QQ Nails & Spa — Local services in New York

AVOID

I don’t normally take the time to write reviews but I felt like I had to with this place. I came here for a gel manicure and had the most awful experience. To preface this; I have been getting gel manicures about every 2 weeks for the past 5 years. I have NEVER had an experience like this one. First off, the tools are dirty. They don’t sanitize the cuticle cutters or any of their equipment with UV light or anything noticeable. I could see a pile up of dead skin on the cuticle cutters and had to ask them to clean them.

Second, when they removed my old gel they over used the dremel tool, to the point where it physically hurt my nails because they had ground down to the nail, past the old gel. Never in any other salon did I ever have pain when they removed my old gel. My nails were immediately brittle and weak which other people have also complained about on reviews.

But most importantly they were rude. During the curing process I noticed that the polish on my thumbs was warping. Hard to describe but it was bubbling and curling in on itself. I pointed it out to my manicurist and she got upset with me because she thought I smudged the polish by touching something. I didn’t, I’m extremely careful and totally would have owned up to it if it was my fault. She re-did the nail but it happened again, at which point the manager came over. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t moving my hands and that I thought it was a defect with the polish itself, I wasn’t blaming anyone. She then proceeded to put my hand under the UV light herself because she didn’t trust me that I wasn’t smudging it. Okay. When it happened again she blamed me that I was taking my hand out of the UV light too soon. I told her that this had never happened to me before, and that I’ve been getting gel for years and I was not doing anything incorrectly. They redid the nails and it looked passable, and it had been over 1 hour so I told them it was fine and I left. The second I got home the polish began to peel and bubble.

For $47 plus tip, this is insane. I would go back there to have them fix it but I’m terrified of them drilling my nails down even...

While I've visited QQ nails a few times on 479 3rd ave, my most recent experiences have been disappointing so I won't be returning.

During one visit, the technician was pretty aggressive with the electric nail drill and damaged all of my nails--making them paper thin and for some, made irreparable dents. It took months for my nails to get strong as they used to be and the dents from the drill persisted until the nails grew out completely. I never removed gel manicure from here again.

On another occasion, I requested a French manicure with regular polish. Unfortunately, the technician struggled to achieve a clean and even look. The white tip band was thick, lumpy, and inconsistent, almost as if a child painted it. Despite politely requesting corrections, the technician's response felt dismissive and unprofessional. On top of that, she was saying some things to her colleagues in their native language--I couldn't understand but I wasn't getting nice looks from her colleagues which made me think that they were talking smack about me. Another sign of unprofessionalism.

What made me really angry was their ridiculous refund policy and the front lady's attitude. Once I realized the technician's skills were not good enough to make my french manicure look presentable (after 3 nails were painted), I opted for a regular manicure instead. Since I had paid extra for the French manicure, I assumed that I'd receive a refund for the difference. Since I paid extra $7 for french manicure, I assumed that they'd give me a refund for services I didn't get. I was wrong. They offered me a $7 coupon to bring with me next time I come back, but I knew that I'd never return after today. After I complained and asked for $7 in cash for the sake of principle, the front desk lady with an attitude told me I was responsible for changing my mind and implied they were doing me a favor with the coupon. I was at a loss for words.

Overall, my experiences at QQ have been marked by uneven quality, unprofessional service, and an unreasonable refund policy. I would advise potential customers to carefully consider these factors before...

Update: I returned back and this manicure was excellent. Very meticulous and a lot of care given. My husband also got a pedicure and was treated very well. He enjoyed it. Maybe the day I last came in was an off day, or the different technician made a big difference, but I am happy with my new manicure…

I have gone to many other QQ nails locations and always had an excellent experience. However, at this location, the tech they placed me with was a young man who seemed not to have much experience. When I pointed out issues as he was working, he didn’t seem to respond, either because he did not understand or was not concerned. Instead of using acrylic tips and filling my nails in, he used the buffer drill to try to buff the existing acrylics down. He used plastic tips. I should’ve refused to continue, so that’s on me, but the result is that the plastic nail he put on my thumb broke the next day, and there are bubbles on many other nails. Within a week, the gel color is coming off. I was upset because these nails were for Diwali, and I didn’t have time to get them redone. I asked for a discount, but the manager said she would give me my next appointment free of charge, but I asked if she would put a note in my account, but she said that she would remember me. I will be calling to see if I can get my free appointment and will update as necessary. I do feel that because I am not white, and I was dressed down (I was out doing errands) that impacted their treatment of me. Perhaps they assumed that I could not pay well for the service. In any case I paid $80 for this service and was...