Modern Nail Bar - Navy Yard/Capitol Riverfront — Local services in Washington

Poor reviews are true. I read the reviews detailing poor customer service and quality of nail care, but I decided to give Modern Nail a try because I live one block away and my usual place (that I’ve been going to for 11 years) closes early and I needed the service that day. I called midday and asked to make an appointment for a regular manicure and pedicure at the latest possible slot they had that same day (they close at 9pm). I spoke with a man who first said “8pm?” Then said “7:45pm?” I told him 7:45pm was great an he took my name and phone #.

When I arrived a few minutes before my scheduled appointment time, a younger guy at the front desk (not the man I spoke with) asked for my name and appeared to check the schedule. Then he walked over to a female employee in the middle of a pedicure and spoke softly into her ear. He turned around and said they couldn’t take me because all of their employees were busy with other clients and there was not enough time to serve me. When I protested that I made an appointment that day and was given the 7:45pm time, the male employee apologized and said there was nothing he could do. He added that they “only have 3 employees right now” because they “let 2 go home early.” When I asked why they would send people home early if they had an appointment, he mumbles something about it “not being fair to them.”

I have no idea what type of employer-employee dynamics go on there, so employees who left could have had good reason to leave early. However, I was appalled that they would take an appointment, take my name and number, and then fail to either honor that appointment OR CALL ME TO TELL ME. I literally rushed through an in person meeting to get there on time and by then it was too late to try to find another salon because all others in the area close at 8pm or earlier.

I try to give businesses the benefit of the doubt if they have some positive reviews but I’m not doing that anymore for nail salons. And I would never, ever go to Modern Nail again. I will caution neighbors to take their...

This is a beautiful salon. However, it is very apparent the staff here can't perform even a basic gel manicure or SNS dip. $90 (plus $15 top EACH for each technician for one service) spent and I HATE my nails and found the entire experience stressful. This salon will not be in business for long.

During my visit, I was passed between three technicians just to do a basic SNS dip. I picked out a white color, requesting a round shape, and was convinced that a different powder by OPI would last longer and it was the same color (this is now my second technician working on my hands). The first technician filed my nails to prep for the dip, and then abruptly left the salon after asking another technician how to perform this service. I was then asked to move stations (to the gentleman who swapped my dip color).

Two technicians were sitting around with nothing to do, and a patron walked in requesting a gel polish change. She sat for 10 mins before someone asked to see her nails, and then the technician claimed she couldn't do the gel polish change because "she would be disappointed with her work". Common theme, huh?

That technician then comes over to my nails and forces the second technician to take over the gel polish change and she would finish me. She then instructs me to come over to her station (third station I've been moved to for this one service). The technician then jokes about how she used to hate being swapped technicians when she would get her nails done and I indicated that "yeah, she was the third person to work on my nails today...".

It's very apparent the workers here do not enjoy working here, and work for a manager who "will not give them raises". I want so badly to get my nails fixed, but I can't imagine going back to this salon with the atmosphere and lack of customer service. At least there customers were turned away because the salon was an hour from closing, and the technicians didn't want to do gel manicures....

I have never written a review before, but the absolute sham that this place is prompted me to warn others!! If I could give this 0 stars, I would. Absolutely terrible, unprofessional service with poor quality manicures and pedicures. I made an appointment at 10am through the online portal for an acrylic manicure, pedicure and eyebrow wax. At 10am no one was there, and I waited until 10:15am for a single employee to open the shop. At the time, it was myself and another woman waiting. At about 10:15-10:20am the employee took the other woman and let me know she was "calling the other employees" and they would be there in 15-20 minutes. 30 minutes later she said it would still be "15-20 minutes." At one point, there were 8 people waiting and 1 employee. Additional employees finally arrived around 11. The employee who had first opened the shop had completely finished the pedicure before I was seen after over an hour of waiting (WITH an appointment). In waxing my eyebrows, she burst a blood vessel under my eyebrow from ripping the paper off harshly. The pedicure was fine, the acrylic nails were awful and thicker/wider at the edge of the nail and overall very sloppy. Less than 24 hours later, they had already chipped! When checking out I pointed out that I had waited over an hour for the service and asked if there was anything they could do, to which they said no and charged me $115 for the poor services. Please save your time and money and book services at any of the other Navy Yard salons like Cosmopolitan, Mimosa, or Lux in Capitol South. I strongly recommend not coming to...