Julie's Nails — Local services in Tempe

When I walked in, there were practically no customers there except 2 manicure customers. The employees all looked bored. I told the woman who greeted me that I wanted a pedicure. She picked up her scheduling book, walked over to a man who directed me to sit at a pedicure seating station. I told him that I wanted the organic pedicure ($70) with gel nail polish ($15). I thought he was going to do my pedicure but then I got handed off to a dude named T-bone. Yes: that's when it all went downhill. T-bone--like the steak. This guy sat down in blue jeans with a long biker punk chain looking like he just came from working on his car. He touched my feet like they were transmission parts. The experience was supposed to be relaxing but quickly became aggravating. First, the water was cool. "Could you please heat up the water? The water is cold," I asked him. I'm not sure what type of water system they have but he had to turn on the water of the pedicure station next to me (which was empty) in order to make mine warm. The water never really became comfortable. But I let it go. Next, he did not soften the soles of my feet before applying the foot scraper. Ouch! By the time is starting applying the sugar scrub to my also dry legs-before wetting them, he had my full attention because it's uncomfortable without first wetting the skin. At this point the prior young man came to him and said something in another language and laid down the pedicure bath powder on his nail cart--that was about the time I also realized that he skipped that entire step altogether. I said, you didn't soak my feet in the bath powder- he said, "I forgot but I'll do it afterwards." "No, no, no--you can't do that. You're lotioning my legs right now so you can't wash my legs after lotioning them, " I insisted. You only have to be an adult human to know that lotion goes on the skin after the bath or shower not before. I argued the point that I don't have a problem with him forgetting but I do have a problem with sensing that they were about to still charge me for the organic pedicure ($70) while skipping an entire step or just doing the steps in any ol' kind of way just to say they 'did it'. But guess what: after T-bone lotioned my legs and feet, he washed them any way. Who does that? Where'd this guy come from? It's as if the real manicurists didn't feel like working so they called him from 'round back for him to clinically experiment on me. Meanwhile, when another paying customer came in who was brighter, lighter, and younger, five alert and engaged employees emerged out of the woodwork practically fawning over her. It was notably cringe-worthy. Perhaps my money wasn't green enough. Perhaps they thought that this was my first manicure in my entire life. Perhaps they reserved their better manicurists/pedicurists for people who don't look like me. Perhaps. T-bone never apologized. The other man never attempted any type of customer service recovery. By the time I paid for the service, the man whose name I don't know asked me, "How was your pedicure?" Are you kidding me right now? It was terrible but I can tell that you're not interested in hearing why and the little point that I was trying to make, you justified it. Final straw, T-bone receiving a call in the middle of my pedicure from someone named _ (I've omitted the name), only added insult to injury. And THAT IS WHY I came to write THIS google review. I'm a business woman too so I understand that things happen but at least own your stuff and teach your employees some genuine customer service recovery. It goes a long way in preventing customers like me from airing your internal dysfunctional cultural biases. To other customers, beware of T-bone. If he is representative of all of the other employees, then stay away altogether. I truly believe he's doing his job in earnest but in ignorance. Rather or not he has a certification, he clearly has no idea...

The salon I normally go to was closed, and I was itching to get a gel mani/pedi as I haven't gone in a long time. I was greeted by a friendly woman, who I assume was the owner, after calling a couple hours prior and told me I could come in. I picked out my polish amongst the pristine, upscale salon.

I started picking up on some red flags, none of the other employees were smiling or just seemed tired. I passed it off, thinking it was due to it being a late Sunday afternoon. Nonetheless, it was a bit off-putting how obvious it was that no one actually wanted to be there. This thought had become more evident when I was met with the young woman that did my nails. I asked for a luxury gel pedicure and gel manicure; I was REALLY looking forward to a good hot stone massage and was ecstatic to find that they offer one! Great. Well... my "massage" was quick. It felt like just being lightly brushed with stones on my legs and then it was over — same goes for the scrubs/lotion. A few little rubs here and there and on to the next thing. Okay... this is not the pampering that I had been craving. Hmm.

Mind you, the ENTIRE time I sat with her, she kept looking around, looking around. Watching the door constantly, watching other people, and not talking at all. I'm not much of a talker myself, but this was just awkward. She clearly didn't want to be there. Which I understand, my job sucks. But if I'm paying for a service, you bet I expect some level of service.

I excuse it, and just hope I get out soon at this point. Which I do, but ended with a mediocre paint job on my nails. They weren't noticeably bad per se, as if a child did them, but the filing shape was uneven and the polish was lumpy. Almost like a nail tech student's work — similar or worse than. Maybe because she wasn't focused, and kept looking around the whole time? Idk. I could have done the same thing at home for free. But the point is, I wanted to treat myself. I was disappointed to say the least. If she had told me from the beginning to F-Off then I'd consider leaving a better review and I'd at least respect it more. Also, one of my polishes chipped soon after getting them done.

This whole experience prompted me to buy a UV light, watch YouTube, and practice doing my own gel nails. If I botch them, at least I didn't pay over $100 and I have the option to go elsewhere. I'm not quick to return...

I had a terrible experience at this nail salon and would not recommend it if you’re used to high-quality services, especially from places like Ukrainian or Russian nail salons.

I called ahead to confirm they could do a builder gel manicure and pedicure, was assured they could, and made an appointment. I also asked how long it would take (was told 1 hour, but it took nearly 2) and specifically asked about their removal process. They assured me they use an e-file, not soak-off.

When I arrived, two techs worked on me at the same time. One tech started removing my builder gel from another salon and shaped my nails beautifully. However, I noticed she began applying a product that didn’t look like builder gel. When I asked, she admitted she was using acrylic because she only does acrylics. The front desk person (who I spoke to on the phone) seemed visibly annoyed when she told him I wanted builder gel, and they switched me to another tech.

The second tech admitted he didn’t know how to properly remove the builder gel and suggested just filling it in. Ultimately, he applied regular no-chip polish instead of builder gel. The application was subpar—my nails burned during curing (which is not normal for high-quality builder gel), and hours later, they still hurt.

As for the design, I asked for a matte nude on my toes and initially wanted a nude base with red cat-eye French tips on my hands. They told me they couldn’t do that, so I settled for a full nude cat eye. After making me sift through color options, they claimed they no longer had the ones I picked because “no one asks for them anymore” or they “threw them out.” I ended up with matte nude nails, but the application was sloppy and lumpy. The tech repeatedly pushed polish back into the nail bed with his fingers, which hurt, instead of using a brush and remover. Also worth mentioning that no cuticles were trimmed.

Overall, the service felt dishonest, the quality was extremely poor, and I left feeling scammed out of $115. This place clearly lacks expertise in builder gel, and their hygiene practices and customer care need serious improvement. I wouldn’t...