Modern Beauty Salon @ Mid Valley Mall - Avoid at all costs!

OK so this post veers off from the food theme somewhat, but I really need to write this to warn all ladies out there to never ever patronise Modern Beauty Salon. The location and setup of the place is nice and convenient, but the substandard, unprofessional service here really leaves a lot to be desired.

Coming from a Corporate background which emphasises trust, personal responsibility and dedication to meeting clients' needs, Modern Beauty's lackadaisical, "tidak apa" attitude towards fulfilling customer expectations and ensuring client satisfaction was a whole new ball game to me. I could not fathom why a people- and service-oriented business would treat their clients so shoddily, virtually guaranteeing for a fact that their clients WILL leave and they WILL gain a bad reputation in the market. It's almost as if they were either blissfully ignorant of their shortcomings, or just don't give a damn how they fare in the customer satisfaction stakes.

DISSATISFACTION #1: Confirming a facial/spa appointment

I paid for a package consisting of 15 facials and 2 spas. Booking an appointment with them, each and every time, has been like pulling teeth. I like to plan ahead, block my calendar and book facials every month to be repeated at the same time in subsequent months (OK so this again is a quirk I inherited from work), and the staff at Modern Beauty flat out told me that they were not able to help me plan ahead. A simple, fundamental thing such as booking an appointment becomes a chore and a nightmare. Apparently, their system only allows them to book client appointments for a couple of weeks ahead (less than a month), and nothing more. Long term bookings are not possible.

I've experienced cases whereby I've placed bookings more than 2 weeks ahead, and having had the receptionist take down my booking, was all satisfied that it was all settled and done. Little did I know at first, the lack of professionalism and customer-UNfriendly process that they follow here, meant that they would refuse to confirm that the date and time that I have booked is definitely mine no matter how EARLY I booked it. I've had instances where they've called me up a day before my facial apointment to tell me that there was no vacancy left and that I would have to rebook another day in the (distant) future. Hello? I just wasted 2 whole weeks anticipating my facial for which I have paid in full, and they chose to arbitrarily cancel it at the last minute with some pathetic, flimsy excuse that the entire day's schedule had been filled up. The fact that I booked 2 weeks ago and THEY NEVER SAID IT WAS FULL THEN somehow never registered in their insipid brains!! And so I wasted 2 weeks just to have them confirm that my appointment wasn't even taken seriously to begin with! You will never have complete control and assurance over your own schedule because they refuse to confirm your appointment until a few days before said appointment.

DISSATISFACTION #2: Spa

Just last weekend, I was booked for a spa and upon arriving all bright and early, ready for my spa session, I was made to wait 15 minutes, then told that the spa room was occupied by somebody else and that I would have to do it another time. I tried to reschedule it to coincide with my next facial appointment and was given a brusque brush off by the receptionist who told me she would get someone to book it for me (why couldn't SHE attend to it personally, there and then?)....nobody did. I had to call back and rebook. And, by the way, a spa here merely consists of a 15-minute soak in a jet bath and nothing more. No flower bath, no massage, no bath salts or bath foam even. It's sheer ripoff.

DISSATISFACTION #3: Pushy sales tactics

Don't you just hate it when you are attempting to have a relaxing, calming facial session and your beautician is relentlessly pressuring you to buy extra masks and treatments ("Your basic facial will not solve your problems, you need to add this and that") to add on to your already fully-paid-for facial, despite your firm "No". The first 10 facials I went to, I had to bear this nuisance, this irritating assault on my senses, feeling decidedly uncomfortable having to keep rejecting their unwelcomed overtures. After about 10 sessions or so, they wisened up to the futility of their pushy sales technique versus my (by now) notorious obstinacy. They have since ceased trying their sales pitch on me and usually leave me in peace now. In fact, they barely even greet me when I show up at their doorsteps for my appointment these days.

In general, the staff here are not fluent in English and for clients with a Chinese-language impediment like yours truly, it is indeed a challenge to communicate with them to sufficiently explain my exasperation with their lack of professionalism. In general, staff here are not too friendly to a client once she has signed up on their package, paid up, and hence becomes "downgraded" to the status of a regular "non-paying" client. A client ends up feeling unvalued and put through a guilt trip and subtle hostility for refusing to spend anything more than what she has already paid up-front. I would NOT recommend this beauty salon to anyone, and would strongly discourage anyone from even considering a trial facial at this place. I can barely wait for my package to finish up, I am SO DONE with this subpar hack of a beauty salon.

Modern Beauty Salon is to be avoid at all costs!