My Last Pedicure Experience at Kistochki - A Total Letdown

Hello everyone who's stopped by!

I've got one annoying trait - if I want something, I need it now. Last Friday, I got a hankering for a pedicure. I decided I needed a smart pedicure on Saturday, but of course, both salons I checked out were closed on weekends, so I had to consider other options.

I remembered walking by the "Kistochki" chain a lot, but I'd read some negative reviews about them a few years ago. I thought, why not? It's just a pedicure, no nail removal or application. I checked out the reviews on Yandex, and there weren't too many negative ones, mostly positive.

Kistochki, St. Petersburg✔ I went to their website, booked an appointment, chose the service and time, and even picked a master (who had good reviews). After booking, I got a confirmation in WhatsApp, and the next morning, I headed to the pedicure.✔ First impressions were good. The administrators were friendly, offered me tea or coffee, and a few minutes later, the master came to take me to the procedure.

✔ I walked into the pedicure room through the manicure area, and I noticed there were a lot of people. In the pedicure room, there was already another girl with a different master, and I immediately noticed a huge minus - there were three pedicure chairs almost right next to each other, with no partition between them. I've never seen that before.

In the two salons I'd been to, there was usually only one pedicure chair per room, and you were alone. In another one, there were two chairs, but if both were occupied, they'd put up a partition, so you didn't have to see other people's feet.

Kistochki, St. PetersburgThe overall atmosphere was just okay, I guess. It was all a bit messy.

Kistochki, St. Petersburg✔ I wouldn't have even complained about that if the pedicure itself had been perfect. Unfortunately, it wasn't.It started off okay. The master was friendly, I was glued to my phone, and the administrator brought me coffee.

Kistochki, Saint Petersburg But by the end of the pedicure, I started to feel some tension. It was painful from time to time, but I didn't think I'd get cuts. Then I noticed the technician had stepped away and came back with 'Kapramin', which she used to treat three of my toes. And this was an electric pedicure, not a cuticle trim! How could an electric pedicure cut three toes?When we finished, I didn't complain or examine the work closely. From a distance, it looked okay, my heels were smooth, so I thanked the technician, paid, and left.

Kistochki, Saint Petersburg As soon as I stepped out of the salon, I walked about 100 feet and realized I was experiencing discomfort while walking, like I had open cuts on my toes. I was wearing white socks, and I thought I'd probably get home, take off my shoes, and see red marks on them.

But no, I got home, and there were no marks. However, under the light, I took a closer look at the pedicure. My heel was done well, but my toes... it was like they'd never even gotten a pedicure. The cuticles were done poorly, not fully, and the work looked messy. I COULD'VE DONE THAT MYSELF, maybe even better.

I really dislike seeing other people's feet in reviews or sharing my own, so I'll spare you the details. And that's what I paid 2100 rubles for...

In the end, I even filed my own nails better and trimmed the cuticles on a few of my toes.

➡️ The cherry on top:

It's been a week, and I still have a red cut on one of my toes! It doesn't seem to be infected, but it's just not normal. I've been applying 'Levomekol' band-aids to it.

➡️ Feedback:

Actually, I wasn't planning on leaving reviews anywhere. I knew where I was going, remembered the hundreds of negative reviews about this salon in this thread, and figured I was taking a risk. I did it, didn't like it, decided I'd never go back, and forgot about it.

I have to say, their 'feedback' really got my blood boiling, and that's what prompted me to write this review. A couple of days later, I got a WhatsApp message from them asking me to rate their service on a five-star scale. I gave them a 3. They started asking me what they could do to improve my rating, and I told them to pay more attention to the quality of the pedicure. They asked me what was wrong and what I didn't like, and I gave them a pretty detailed answer, even attaching a photo. But they never responded. And that's just it - they're wasting my time by asking for feedback if they're not willing to work with negative reviews. I've had this experience before, and it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I just hate doing it for the sake of doing it.

➡️ So, let's summarize the pros and cons of 'Kistochki':

Booking an appointment at 'Kistochki' is easy, they have a lot of stylists and plenty of available slots at the right time.After booking, you get a confirmation email.There are a lot of salons in the city, and some of them (maybe all of them, I don't know) are open 24/7, so you can get a pedicure at midnight (with prior booking and a special price).They were on time, no long wait for the stylist.The administrators/stylists are friendly.The salon is always busy, so the quality suffers, and it's a 50/50 chance of getting a good stylist or a trainee who's still learning.I really don't like the way they divide their stylists into categories - there are top stylists, premium stylists, and trainees (I shudder to think what they might do...). I want to be able to get a good service regardless of who I see.There's no personal space for clients. The pedicure chairs don't have dividers.The atmosphere doesn't inspire trust.The pedicure chairs were uncomfortable.The service quality is lacking.The feedback process is also lacking, and it just feels like they're going through the motions to make it seem like they care about your opinion.They're not exactly following sanitation standards.➡️ Not recommended!