When something great happens...we blog about it.
When we fall head over heels in love with a product...we blog about.
Heck, if we actually get dressed for the day...we blog about it.
Finally, when someone or some company downright PISSES us off AND ruins our Valentine's Day...
YUP...you bet your sweet cheeks...
WE BLOG ABOUT IT.
Let me take a minute to preface this post by filling you in a few very important details...
A new Massage Heights just opened within 2 miles of our house so Beau and I were SO excited to have a nice salon so close to us.
We had never tried MH before so we were anxious to give them a shot. I Google mapped them, called 'em up and made our appointments last week. I gave them my credit card info to reserve the time slots and was told that if I needed to cancel, I needed to call within 24 hours and if I didn't, they were going to charge me anyways. Fine by me. I wasn't cancelling so there was no need to call...I just needed to show up the day of our appointment, which was 2/14 at 6pm.
We had never tried MH before so we were anxious to give them a shot. I Google mapped them, called 'em up and made our appointments last week. I gave them my credit card info to reserve the time slots and was told that if I needed to cancel, I needed to call within 24 hours and if I didn't, they were going to charge me anyways. Fine by me. I wasn't cancelling so there was no need to call...I just needed to show up the day of our appointment, which was 2/14 at 6pm.
Beau and I haven't treated ourselves to massages in well over 2 years so to say they were much needed is a total understatement. We were excited ALL day...we hadn't gotten each other Valentine's Day gifts because our massages were our gifts to each other. I rush home from work, exhausted as all get out and SO ready for this hour long session to do absolutely nothing but lay there. It's 5:45pm and we walk in to check in for our appointments only to find out we are nowhere to be found in their system. Awesome.
She searches every name possible in her system and finally finds us...AT ANOTHER SALON. Yep...our appointments were scheduled at a different salon on the complete other side of town. Perfect.
It's now 5 minutes before our massages are supposed to begin and it's rush hour. There's no way in HELL we'd be able to make it to a salon that I had NEVER even heard or, nor did I even KNOW they had a location there. Why in God's name would I have made an appointment at a salon I didn't know existed?
The lady at the front counter tells me they're going to have to charge my card anyways since they had to pay their masseuses no matter what.
Face drops. Not "no"...but "HELL NO".
The fiesty little Italian inside me was RAGING at this point. (Thanks, mom.) Over my dead body would I be charged fot TWO massages I wasn't going to be getting when THEY were the ones that booked it at the wrong location. She tells me I need to call the manager to fight that battle so I do. She's "busy"...of course...and will have to "call me back".
I'm smarter than the average idiot so I call Capital One and cancel my credit card to ensure they, indeed, would NOT be charging me for a service I did not receive. Card put on hold. Muahahahahahaaaaaa...joke's on YOU Massage Heights.
The manager at Massage Heights calls me back and there was no budging with this chick. She was pure "this is our policy" mode. BS. I work in customer service and I know damn good and well you can get around "the policy" to provide your customers with just that..SERVICE.
I tried to give her a chance. I even TOOK THE BLAME and proceeded to ask her if charging a potential customer $100 for two massages she was NOT receiving was worth losing a customer for life and SHE FLAT OUT SAID "YES".
I just giggled and in the sweetest little voice told her to "go ahad...charge my card allllll you want honey. Happy Valentine's Day to you too." And hung up the phone.
Moral of the story: No payment from this chick and you're about to lose hundreds of customers by the time they get done reading this. Massage on THAT.
***
Rant = over.
Rant = over.
To ensure our Valentine's wasn't a complete fail, we ended the night getting mani's and pedi's (gotta love a man who enjoys them as much as you do), eating crock pot taco chili (de-lish by the way!), drinking red wine and enjoying the movie, Friends With Benefits! Perfectly imperfect. Just the way I like it.
First of all-- WTF?? That's the worst "policy" I've ever heard. They screw up and you pay? Um, no. Second-- they're idiots if they think you were actually gonna let that charge go through your card... Fortunately, credit card customer service is usually pretty good. Oh well-- at least you've got a VDay story that you can laugh about! :)
ReplyDeleteAwful Awful Awful Customer Service! Smart move putting your Card on hold!
ReplyDeleteThat's awful!!!! Good for you for being proactive and making sure they didn't charge you! Glad you got to end the day on a good note! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, that is absolutely horrible customer service! Joke's on them - booya.
ReplyDeleteI work in customer service and I would be fired if I did that! The customer is, 99% of the time, always right, even when they are wrong.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE YOU! bahahahah
ReplyDeleteWow this has to be one of the worst customer service horror stories I've read to date! I will NEVER even consider using them and will advise everyone I know against them as well! Thank you for sharing - glad your entire night wasn't ruined xo
ReplyDeleteWowww. My goodness, I really hope you send them the link to this blog post. After you get all your comments of course :)
ReplyDeleteLike you said, it's just plain customer service. I worked in customer service too, and completely agree with you. There is ALWAYS a way to get around "policy" to please a customer. ALWAYS.
Glad you had a good Valentine's Day regardless :)
Wow. Just wow. You should call their corporate office since they are a chain and complain. That is absolutely ridiculous! At least you were able to get mani/pedis!
ReplyDeleteholy what a mess! worst customer service ever! glad yall were able to turn it around and make a great night.
ReplyDeleteDon't stomp those last season Prada shoes at me honey.
ReplyDeleteThat's what you sound like to me haha. Good for you!!!
Yuck,hate that happened :(! That's what sucks about companies like that, all they care about is getting their money. Help out the Massage Therapist that are not involved in chain spas ;). Too bad you don't live near ... You know Id be giving y'all discounts :)
ReplyDeleteThat "policy" is a great way to keep clients. How frustrating!!
ReplyDeleteTerrible customer service. I highly recommend going on Yelp and sharing your experience there! That way people who google them will see your review pop up and will probably make them think twice. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is HORRIBLE customer service! That's not even customer service, that's "where going to screw you over and we don't care," service! Sorry you had such a horrible experience and its always the worst when you're looking forward to it weeks in advance, only to have something happen. Glad you still had a mani/pedis with your man though! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's just plain shitty business management. They could have at least offered you to rebook your appointment. And if they were still charging you because their masseuse had to be paid, but they still couldn't fit you in, wouldn't that mean that their masseuse was booked, and they'd be lining their pockets with your money?
ReplyDeleteI hope their company sees this, and changes some things. Here's hoping you get a free massage on them in the near future :) They still have a chance to redeem themselves, so let's see what they do with it. Good luck!
Bah!!!!!! That makes me SO mad but I am so happy you thought to cancel so quickly!!!! Teach them to be assholes! & I will never ever ever go there....ever!
ReplyDeleteThat is awful! I also worked in customer service for a long time and there is always someway around "policies". There had to be something she could have done. I also know that there is always someone above the manager so I would try to contact corporate and launch a complaint. I'm glad that your Valentine's Day wasn't completely ruined.
ReplyDeleteClearly MH knows nothing about customer service. I cannot even believe that. I will probably never go there just because of you writing this blog post. I don't reinforce bad customer service. They're losing more customers than just you and your husband!
ReplyDeleteWe had a bad customer service experience at Twin Liquor and they were sooo rude to my husband. I took it very personally and set our things down and walked out. We haven't been back since and won't ever go back again. We only shop at Spec's for liquor now!
tell 'em girl! can't believe the lady chose sacrificing a customer to just not charging your card.
ReplyDeleteYou GO you fiesty little italian you!! I wouldn have had an absolute 5 year old temper tantrum over that!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you ended up having a good evening though- manis and pedis with the hus-bunny doesn't sound all that bad ;)
Ugh! I would have done the same thing! #winning :)
ReplyDeleteThat's ridiculous of them! I would have done the same thing. And there's no way I will ever go to this place if they have one near me girl!
ReplyDeleteWow. That is so awful! I own a business and ALWAYS do what the customer wants! The customer isn't right (you were totally in the right) but they always come first! What lousy customer service!
ReplyDeleteI freaking love you. The end!
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest you post it on their twitter but saw you already did and they're calling you back for a refund? They better! If they don't then I would definitely blast Yelp, Google Reviews, their specific twitter, everything with this negative review. That is some AWFUL customer service.
ReplyDeleteYep! The manager already called and left me a message saying they were not attempting to charge my card. Glad to see they took action but had I not cancelled my card AND written this post, I'm 100% sure they would have charged me! Crazy, crazy!
DeleteThat is terrible! We don't have that salon here in Boston but if we did I would never go. Such terrible customer service. You should email the manager a link to your blog. That will teach her!
ReplyDeleteLOL I tweeted it and they already called me! Still not happy about the situation because we were SO looking forward to the massages but at least they acted fast. Had they have never attempted to charge me for a service I never received in the first place, it would have never escalated this far. Hope they learned their lesson!
DeleteThat is ridiculous! I cannot believe they would do that. Have they never heard of the saying "the customers is always right"? Good thing I will never go there!
ReplyDeleteomg steph i love you
ReplyDeletelike did i ever tell you how much i love you!?!
I CANT BELIEVE THAT !!!!!! there is no way ill ever go to massage heights!! PSSHHHH what a beeyotch. You are so smart for cancelling the card. Omg i got mad listening to this story!
manis and pedis with beau!?? can he talk to kurt about this? i would LOVE if kurty went !!
xoxoxo sounds like the perfect ending to the day!
How awful. Glad you were able to turn the night around.
ReplyDeleteOMG seriously?!?! I will never schedule an appt there! Thanks for the heads-up on the terrible service!
ReplyDeleteThat customer service is absolutely horrific. I worked customer service type jobs for years, and I couldn't imagine EVER speaking to someone that way or even refusing to 'bend' the policy a bit.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in your town, I definitely wouldn't go there.
I'm glad you guys were still able to salvage your evening and enjoy your time together.
I'm 99% sure that's the same place that when the news helicopter crashed in it, while my uncle was about to get a massage they still tried to charge him.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible! We don't have one of those around here but I will not be using one if I see one! I am glad you guys were able to turn it around and make the best of your night. Have you posted that recipe on your blog or is it something new?
ReplyDeleteMY mouth literally just dropped! I have so many nasty words for that company in my mind right about now. How can they be so rude?!?! Everyone knows, no policy is 100% in tact. there is always room to budge. Especially to make a cusomter happy.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you stood your ground...fyi hubby is italian and he gets fiesty too ;)
Sounds like you two made up for it and had a wonderful evening together :)
I love this!! It's exactly what I would have done! Glad they acted quickly to fix THEIR error! Maybe a massage at a different place this weekend??
ReplyDeleteOoh..I would be so mad! Make sure you tweet and yelp about it because that is horrible! But it sounds like it all worked out so yay!
ReplyDeleteJill
Classy with a Kick
I love when you're feisty. Now if you haven't already, leave a bad yelp review with a link to your blog in it. That will really get them.
ReplyDeleteHappy Vday "sweet ass cheeks!"
Taylor
those bishes!!! OMG i would have wanted to go all backwoods ky on them. so do they know about this post?!?! they better! way to be smarter than the average massage salon manager :-) :-) :-)
ReplyDeleteBHAHAHAHAHA.. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing with New York & Company when they wouldn't change my mailing address less than 2 minutes after I placed the order online. Nope, already processed, sorry! I canceled that card.. BAM! Lost order AND lost all those interest charges they could have accumulated from me. HA!
Seriously!? Company's can be so dumb! Lost your business for life over an address change...not worth it!
DeleteDamn...what horrible customer service!! I can't believe they would charge you for a massage you didn't even get! Pshhh effff THAT
ReplyDeleteHahaha you should have said "biaatch, do you know what a blog is? Well I have one and I'ma bout to make your ass grass." I for one am never going to one of those places. Whoo does that!? Way to be so selfish and desperate for money that you lose sight of your morals. It's a shame. But I'm glad y'all had a wonderful
ReplyDeleteValentines regardless!
WOW. That is awful!! You should totally call their corporate offices and tell them about this. I can't even believe that! I'll definitely never go there.
ReplyDeleteYa I one PISSED camper...lemme tell ya. I actually tweeted this blog post to them and have received two calls from two different managers. Glad they acted quickly but am still less than thrilled about the experience altogether.
Delete..which reminds me I should probably order a new credit card lol.
Glad you were able to turn it around and make it a better night. People seem to forget how to provide a good customer experience these days.
ReplyDeleteI work for a small business and we treat our customers so much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this chain but what horrible customer service!!!! You will have to keep us updated if they try contacting you or try to charge you!! Good thinking about canceling your card but also what a hassel!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was bad management, that's for sure. I've actually received not one, but TWO phone calls from managers/owners apologizing for the incident so I'm glad they've acted upon the experience. Still not thrilled about the fact that we weren't able to get our massages ...need I mention, ON VDAY!, but hey, a mani/pedi will work for this girl ANY day! ;)
DeleteWe don't have one of those out here in California, but the way they handled their customer service is horrible! If we ever get one I will not be going there for a massage!
ReplyDeleteWow! We don't have that chain here, but that just sounds awful! I'm glad you handled the situation so well and ended up making a good night out of it. :)
ReplyDeleteYou've got to be kidding me!?!? That's down right terrible customer service!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you didn't let it keep you from enjoying the evening - good thing you had the brains to cancel the card, I'm not sure I would have thought to do that ;)
That is total crap! I can't imagine why you would be so wronged on Valentines day. I guess they will soon understand the stretch social media has on their business!
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely absurd. I would be livid too! So glad that you thought quickly enough to cancel your card!
ReplyDeleteWow! I've never heard of that place, but if we had them here, I would be spreading your news. That's awful customer service! That kind of stuff makes me so ticked off!
ReplyDeleteI've had a similar situation happen with Aveda hair salon. I knew for a fact I was calling the right location, go in for my appointment only to not be found. They had a policy to charge my card if I was a no show, so while I'm waiting for 15 minutes for them to figure that ish out I get a call from another salon on the otherwise of Dallas asking me if I knew I was going to be late. Apparently when you call you schedule an appointment in a phone bank of sorts. The girl who took my appointment scheduled me with the wrong location, and they were threatening to charge my card. I asked the manager at the location I was physically standing in to help me resolve this but no go. So I whipped out my phone and say it in front of her, " capital one? I'm calling to report a stolen card. " I walked out after that and went somewhere else. After they called me several times demanding I pay for an appointment they messed up to begin with, the corporate office got a very loooong letter from me.
ReplyDeletethis is ridiculous!! when you make an appt it's their responsibility to make sure they write it down for the right location/time! i've had this happen to me before where i was trying a new salon for the first time w a lady my roommate had recommended and the lady was freaking out of town! it was for the best though, bc another girl took my appt and i've gone to her for almost a decade now!
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!!!! Love the cancelled credit card approach...!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I can't believe that!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing worse than bad customer service, I cannot tolerate it!!
ReplyDeleteAnd they should know not to mess with bloggers or social media gurus - that will be the end of them!!!
In South Africa, they don't take any card details so if you cancel, they have to wait to get the cash from you.
Quite glad this is the policy now...
Sorry girl - no ranting and raving can take back your ruined plans on Valentines Day and you having to apply for a new card!!
x
I had a 1 year membership at Massage Heights, University Parkway in sarasota, FL. I paid for it every month automatically with my credit card - didn't even use all the massages because they were so freaking horrible. My credit card expired when my membership did, so I figured, great - I don't have to deal with them. Well, now a year later I just got sent a collection notice, for get this - 719.88 from a collection agency!!! For what??? A year of service after my year was up?? WTF? What kind of company does this?? Not a reputable one, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteWell you left out a very pertinent detail of your story, perhaps intentionally or unwittingly. I do not work for this company but I do work in software consulting. I happen to know a great deal about the reservation system software that this spa and others like it use nationwide, as well as hotel reservation systems, etc.
ReplyDeleteSo, it is very clear by your story that you called the local store to make your reservation, and it was held at the store you called. These spa businesses do not have an 800 number to make reservations anywhere in the country. The store that receives your call can only make a reservation at the one you call. They cannot see, make, or adjust appointments at any other location. That is just the way the software works. Just like when you call 1-800 numbers for Marriott or Hilton you can make a reservation anywhere in the world, but if you call the LOCAL phone number of one of those hotels you are making a reservation for that specific hotel.
So, what happened is that you called and made a reservation at another MH clinic besides the one you intended. That's why the clinic you visited called the nearby clinic and they immediately found your reservation THERE. You thought you called the MH store you had in mind but you didn't.
This is YOUR fault yet you like so many others these days want it to be someone else's problem. I'm quite sure they explained to you that you had booked your appointment at the other location, but you either didn't hear it because you were so mad or you just left that part out so you could get your revenge online.
Either way, get the facts and grow up.