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Manicure and pedicure. I've been wanting to get my nails done for ages, but never found the time (at least, not at a time when salons are open).
But I decided over a week ago, that come what may, I was getting them done Rosh Hashanah eve. Lots of cooking and cleaning would have been done, plus all the teaching I've been doing -- my poor hands and feet would really need the pampering.
So I made an appointment with the place my sister likes. The fact that they didn't bother to take my full name (or phone number) should have been a tip-off . . . Anyway, got there, found parking, and walked in, and was promptly ignored. Ok, I don't generally expect to be waited on hand and foot (well, I guess that IS what I was hoping for this time), but when a customer walks in, I'd think you would look up from your magazine?
"Um, hi, I have an appointment?"
Vague motions toward cabinet full of nail polish, "Pick a color." Ok, so I did, and started to look for where I was supposed to sit. Mind, I was starting to get a bit antsy, since I had told them that I needed this to take no more than the hour they had told me it would take (I had a kid to pick up from school). One woman told me to sit one place, the owner of that station said no, to sit in this other chair -- general vibe was, just don't sit where I have to deal with you, at least just yet.
And then I noticed the sign. "CASH ONLY." Uh-oh. I asked why I hadn't been told this on the phone, and got a shrug. Where is the closest ATM? "Two blocks down, at the little market." I went outside, walked half a block, and realized two things: it wasn't two blocks, it was over four; and this was crazy! I wasn't going to accept being treated like this. The idea here was for me to feel a bit pampered! So I hopped back in my car, and headed in the general direction toward my son's school, looking for another likely nail salon.
I found one. They were nice, they fit me in, they took credit cards, and they were great. At some point I was a tiny bit annoyed, because I thought I was getting the "spa manicure and pedicure" and had just asked for a regular one. But it felt so good, I couldn't mind much . . . and then it turned out to be the regular one.
And I got out of there with plenty of time to go get my son from school, even though I gave my nails an extra few minutes to dry.
I tipped well, and I will go back.
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I love manicures when my hands are sore and I am stressed. There are times when you just need to be pampered. I think it is great that you didn't stand for their laziness. There is no reason that they should turn your stress relief into a stressful situation.
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rivka, I'm glad you voted with your feet. Or car. Whatever.
Had you thought about dashing off a note to them as to why you ditched their popsicle stand, or would that just be compounding a negative experience?
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I thought about it, Sara. Especially since it was a place my sister liked (I thought). But having just found out from her that she ALSO had a (very different) bad experience, and it was actually her friend who liked the place . . . well, I don't see spending any more time and energy on 'em. *shrug*
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I would be tempted to go back and show off your new manicure and pedicure and say, "Thanks for ignoring me and sending me off to find a place that actually wants my business."
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It's a balance between trying to change what's bad in the world and just getting on with your life. Of late, I'm finding that trying to change what's bad in the world (in my eyes) is making my life worse ... which means putting more bad in the world.
So I'm just getting on with my life a lot more.
[ September 19, 2004, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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I just paraphrased that. They were basically saying, just because a customer isn't causing you trouble doesn't mean they are happy, and their most likely response is to never come back again if they are recieving poor service.
It is kind of the anti to the customer who complains about everything irrationally and makes your job very diffucult, and then threatens to never come back if you don't satisfy them right now, this minute. To which you say, or want to say, "Great!"
I tend to not complain, but my husband does. We balance each other out pretty well.
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I knew what you meant, Amka. And overall, given a not-entirely-satisfactory experience, I am far more likely to simply go somewhere else the next time, rather than demand satisfaction from the first vendor.
I used to be a more obnoxious customer, but I got older, tireder, and busier. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Without obnoxious customers to keep them in line, going to any retail or service outlet would be like visiting your local IRS branch.
Posts: 438 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Probably true. In fact, almost certainly so. But that doesn't mean I have to be the obnoxious one . . . and I'm trying to be less obnoxious in my daily life, not more so. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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*giggle* Hatrack has corrupted me. Not only do I think "OoC" to myself (fighting down a grin) when people make innocent comments in ordinary conversation, I strive for titles that will make people pay attention.
This one seems to have worked. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yaay, Rivka! I love to be pampered, too! I've never found manicures to be relaxing, but pedicures are the best! Although, I do like those parafin hand dips, too.
For Valentine's day last year, Tom got me a spa certificate for a 3 hour pampering. It cost an arm and a leg, but I seriously have never felt better in my life. Massage, facial, pedicure and hairstyle. Mmm, I love my husband. Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I have a goal for the week: to get my eyebrows professionally waxed. I've never had it done before, but I've played with the idea since getting a spa gift certificate two years ago.
I think the gift certificate has probably expired. The one from the next year, too. But eyebrow waxing is only about $10-15 I hear, and so I can probably squeeze it into the budget.
[ September 20, 2004, 12:13 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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If you go Sara, tell them you want a "natural look". Otherwise they may overdo it. Since you've never had them waxed before, you just want the brow cleaned up with a little shaping. You don't want to be scalped into something that requires brow liner like a movie star would get.
Honestly getting my eyebrows waxed is the one thing about my appearance I don't mind spending money for. For some reason cleaning up the eybrows is the one thing actually gives the illusion of being more well groomed than you might be, even if you don't often wear makeup. <grin> AJ
Edit:(I guess what it technically does is emphazize the natural shape of your eyes, to draw more attention towards them instead of away from them, which is why it works.)
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I know! The difference can be remarkable. You look "polished" in a very subtle way. I think the better framing of the face lets whatever natural beauty one has shine through -- sets off the face rather than draws the focus away (as, sometimes, makeup of certain styles can).
So, AJ, I'll let you know how it works. *fingers crossed
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You know, I think feet are gross, but pedicures just feel so good! They relax your whole body. Also, it makes me feel especially pretty to have my ugly feet prettied.
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Paraffin hand-dipping was included in the manicure. Very odd sensation, but rather soothing once I got used to it.
Farmgirl, yes! It took me close to 15 years to go from "I'd like to try that sometime" to "Hmm, I'd love to have the time for that" to "I am making the time for that NEXT WEEK" -- and I only wish I had done it sooner!
*laugh* AND that there were a feasible way to fit one in before I leave on Wednesday.
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Rivka, your title reminded me of a headline I saw outside a supermarket on a fan magazine back in the 70s. It was just after Donny Osmond got married, and the headline was someting along the lines of: "Donny: I learned love from an older woman. Young bride in tears." Intrigued, I looked at the article, turns out the 'older woman' was Donny's mother, and the young bride's tears were tears of joy. One of the best headlines I've ever read. Made me pick up a rag I would never otherwise have touched.
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I found one. They were nice, they fit me in, they took credit cards, and they were great. At some point I was a tiny bit annoyed, because I thought I was getting the "spa manicure and pedicure" and had just asked for a regular one. But it felt so good, I couldn't mind much . . . and then it turned out to be the regular one. 
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