Finishing Touches

I’m torn on this one. The owner is talented. I got gel nails in March, thinking it was the «healthy, no-​drill» alternative. When she applied the gel and stuck my hand under the lamp to cure it, it burnt like hell. So… I have to wonder, is the gel product actually «less damaging» or not? They were expensive, but I thought it would just be the first visit. They lasted 3 weeks without a fill, and they were super shiny (french). I went back for a fill, but she charged me the same price as the full set. I didn’t get it. I must have bumped my pinky while I was there, because I got home and noticed a big dent in a nail. I called to see if she would offer to fix it, but no. She just said, try buffing it out… that didn’t help much. So there I am, having paid $ 60 for nails with a big dent in one of them.
She was really nice and I think she’s probably one of the most skilled nail techs I’ve ever met, but I just thought she was unprofessional. She didn’t fix the dent, and when I needed a fill while she was on vacation, she told me to «just go to Gene Juarez and get a clear fill». Which would have been OK if she hadn’t removed the gels that Gene Juarez had done for me! She’d criticized their gel product and redid mine (charged for a full new set). I really wish she had referred me to a friend or someone that used the same products, at least.
I had to cancel an appointment at the last minute (12 hours prior) once, when I had to take a trip to Oregon to pick up a pet. I called to apologize profusely, but she was pretty curt. She may have thought I was rude, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
It’s unfortunate – I felt like I was getting dissed, even though I had tipped her well, and treated her with a great deal of respect. I guess I’m just disappointed that the attitude wasn’t reciprocated, and that my business was not appreciated.