Not only did a perfectly lovely and relaxing pedicure by Tasha get zapped, but a wonderful facial by Jennifer, and then a fantastic all modalities (what did she miss?!) massage by Kathleen, were also zapped by the checkout process by a rather unpleasant woman named Emily.
This happens so often that I realized it was finally time to write about it, because in the spa industry, not only does the first (usually phone) impression make or break a booking, but thanks to the delivery of great spa services, a bad initial impression can often be undone. However, it's the check-out impression that can truly make or break a repeat visit from a repeat-type customer. And, in this case, the last impression, was a pretty bad one.
First off, Emily had no record (from Sarah?) that I was eligible for the 20% discount the spa offers between 1-4 p.m. weekdays (and 9-11 a.m. too), but truth be told, she should have figured that out based on the clock on the wall, and offered it to me anyway since the signs are clearly posted just outside the spa's doors and in the lobby of the Hotel Monaco where we stayed 2 days earlier and how I came to learn about the spa and its specials.
If I hadn't asked for it, I clearly wouldn't have gotten it b/c she stated that my total for the services was the full-price quoted in their brochure. When I shared that Sarah had assured me when I booked it that I was eligible for the discount, she looked miffed, and then stated a new price which was lower, but still wasn't right. I was certain of this, because prior to booking the appointments, I had done the math to confirm that with the discount, I could tip well and end up at the exact same amount of what appeared to be an affordable package which even included lunch at the hotel's restaurant (tasty enough, but not worthy of a serious review).
Well, apparently, since I spoke up and pointed out 2 errors, the exchange then became both terse and tense, and of course, there was no "thank you" at the end, and not even the all-too-standard these days, "there ya go." Just silence....REALLY??
Needless to say, and regardless of all the talented practitioners there, I won't be returning to this spa. I found the check-out so painful I even went against Spa Spy policy and wrote this pretty negative review about it. I'm sorry, but spa self-care is pricey in the best of times, but in today's economy, it's completely unacceptable to use hard earned money to support this kind of bad service. Next time, perhaps I'll put the money towards retail therapy and buy a cool new pair of shoes!
