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| - Total disappointment: run-of-the-mill experience that keeps me on my hunt for my holy grail Charlotte nail salon (my go-to is Sassy). I'm giving Tiptoe 3 stars for: Good ambience (4 stars); Sterilization (5 stars); Color selection (2 stars); Workmanship (3.5 stars); innovative services (3.5 stars) and Customer service (2.5 stars).
2 other recent reviewers had to return for redo -- who has time for that? To require coming back seems like a time suck; better to do it right the first time. To date, that's 10% (3 out of 30 reviews) of published reviews that required a repair (including mine).
I was referred to Tiptoe from my hair stylist who raved about Michael and said that Tiptoe does chrome nails. I was stoked and couldn't wait to find the time to get my nails done (it's usually a 2-hour+ event; my schedule only permits me to designate one afternoon a month to get them done).
THE GOOD:
a) Good ambience: the salon is new and relatively modern. Everything is still fresh, including the plush pedi massage chairs. Your hands are done at a long granite bar. They serve complimentary drinks, including wine and have HGTV on one TV and the news on the other.
b) Very clean, sterile environment. They use fresh tools and files for every customer, which avoids the risk of transmission of nail fungi -- TOTALLY appreciated!
c) Diminutive color selection. Their color shelf is about 2/3 full but it's noteworthy to mention that the colors they do have are the popular hues.
d) Workmanship. I was generally pleased enough with the outcome but there was nothing that blew my mind to elicit my return.
--- pedi. I'm pleased with my pedi. The girl who did my pedi was very thorough and worked with careful, slow diligence.
--- hands. Overall, I'm pleased enough with my hands: the shape is nice, they have a pretty thin, natural appearance for acrylics and even throughout BUT I did not notice until I got home:
* drilled my natural nails paper thin. I do gel under acrylic for convenience since it's more durable (I travel often and carrying luggage can easily break natural nails); however, underneath are my natural nails, which are strong and grow out -- I don't have tips. I didn't like that Michael drilled through my natural nails underneath so they're basically uneven and paper thin. Others have drilled underneath before but they use a less abrasive drill setting.
* I have a raised clump on my right index finger that is annoying to feel because I'm right-handed but not annoying enough to go through the hassle of going back to have repaired.
* my thumb is uneven and has a jagged edge.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
a) innovative services: they only offer acrylics and limited chrome selection. They do NOT do: silk wrap (which doesn't require drilling your nail bed to promote adhesion) or dipped gel (which doesn't require UV or LED light) or monochromatic colored chrome (the latest nail trend) and do limited designs (see below)
-- limited chrome. I came here to get rose gold chrome nails. I had rose gold chrome done in S Cal and love them. Turns out they only do silver or rainbow. I initially agreed to silver but Michael kept reiterating how expensive it was (only $20 more) like he was dissuading me from getting the silver chrome. I saw first-hand the technique that is required to do them in S Cal; therefore, Michael's demeanor gave me reason to lose confidence in his aptitude, coupled with the fact that polished silver might be too edgy for my conservative business attire (although I have seen our head of Litigation wear dark blue polish; I'd probably be OK but I do prefer a softer color for fall like rose gold or beige undertone).
b) rude customer service: the pedi girl was very eager to ensure my satisfaction (5 stars); but 1 star for Michael because:
-- he was distracted. He kept consistently looking around the salon and having conversations with other patrons and employees the whole time he was working on my nails.
-- offensive stereotype. Not wanting to give up on my rose gold nails, I asked him whether he intended to offer them in the foreseeable future. His response: "My clients are doctors and lawyers so likely not. I also don't do much design here either (given my clientele)." (He did not know that) I am a corporate transactional attorney. Yet I wear chrome and albeit once, have had a nail design done. Most of my female family, friends or business colleagues are doctors or lawyers who regularly do fun, trendy things with their nails. The implication is that people who do design or want chrome are tacky and unprofessional. I don't tolerate passive aggressive broad strokes of inaccurate stereotyped generalizations.
Overall, given the mediocrity of my experience here, there was nothing extraordinary to incentivize me to return. My search for my holy grail salon continues. On to the next salon..
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