Hoover Nail and Spa — Local services in Hoover

There were a lot of pluses about this place, but- at the same time- a lot of negatives. Ended up giving it 3 stars to balance em out.

I had a pedicure and eyebrow appt scheduled today beginning at 4PM. The guy at the front who's fluent in both English and Vietnamese and doubles as a real estate agent was very friendly, efficient, and got me set up with Jimmy to do my pedicure even though I was 10-15 mins early (Nguyen was his last name, but I forgot the first name).

The place was clean, well-organized, and stocked well with polishes all over the walls. The guy up front offered me a series of sodas or water, but I had a big gulp-sized water jug with me and declined.

The massage chair Jimmy had me set up at was wonderful. It had all the bells and whistles and everything worked perfectly.

I got the deluxe pedi for $45 and Jimmy did a great job with the massage. He was very delicate and gentle when moving my legs. He didn't jerk me around like some nail techs tend to (usually female). I was pretty taken aback when the whole pedicure was over in 30 mins. I guess I'm used to the price being commensurate with the duration of the services, but not here.

It was disappointing, however, to see the quality of the shaping and paint job. I didn't know who to ask for when I arrived even though there were several techs available. Even still, your least experienced tech should still be able to adequately file and paint toes within the lines or- at a minimum- correct mistakes with acetone if needed. That wasn't the case. (Pics of left and right feet)

On top of that, nothing was done to my cuticles which is the main reason I get pedis- they grow uncontrollably and need to be cut down every couple weeks.

While I was letting my toes dry, I overheard another regular there ask for wine. Realized quickly unless you're there several times, you're not offered the good stuff. Made it a point to ask for white wine since I, too, was a paying customer.

Jimmy let me sit in the seat and continue enjoying the massage chair until a lady who was, let's say not as delicate, came to get me to do my eyebrows.

When I got in her room, I apologized to her that I still had my makeup on thinking I'd put her out because she'd have to remove it with alcohol wipes, as is customary. She didn't. She just waxed over the makeup, picking up barely a hair.

Then, she points out that I have a mustache (thanks, by the way) and asks if I want her to do it. I politely tell her "no", that I'd do it at home. Guess what? She either didn't understand or pretended not to and waxed it anyway.

As someone who has super sensitive skin, my skin breaks out enough when the makeup is removed before waxing- and that's just my eyebrows. I have to back-to-back Christmas parties to attend tomorrow and the next day so there's no telling how many zits will pop up between now and then.

The worst part is I actually had to pay her for something I'd asked her not to do. I usually tip 20-25%, even in this economy but I kept it a solid 18% after that stunt she pulled.

Felt kinda bad that the guy at the front gave me a free tube of lotion as a Christmas gift, but not that bad since it paid me back for the mustache debacle.

The folks who work there- overall- are sweet, but that's just too much to be paying for a subpar pedicure and unhygienic...

It's been hit or miss, but lately they've missed a lot. I've been coming to this location for years, since before the new management arrived. The new group refreshed the look and feel of the place and improved the customer experience when they first arrived. I used to be offered a beverage and treated very well. They would take the time to get to know me, make conversation while servicing me, and make sure everything was going well throughout the visit. The past few times I've gone, however, they've not been as cordial. I've had to ask for a drink on multiple occasions because I wasn't offered one. This was the case even when I'd brought my brother with me for the first time (which is more money for them). I've been in at least 2 chairs now and was not spoken to. On my recent visit, the guy just walked up and stood over me where I was sitting to look at nail colors. I asked, "Are you ready for me?" and he didn't respond. He just looked at me with a rude stare and continued to stand over me until I got up. He never spoke except to tell me to wash my hands and again at the end to ask my name and if I liked my nails, which were a disaster. My nails turned out super lumpy, he hurt my fingers several times cutting the skin, and I let him know it hurt but he didn't apologize. He was also on the phone with someone the entire time. My nails looked so bad, I had friends and family asking if I'd done them myself. I told them how much I spent and they said they would have gotten a refund. I came back the next day to get my nails fixed from that bad visit, and again, was given mediocre customer service. I was asked what was wrong when I came back in and then I was asked to "sit down over there" with a bit of attitude. A lady told me to come to the chair, and I explained how I wanted it fixed but she didn't get the shape right. I'd shown her a photo of what the nail tech did on me when it was done correctly, but since she couldn't get the shape right, she then insulted me, stating that it was my finger shape that made it look wrong... Then another girl took over the process, but she made my nails way too pointy. She had my nails looking like a cross between pointy cat teeth and bird claws. I asked her to round them out more and she tried to say that what she gave is the shape I wanted (after I'd also shown her the photo of what I had before). She filed again and asked me to see if I liked it now because "she didn't want me coming back asking for a different shape." I thought that was very rude. I'm not sure if she meant it the way it came across, but she didn't seem to care much. By the end of the visit, she did say thanks for coming back, but I don't know if I will come back again. They're overpriced for the service I've been getting lately. During this visit to fix the mistakes, they even wanted to charge me to change the color on the nails initially. They did end up changing the color for free, but I was very annoyed by that point. I cannot confidently recommend this place. I'm going to find somewhere else to...

I just came to the salon as I am new to the area and looked for a place with good reviews. Unfortunately this was the worst experience I have EVER had at a nail salon. Sam did my nails and he was very aggressive with my hands and the tools. I kept pulling back multiple times as he was hurting me and I told him that my nails were sensitive and he was still pretty aggressive. I understand some people might be a little rougher but this was obviously making me tense. Sam cut one of fingers….not surprised as he was being aggressive. As he began to do my full set, I asked for French tips and he asked me to show him a photo which I thought it was kind of odd since that’s a very popular mail style but I showed him a picture regardless I’m sure he probably wanted to see to be sure. He started to draw the white tip but didn’t add a light base….I had to ask him to do so which again I’m confused as to why that’s not a standard but once he did he applied the polish really messy and I could sense he was annoyed/frustraded. After multiple attempts of trying to do the white tip and me giving him more direction he got it somewhat right. I wanted to ask for someone else to do it but at that point he semi got it right but I could tell he was more annoyed/frustrated at this point. He was basically just painting the tip of the nail white without really connecting it to sides. The top coat he also applied it messy and I could tell he just wanted to be finished. I’m super disappointed and don’t ever plan to return to this salon. I do appreciate the person at the front who was very nice and let me know if the 10 day warranty on my nails but to be honest I don’t feel comfortably stepping back in there and two of my nails already feel kind of loose so I will most likely be going somewhere else to get them fixed. I left the salon with messy looking nails and that is very unfortunate, definitely...