the clear acrylic over the blue it was very thick and she also used a sparkley one rather than just the normal acrylic. She painted the snowflakes on my thumb and ring finger on each hand. It took about 10 minutes total.

The worst part... I still tipped 5 dollars, to be polite. And when I got home, the total of my bill was not 57 dollars, like I was told. It was 95 dollars, plus a 5 dollar tip, totaling 100 dollars. So I paid 100 dollars for these winter wonderland hooker nails that are thick, not even, and not the simple elegant that I would ever usually wear. Also, my toes were so bad I ended up taking off the polish and completely re-doing them myself. I called to find out why I was charged almost double what I was told and they said, "Oh sorry,the glitter acrylic is is 10 dollars more, so the blue tips and glitter acrylic were 20 extra, and the nail art is 5$... 5$ per nail, so that is 40$ extra" and they won't refund my money! They said they gave me a service and they believe they did their job.

I would not recommend this...

I waited a week to post this review for a couple of reasons. I didn’t want to post out of frustration and sound like a bashing session, but hopefully offer a bit of constructive feedback. I will not mention names for the same reason. I was referred to Nail Queen by my hair stylist who told me to ask for her nail tech. I did just that but she was off that day. I stayed because I was impressed by the warm reception and the organization of the staff. I asked for an SNS & a Pedicure.

The nail tech that worked on my SNS was the only tech not dressed like the others with their white covers. Her technique for removing my SNS was a bit rough (different) than what I’m used too. I noticed several people who came in after me requesting the same service had come and gone. By the time she finished my nails had a very thick layer (unnatural) although I requested that it not be too thick. She then noticed I had quite a bit of gel around the skin of my fingers and all over my hands. She proceeded to use a drill on my skin to get it off 😳... the rest I peeled off at home. After letting them dry she instructed me that I was done and to go wash them. While washing them I noticed a few of my nails had a sticky residue on them...I’m guessing the top coat. I showed them to another tech because I could not find my tech. The apparently more seasoned tech told me she did them wrong and that she had a different technique than the rest of the techs. The seasoned tech called her over and showed her what was wrong and began to help her re-do the last layer of the nails that were messed up. While sitting there the seasoned tech came over on my side to inspect but accidentally stepped on my not-dry pedi. She was very apologetic and the whole shop including myself got a laugh out of the unbelievable events happening to me. She and the pedi tech tried to fix the design on the toe that was messed up. Although I did not like the “fix” I succumbed because I was ready to go. It had already been over 2 hours.

I went to checkout thinking surely she’d offer a discount or something but that was not the case. I paid $75 (which included a decent tip because I don’t believe in not tipping).

I’m thinking management couldn’t have been on site that day because surely something would have been done to compensate. I’m also shocked that when a new client comes in as a referral asking for a specific tech...you wouldn’t get one of the better techs to work on them if who they asked for wasn’t available. Referrals are the life of a business.

I’d love to hear back from management...

Worst experience in a long time. I stopped getting my nails done a year ago and started painting my own natural nails. I rather enjoy the time for self care and I was tired of the salon environment . Once manicure kits like olive and June came out - it was a game changer for me.

Several days ago I fell and landed on my hand and broke several nails further down in my nail bed and thought no problem - go get acrylic overlay to save the nails, let them grow back out, and be on my way. I arrived at 9 on the dot when they opened. Explained I just needed a very thin overlay on my nails to protect the broken ones until they grow out. I had actually broken my thumb nail days before and that’s what I had done for just that 1 nail at a different salon - wish I had just gone back there because they did exactly what I needed - but it’s further away - I digress.

After explaining everything they placed me with a woman and immediately I knew she wasn’t understanding. I kept explaining. She kept nodding yes and kept doing the opposite. The overlay was so thick. I finally say something and they explain to the woman and she keeps going. Still thick. And now not understanding the shape. At this point I ask if someone else can take over.

After waiting another 40+ minutes the person I first spoke to took me. Filed them down. Fixed them the best she could. And then thankfully told me the polish I wanted would be an additional 20. I’m glad she said something before she did it. I declined and she polished my nails. 2 hrs and 45 minutes later I was finally done and I am reminded why I stopped coming to salons. A waste of time and money. I will go back to the other salon for any future needs but try to avoid them all together. Today only confirmed why I stopped doing this in the...