My friend booked me a spa with Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat for May 26th 2019.
When I arrived, I asked to confirm that the payment went through since when you register for your appointment, they take your card information. NOWHERE on the website does it say that you are not charged for the appointment. The lady at the desk told me that the payment did NOT go through. Since it was a gift from a friend, I declined services because I didn't want to stiff the masseuse.
I asked the woman at the desk at Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat what I should do. She apologized for the inconvenience and told me the following:
Today, I was notified that they charged $60 despite what they told me at the desk.
I called up Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat and a very rude woman, who called herself the manager, picked up and said that it was my fault that there was a misunderstanding and that she didn't care what the woman at the front desk had to say, policy is policy. She questioned my ability to comprehend English, which is incredibly off-putting as English is my second language but I speak it perfectly and fluently.
When I tried to recap what she was telling me, to make sure we were both on the same page (since she was telling me one thing while her employee told me another) she hung up on me. I called back and she refused to pick up.
Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat is an extremely unprofessional place that scams people out of money. I was very disappointed with how they treated me because the place has so many good reviews. Unfortunately, Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat lacks consistency and customer service.
I could have absolutely came in for that massage and not made sure that the gift payment went through, and just took the services anyway, but in good faith and to be a good person, I made sure FIRST so that there wouldn't be any problems. The lady at the front desk even THANKED me and apologized. She was a really sweet lady.
The manager of Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat is an absolutely vile person. Hanging up on me because I wanted to clarify the situation? Telling me I don't know how to read because I wanted to follow-up after being told I'd be allowed to reschedule? She got her money, yet she is throwing a temper tantrum on the phone because I wanted to iron out the contradicting information both her and her employee gave me.
Word to the wise, Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat's masseuses might be good at what they do. I don't know and I don't want to know, moving forward. However, their customer service is absolutely horrible. Their manager is a spiteful, angry person.
To add insult to injury, I was the one that reached out to her after I was told they would reach out to me. She said she called "three times" and that my voice mail was full. I believe in digital minimalism and I clean my voice mail box every evening so I know I didn't miss any important messages. I did not receive any voice mails from Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat and I also did not receive any missed calls from Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat.
So, it's basically her word against mine.
I also let her know that, given the benefit of the doubt that my empty voice mailbox was indeed "full," I asked her why she didn't try to just text me or send me an email since they do text reminders and they have sent me confirmation emails. She said it "wasn't her job" to help me understand how their policies worked.
Okay... so why even tell me that they'll call me to reschedule if:
The whole situation with the manager of Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat was really shady. I'm not going to fight them on the fact that they charged me for a service I didn't even receive even though THEY told me I could just reschedule it due to the misunderstanding.
The manager of Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat repeatedly treated me like I was unable to read and that I didn't understand English when I tried to gain some clarity on the situation. Overall, the situation has been absolute crap. Even if this manager said "Oh, sorry that you were told that, but that's not our policy," that would've sufficed. Instead, she repeatedly made fun of me and acted like I was stupid or something. Then she hung up the phone.
Stay far far away from Hillsborough Spa and Day Retreat.