SOHO - Nails, Waxing & Beauty - Sandton

This salon is amazing. This woman is clearly not a Sandton shopper. Get over it, Sandton is not for everybody. Go back to Cresta since you clearly can't afford Sandton. Why complain about something so trivial and not about the actual services?

The owner of this salon bullied and threatened me. I initially posted review on another beauty salon review site. After the owner, Getty Gizaw accused the site of removing her comments and accused me of being a paid writer via email, I sent her an email in response to advise that I was a client and that dealing with the public, whether they're satisfied or not is part of her profession.

I received an email response back from owner even though she had the platform and opportunity to post a public response to my review and quickly resolve the situation, but she chose to write a private one - and it was easy to see why - she did not want to resolve anything, but wanted to be privately rude, sarcastic and irresponsible with her response to me.

So, I published her response online - then I received threatening emails from her and her lawyer, advising that I had acted unlawfully, they demanded that I remove the "defamatory remarks" and take down her response. I was forced to amend some of the wording and the review website was demanded to remove the salon profile and with it, my review and her reply.

Here is my review of my experience at SoHo:

SoHo NYC Beauty Salon. Having frequented New York City, the name held so much promise, the location, - Sandton City - a tip-top Joburg shopping centre and the loft style decor made me feel like I had arrived. The disappointment I left with matched my enthusiasm upon entry.

South Africa is generally lacking when it comes to customer service delivery, and SoHo is sadly no exception. It was easy to spot where the problem stemmed from - the owner, Getty Gizaw.

The prices are not cheap and this may be excusable due to the location. However, we experienced several incidences where hidden costs were automatically included when it came to paying. Firstly, the beverages. Any salon in Johannnesburg or indeed the modern world offers their clients complimentary beverages - tea, coffee, soft drinks. Not SoHo. When asked if they can get us a drink, we were delighted and ordered a cappuccino. Not only did it take 25 minutes to arrive but they charged us R27 a piece at payment! This is unacceptable, I made a point of stating that this is not usual and at the prices charged for treatments, clients should not be asked to pay for a drink! Getty sarcastically replied 'thanks for your thoughts, I WISH we could make coffee for our clients but we just don't have space or facilities; if we could afford to provide coffee, we would.' I believe SoHo is in the process of expanding, so I should hope they now have the 'space' and will have the 'facilities' to offer this most basic of client service. And for a R370 pedicure, I'm pretty sure they can afford coffee, tea, water and milk. What a farce.

The person who did my mani was pleasant and professional. She suggested I buy some cuticle oil as it will get rid of my hang nails. I said 'that sounds like it might help'. At tilling up, I was asked to pay R350. My mani was supposed to be R260. The hostess said that I had asked for the cuticle oil and they were charging me for a bottle! Pardon? I swiftly asked for it to be removed as I had not asked for it.

My friend went for a pedi (R300), she got charged R370. The owner and hostess advised that this was for the quick dry varnish and something else that the pedicurist had used. At no point did the pedicurist advise that it would cost extra. This was made known to the owner who adamantly insisted that the ladies always tell clients when they're using something in addition to the usual. How are clients (who are first timers) supposed to know about the extra charges? And how, are these hidden charges acceptable under the Consumer Protection Act?

The abrupt manner of the owner and the questionable conduct that resulted in us being overcharged will certainly not encourage a return visit.

I only hope this salon stops taking advantage of clients and that same clients start asking as many questions as I did today. An utterly disappointing visit never to be repeated. My experience, however, will be.