The Awful Woman at a St. Cloud Nail Salon (Would You Step In?)

People who work in any sort of hospitality industry have to have the patience of a saint... in my opinion.  You have to deal with all sorts of personalities, problems, just basic customer service issues, and it's not always easy.

Some people really take that "the customer is always right" to the next level, and also take advantage in some cases.  And let me tell you from personal experience, the customer isn't always right... especially when you are so blatently trying to "screw over" the store, salon, etc.  And if you try the nice route instead of going from zero to b**** in 2.2 seconds, you will get what you'd like a lot easier.  Like the saying "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar" really does hold true.

Case in point: I was getting my nails done at a St. Cloud nail salon.  This process can take up to an hour, depending on how quick your nail tech is, and what service you are getting.  So, you may be sitting there for a bit, and can witness many things happening during the time there.

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Apparently this particular customer had gotten her nails done on a previous day.  She was unhappy with the results, so the owner of the salon (very nice person, by the way) said that she could get a "redo" at no charge.  This woman was back for her "redo" or as she put it... a "free appointment".  When her nail service was complete, she started to just walk out of the salon without even a "thank you".  The nail tech said "hey, wait!".  She was unaware of the "free appointment".  The customer said "I don't have to pay, this is a free appointment because of the mess you made of my nails the last time". At this point the owner (who was doing my nails, so I had a front row seat to this interaction) said you had a "redo" for free.  You didn't get a redo you got a whole new service with different acrylic nails, a design, manicure... (basically everything you could possibly get in one service).  If you are unfamiliar with this process, the price is different depending on what you get and will go up with each extra service.  The customer would know this.  The prices are clearly marked in the salon.  The owner wanted her to pay the upcharge from the original service.  This seems reasonable.  But the customer said she was unwilling to do so and tried to leave again.  She was called back once again.  The owner asked for her ID.  (I think she may have wanted to call the police) the customer said she didn't have one, she didn't even "bring her purse" because she had a "free appointment" and "why would she bring anything with her for a free appointment".  At this point the rest of us witnessing this were like "who does that"?  So, she wasn't planning on tipping?  Great.  At this point the owner said she would "never be allowed to get her nails done there again".  The customer said "why would I ever come back here"?

My thought... well you came back this time.  She was totally taking advantage of the salon and the situation.

Should any of us have stepped in and supported the owner or just mind our own business (like we did)?  We were all talking among eachother about how we thought this customer was totally in the wrong.  She went into that salon with a "plan".  She knew what she was doing.