Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/21/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a gift certificate for my husband as a Christmas gift to use at this spa for a deep tissue massage. He scheduled an appointment online using the gift certificate as payment. The day prior to the scheduled appointment my husband ended up in urgent care and was diagnosed with Covid. I called to cancel morning of and the business does not open until 10 am. So I disconnected. My husband messaged at 10:43 to cancel his appointment scheduled at 1:45 that afternoon. He requested to not be charged due his illness. Understanding that they do have a 24 hour cancellation policy. He was asking that to be waived due to positive Covid test. The owner then asked for him to provide documentation. My husband provided the information requested and was under the impression that it would not be charged in doing what the owner asked. The owner never replied or communicated it would still be charged but canceled the appointment. Cancellations confirmation was received and he was under the impression everything thing was addressed. My husband went to reschedule after he recovered only to find out that they had charged for services not provided. We are asking for half of the money back. We understand that she had to pay her technician to come. But, due to the deceptive practices of the owner and HIPPA violations we will no longer do business with this establishment.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2024

  This complaint is NOT entirely true. ************************* scheduled an appt on 1/23 for 2/3 at 10:15. He reached out on 2/1 at 10:20am asking for the appt to be changed to 1:45. We had to move the therapists entire schedule around to accommodate this, but we obliged. On 2/2 at 1:36pm an appt reminder was sent to the customer and they clicked confirm stating that they would be there. On 2/3 at 10:43am the client reached out stating that they tried to call earlier, but we werent open (which was not true because calls had been forwarded to my cell phone and it had not rang) and that they needed to cancel their appt that was scheduled to happen in 3 hours. I reminded him of the 24 hour cancellation policy and he said he would still come. I was then sent a doctors note at 11:50am (2 hours before the appt) stating he tested positive for Covid and a copy of a prescription that occurred PRIOR to our 24 cancellation time frame the day before and PRIOR to the appt being CONGIRMED the day before. The appt was then cancelled and his payment on file (gc) charged. 
  
  I explained that the therapist was already there and had dispensed all products, tools, equipment, *********** needed for all clients for the day, which results in overhead, expenses, time, waste, etc and the therapist needing to get paid for her time, hence the reason for our cancellation policy. It was also explained to them if he had woken up that morning with ***** and was sick that we wouldve waived the cancellation policy, but he KNEW more than 24 hours prior that he was sick and failed to reach out. 
  
  I also explained that as a courtesy, if I had been contacted the night before or even earlier that morning, I wouldve waived the 24 hour cancellation policy but since we were not given enough notice (even though he was aware more than 24 hours prior of his illness), that unfortunately I would have to charge him for the $115 appt, not $135 as his wife stated here, due to the fact that we were not given enough time to refill the appt or to not dispense the necessary items that now had to be thrown away or re washed or sanitized resulting in waste & loss. 
  
  Please understand that February is one of our busiest months of the year due to Valentines Day and we were booked solid and on a waiting list for Saturdays. All staff work on commission and rely on their schedules to be booked in order to pay their bills, most of them being single mothers. Our 24 hour cancellation policy is very clear to prevent them from falling short of their expected pay. We also hade a no refund policy (please see both attached). 
  
  On 2/15 ***************** scheduled an appt online for 2/21 and tried to use the same redeemed gc for payment. When he realized it wouldnt work, his wife reached out to me via text non stop for 2 hours. I explained to her I was in ******* with my husband for Valentines Day and at dinner, but she continued to message me and I continued to respond in a polite and professional manner explaining the situation. I offered to meet the halfway and give a $67.50 credit on her husbands account (even though half of his $115 appt was only $57.50), so the therapist would get paid for the previous appt and the future appt and I would eat the cost of the overhead since they failed to reach out in a timely manner to cancel the appt. She then stated that all she was asking for was half and I explained I was offering more than that. She then asked if I would give them half of a couples massage for free and I explained that I could not because that would be giving double. She then got irate and made threats and insults and told me to you can keep the money and enjoy your vacation. 
  
  I would also like to state that the DePrimos have been coming to my spa since June 2023, and looking back through our call log and text log, they have contacted us numerous times outside of business hours (before and after) and on days that we are closed. So, they are aware that we have a 24 hour answering service, they have also texted my personal cell and they couldve reached out at any time prior to this appointment so this would not even be an issue. 
  
  Again, since they are repeat clients, I wouldve waived the 24 hour cancellation policy if they wouldve given me more than two hours prior to the appointment notice so that it could be refilled etc and we would not have had waste and me having to come out of pocket to pay the therapist. However, the appointment was confirmed the day before, after his visit to the doctor and they did not contact us when they knew he was sick. This being said, all I was asking is for them to take part in their responsibility, and I would eat half of the expenses.
  
  We do not give refunds on gift certificates (per our policy attached), so I was happy to give them a $67.50 credit on their account, please see text messages agreeing to this, but she still decided to file a Better Business Bureau complaint anyway, which is unfortunate and is the first complaint weve had in 32 years of business. We are a small, local business just doing our best to keep clients and technicians happy.  All techs here are subcontractors and they set their policies, rules and pricing. I did my best to work around that by waiving my cost/overhead, but the therapist still has to get paid for their time, as Im sure you would want as well. We have to have policies and procedures in place for a reason. If we waived the cancellation/no-show policy for every client, we would have no business left and no Therapists left. This is standard practice in all appointment based businesses. 
  
  I will send the associated attachments in a separate email. Thank you.
  
  *********************************
  Owner, Grfin Blau Spa
  www.GrafinBlauSpa.com
  
  Sent from my iPhone

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/29/2024

  I am rejecting this response because I have stated the absolute truth. At no point did I become irate, as claimed by the business owner. Instead of making threats, I chose to state facts and attached all relevant text messages for reference. It's worth noting that our conversation began before the text thread started when I asked if could discuss the matter with my husband first. The business owner initiated text messaging after we had disconnected without allowing me to do so. While reviewing their policies provided in the attachments, it is evident they overstepped their bounds requesting medical documentation which violates HIPAA regulations just to waive a fee. We were charged for services never received despite providing requested information under false pretenses. This deceptive practice led us to demand half of gift certificate ***** refunded since we will no longer be doing any future dealings or continuing our relationship; credit isn't sufficient compensation. 
  

  ** I have additional text that would not up load. 

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  Again, PER POLICY, there will be NO REFUNDS. Our 24 hour cancellation was NOT abided by (even though they knew well in advance her husband was sick). Also, PER POLICY we DO NOT offer refunds! PLEASE SEE ALL POLICIUES PREVIOUSLY ATTACHED AND THEM AGREEING TO THESE POLICIES BY CHECKING THE *** AT TIME OF ONLINE BOOKING. As a ONE TIME courtesy, I offered to add a CREDIT to their ACCOUNT for HALF of the MISSED appointment that was charged, before she started to harass and threaten me. If this is not sufficient to the client, there is nothing i can or am willing to do. This client has been rude, insulting, threatening and trying to "extort" money from me via these threats such as filing the BBB complaint, etc. Furthermore, NO HIPPA regulations were violated. They offered the information and what they sent was simply a doctors note, not medical records and there was no sensitive information shared violating any Hippa laws! This is part of the preposterous ACCUSATIONS this client continues to throw at us and part of her 'grasping at straws" tactics. I will no longer be subjected to her harassment. Our policies are stated are public. They agreed to these policies at time of booking. There will be no further concessions offered or made. I offered to help her and meet her halfway but at this point i will no longer be subjected to lies and preposterous accusations and I will no longer be responding.