Tes Nail Spa

I recently bought a Groupon for 2 mani/​pedis and was excited to go get my nails done.
I tried calling several times to make an appointment however nobody answers the phone and I soon found out that appointments can only be made through email.
Therefore, I emailed the company and tried to schedule an appointment for about two weeks, with no response getting back to me. Finally, I just decided to go to the salon on a Monday. Thankfully, they weren’t really busy and took me there on the spot. The lady that helped me did a great job on my nails and she was very nice, but spoke little to no English.
To try and make my second appointment for my final Groupon mani/​pedi was more chaotic. I went to the Salon on a Saturday, without making an appointment, since they are so disorganized it doesn’t matter anyway whether you actually have one, and asked if there was time for me to get my mani/​pedi done. The owner finally greeted me at the counter after awhile of me standing there and said yes and for me to pick my color. I couldn’t decide what color I wanted so I took awhile picking one. As I was trying to decide, the owner yells over and says, «Excuseeee me, are you ready???» I finally decided on a color and sat down at one of the tables since I was being rudely rushed and decided I wasn’t going to give a very good tip.
As she was just about to start my manicure, another woman came in through the door saying she had an appointment. The owner basically kicked me out since I didn’t have an appointment and since she hadn’t started my nails yet. She told me that I could make an appointment there though. I was there on Saturday so I said okay how about tomorrow? The owner stands there watching me make an appointment for Sunday, and doesn’t say anything. I come to the store Sunday, and the store is closed.
There are no words to describe what horrible rude customer service this place has. They do your nails well but it is not worth going through the hassle of making appointments. Even though the Groupon was a good deal, I will never go back to this nail salon.
Hope this helps you.

I bought a Groupon deal for a no-​chip manicure and a classic pedicure. It had been a while since I’d had one and was really looking forward to going and having a little relaxing spa day…
I definitely chose the wrong place.
The technicians here are unfriendly. When you walk in the door, they sort of just stare at you… until you, somewhat awkwardly, tell them that you have an appointment. They then bark at you to pick your colors and lead you over to a somewhat questionable looking (cleanliness-​wise) pedicure chair.
My pedicure was just ok — but it was very very fast. I didn’t get to soak my feet in the water, and the filing and pumicing was not sufficient. I’m going to have to touch-​up my heels myself. The polishing was ok… but nothing amazing. I’m not gazing admiringly at my toes, like I normally do after a pedicure.
My manicure was nothing sort of awful. It started off ok… but the lady turned into a medieval torturer when it came to the cuticle removal. The middle finger on my left hand was BLEEDING and is still inflamed now as I write this. Usually with mani-​pedis you get a little hand massage, exfoliating, and moisturizing… there was none of that this time. And I was even getting the No-​Chip — which should have been a little upgrade on the service! So, I left with painted nails, but injured unmoisturized hands.
I was thinking about buying another Groupon deal for this place… but I definitely wouldn’t go back here. Even if it was free. There are a lot of other, NICER, places in Chicago that treat their customers gently. Skip Tes Nail Spa… your hands and feet will thank you.

So here’s the basics of this place:
Customer service is not stellar. The place is busy often and when I’ve gone in for a mani without an appointment the workers often just look at me for a good minute before asking why I’m there.
With that being said the place has great pricing (esp. for Chicago) and they do a great job. Every time I’ve gotten my nails done here I’ve received compliments and loved what they did. Plus after my first visit I received a coupon which they workers have let me use multiple times making my manicures cheaper than an already great price.
All in all this place is worth a visit if you are able to put up with not being treated like a princess when you walk through the door.

Making an appointment here is so annoying that you’d think the end result would nullify it, but you’d be wrong. They are so unbelievably unorganized it’s astounding that they’re still in business. Luckily I was taken right when I arrived on time for my appointment, otherwise I would have just let the groupon go. I sat there watching two girls wait 45 minutes past their appointment time, one girl sitting there waiting for an opening (actually I have no idea what she was thinking doing this), and several people walk in trying to make appointments for later only to get frustrated with the lack of organization and English speaking skills. Do not waste your time or money.

Groupon/​Living Social/​name your local discount deals, they officially stopped answering their phones!
I was about to give up after calling 6x only to make out their email and get the scheduler instead. Exercising my «it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission» I went ahead and scheduled an appt with a LS deal even though it should be for Groupons.
Since many timeslots were taken, the owner was very understanding and nice enough to let me use it past the expiry date.
This is my first time at a «real» nail salon. Getting your nails done seem so strange, so bourgeois, to be waited on hand and foot — literally! … but I digress, the nail techs work very hard as they meticulously work quick to get in as many customers. Fortunately, I was soaking my feet within 5 minutes of my appt. Mani + pedi took a little over an hour plus time for sit down drying machines, so for parking metering purposes — just max it out for your sanity :)
My nails and colors look great. One of the girls I was chatting with was getting her no chip says they do it the best.
Small, pretty hole in the purple wall-​ish, no fancy candles, lotions, soaps or décor here BUT they have massage chairs! not sure if this is common practice, but I could use a good mechanical backrub.
Essie and OPI seems to be their primary selection. It’s a little of out the ways for me to come back again, but the good thing is I’m definitely more apt to checking out other hole in the wall nail places with these pro-​results!

I typically call ahead before I walk-​in to a nail salon just to make sure I can be seen when I arrive. I called and was bumped to an automatic message that said I needed to make an appointment online or I could come in and make an appointment online via their salon computer. Say what?!?
I decided to test my luck and just showed up at 3 during the week. Without batting an eye they were able to take me for a mani/​pedi. It was fairly busy… considering they only have 3 pedi chairs and 5 mani chairs.
Positive: My mani/​pedi polish looked awesome and lasted for 4 days without a chip. That’s a record for me.
Negative: They really need to spend more time cleaning… the place was a serious hole in the wall; dirty floors, dust bunnies piling up in the corners, and the walls and ceiling were crying for a remodel/​repair. Overall it just looked neglected and cluttered.

This Unilocal review is so full of #firstworldproblems, I’m afraid it’s going to sound whiny and shallow. Oh well.
I had a Groupon for what was called a «40-​minute mani/​pedi.» I scheduled myself on the Groupon scheduler (great idea, Groupon folks) more than a week prior to my appointment. My appointment was for 1:30. I arrived a few minutes before my allotted time. When I entered, I just stood at the front desk. No one greeted me, no one said they’d be right with me, nothing. I stood around feeling invisible. Finally, a woman, whom I assume to be the owner, came to the front desk. I told her I had an appointment and a Groupon. I showed her the voucher on my phone. On a Post-​It note, she wrote down my voucher number and my name and left it on the desk. She then left because she had to take her young son to the dentist. (He was very friendly and adorable. While I was waiting, he sat next to me and told me I had picked out a good color.)
I really thought that since I had an appointment, I wouldn’t have to wait too long. Remember, my appointment was at 1:30. At 2:10, it didn’t look like I was going to be seen anytime soon, so I had to duck out and feed the meter. It had not occured to me that I would sit and wait for so long. By 2:20, I was back and finally seated at a pedicure station. Seriously, I was there for 50 minutes before anyone touched my fingers or toes.
The experiences of the mani/​pedi was fine, and I was pleased with the results. At one point, my nail tech had moisturized my hands and I went to a sink to wash them. Upon returning to her station, she was sitting counting her tips. I thought this was highly inappropriate, almost as if she was trying to remind me, «Hey lady, don’t forget to tip!» If you’re going to count your tips, don’t do it in front of customers. It’s tacky.
Upon my departure, my nail tech ushered me to the desk to pay. I told her that I had already used the Groupon voucher from my phone. This seemed to be a foreign concept to her. I explained I had shown the voucher to the owner when I arrived. She acted as if she didn’t believe me. I pointed out the Post-​It note with my voucher number and name on the desk. She still seemed skeptical. Apparently, they need a better system of communication between associates at Tes Nails when it comes to vouchers.
By the time I walked back to my car, the whole mani/​pedi errand had taken over 2 hours. It wasn’t even a weekend. It was a Wednesday afternoon. So, if you end up making an appointment, be warned that it probably means nothing other than your name is written in a book. It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where they had a reservation for a rental car, but no cars were left. At Tes Nails they know how to TAKE an appointment, they just don’t know how to HOLD it.

I read the reviews before going to this spa and got scared by all of the negative reactions to scheduling and general business in the spa but was very pleasantly surprised when I found none of them to be true to my experience. I think that the owner has really taken to heart a lot of the criticism and has addressed a lot of the issues brought up so I would still recommend buying Groupons/​Living Social Deals for this place and coming back for other services.
I texted the number given to me on my LivingSocial deal the day before I wanted to go in for a mani/​pedi (it was kind of planned last minute) and someone got back to me at 1am asking me what times; I responded and by 9am day of I had gotten a confirmation for a 2pm appointment even though the Groupon scheduler link given by Lauren (below) said that they had no availability until next Friday. This was good because I was leaving for my internship abroad next TUesday and really wanted to get my nails done before then.
This was my first mani/​pedi so I didn’t quite know what to expect; I came in and I was seated after only a five-​ten minute wait. The ladies who work there were all from China so I struck up a conversation with my attendant in Chinese; she was very friendly and careful about her work, even giving me tips about how to avoid dried skin on my feet afterward. The manicure was also very well done and she even shaped my nails for me and recommended not to cut them for general nail health.
I really enjoyed my experience here at Tes Nail Spa and will definitely come back to get my nails done if I should ever need it.

I think I’m officially retiring from buying vouchers for mani/​pedis.
I bought a YouSwoop for a mani/​pedi at Tes Nails a few months back and tried a few times to make an appointment. I finally found out through Unilocal that you can schedule an appointment online, so I did so a few days in advance. I received a confirmation email and then a reminder the day before.
I showed up to my appointment (4:00 on a Friday afternoon) and the salon was BUSY. All four techs were working on people, plus there was a girl in a pedicure chair waiting to get her nails done. There were two other women in the waiting area.
I stood at the front desk for about 10 minutes examining the color selection, and trying to catch the eye of any of the techs. I was not acknowledged at all. I stood there for a few more minutes and realized that it would easily be an hour before I was able to get my nails done. Given that I didn’t have time to wait for another hour, I walked out and went to another nail salon down the street (P.S. Nails) that was able to fit me in right away.
Reading the reviews here, I’ve decided not to use my voucher. I understand that salons are often slammed with appointments after offering promotions like YouSwoop, but Tes keeps offering deals through Groupon and Gilt City, and it sounds like the services aren’t good. I thought that salons offered promotions to build their customer base, rather than eliminate it. Sorry Tes, it sounds like we’re just not a good match.

So I used my other groupon, so now I can be completely honest. I have two experiences with them under my belt and, even if it were free, I wouldn’t give them the opportunity to go to three.
This time, the owners son wasn’t there. Perfectly relaxing, I was the only one there. The pedicure was nothing special, but not terrible. A bit quick for my liking and she really didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Very basic.
Where I get angry is the no chip. Now I get no chips every two weeks so I know my stuff. I don’t know if its my nails, but typically no chips will show the first chip within a week for me, but never noticeably chip until around 10 days. I’m pretty lenient with places when it comes to the chipping, however, my index finger chipped the day of the manicure. About 5 hours after to be exact. Plus she only put on 2 coats of the light color I chose (I chose the same color every time and every other place I get my no chips at and they do 3).
Luckily I only paid the groupon price and not the $ 65 that a no chip originally is. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

I wish I would’ve read the reviews on Unilocal before purchasing certificates for 2 manis and pedis from Tes. What a waste. My husband and I had certificates for 2 exfoliating manicures and 2 hydrating pedicures.
1. These were supposed to be the «deluxe» but I really think we got less service than any other person in there. I told them we had the gilt offers, they either didn’t understand or didn’t listen. After my Husband’s ULTRA fast manicure (which was done in approximately 10 minutes) I asked them to explain to me how exactly we were receiving «deluxe» treatment. There was an attempt at an explanation, but no explanation was given as to how his manicure was the «deluxe» manicure. Also, what manicure takes 10 minutes? I swear I think he got both services done in less than 1 hour.
My pedicure was fine (but not the «deluxe» hydrating pedicure) but my nail polish looks horrible. It’s super streaky and it was a waste. Basically, I could’ve done this at home and walked away with less nail polish on my skin, and more nail polish on my nails… i.e. actually on the sides of the nail bed.
2. The place is very poorly ventilated.
3. This was quite possibly the WORST mani/​pedi I’ve ever received.
This is a very clear example of how you do NOT get what you pay for. I will never go here again.

For everyone trying to make an appointment, please click this link:
That will take you to an online booking site for Tes Nail Spa. After texting for two days trying to get an appointment, I received a reply asking for my email address, and they sent me that link. Why it’s not a part of their website, I have no idea. They probably don’t know how to add it or something like that. And judging by the negative reviews and lack of responses and apparent lack of attempt to clean their act up, they probably don’t care.
I had a KGB Deals voucher for a no-​chip manicure. $ 16 sounded cheap, I figured they use Shellac, which they do. I don’t see how they can charge $ 55 regular price for their no-​chip, though! The place I usually go, the No-​Chip Nail Boutique, charges $ 40 and they have a much more tedious process with a gel polish that last way longer than Shellac.
Shameless plug aside, Tes wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. I just think if your salon offers a no-​chip, they should have a manicure table that’s large enough to accommodate the two UV drying machines that are required for such a manicure. Because putting two of those things on a little table not only looks bad, but it makes for awkward positioning when the customer has to put her entire arm over those things and sort of just hang there while the gel is being applied. Not comfortable at all, for me anyway.
The manicure was ok, I never really like nail techs to file my nails because I’m so picky (: But that’s just me. She was ok with the fact that I said, «No filing please.» (Sometimes I’m greeted with attitude when I say that in other places.) The only thing I don’t like about the manicure is that the nails weren’t painted close enough to the cuticle, there is a gap. So it already looks like my no-​chip has grown out for about a week.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Go click that link and make yourself an appointment! Maybe if enough customers go this route they’ll realize their current method of booking is seriously lacking.

I would give this place zero stars if I was able to. My roommate and I have been trying for several days to make appointments for mani/​pedi after buying a couple of living social deal type things. We were excited because it’s in the neighborhood and we could finally get an affordable yet much needed bit of pampering in our hectic and stressful lives.
Unfortunately, we were sorely wrong. Not only does NO ONE ever answer their effing phone there, but when we text or email (the only ways you can schedule appointments), they only reply to deny us. We have provided many options of times we want to come in, including (ugh) weekdays and mornings, and they only send back sad-​face emoticons, HOW ANNOYING! If you’re booked, fine, but then tell me WHEN you are available so that I can put it on my calendar for 6 months from now, when I’m sure I will regret having purchased this deal because let’s face it, the reviews on here aren’t exactly bolstering my expectations for the service itself…
Anyway, friends, don’t make the same mistake we did. Save your money and time for somewhere less frustrating and slightly more accessible.

Good nail place. Went there with a Groupon and they are very nice and professional. They do good no chip manicures and pedicures. I was running late one time and they really bent over backwards to squeeze me in.
Only cons… Parking around there blows big– time. This isn’t a walk– in type place. You 100% need an appointment at Tes.

Since there is not a dearth of nail spas in Chicago, this one, I can take or leave.
When my friend called to schedule an appointment (same time as mine), the message said there were no open appointments for two weeks. She thought that was fishy, so called back. Thank goodness, a woman answered and told her that there was an opening for the date and time I was already going (Whew!).
We decided to follow each other after work and quickly realized that we were going to have a difficult time finding street parking (about 1 – 2 blocks away from Park West). We finally both found parking spots; and were about 10 minutes late for our appointments, thanks to having to circle the spa a few times.
The space is tiny and the walls badly need a fresh coat of paint. The employees are nice and the mani/​pedi was fine, nothing Earth shattering.

Came here because of a BuyWithMe voucher for a no-​chip mani and regular pedi. I made an appointment a couple weeks in advance. But when I got there, I still had to wait 20 minutes before it was my turn. That’s a deduction of 1 star. Also, the young lady that helped me didn’t really help me find the color I requested. I wanted the OPI We’ll Always Have Paris polish for my pedi. But she couldn’t find the color. Not a huge deal — I found a color similar enough. But with some of the other nail salons I’ve been to, the manicurists were quite knowledgeable about the colors and where to find them.
The entire experience was just meh. There was no hot towel, no real massaging, just very basic mani-​pedi. I liked that the manicure is no-​chip but I noticed one of my nails had a bubble. It wasn’t too noticeable since I chose a very dark color.
In overall, I will not return to this place but my experience wasn’t horrible either.

SO I got a deal on a no chip mani from here.
I called and set up an apptmt for the very next day. Absolutely no problem getting in.
They have a good variety of colors for the no chip, unlike some of the other salons that I have been too.
So its pretty much a no frills nail place… however, I thought they did a really good job on my nails.
I have to say though, the manicure actually kind of hurt. The girl doing my nails was digging her nails into my fingers and cuticles. Slightly painful and not relaxing. Alas, beauty is pain I guess. Plus the end result looked great. Its been on for a week without a flaw and I am pretty sure its going to last at least another one. It really does look amazing… all for $ 20. PERFECT! I would definitely go back. I think this may have been the best no chip mani that I have had to date. But I couldnt give them 5 stars because of the pain.
There is pretty easy street parking before 6PM when it becomes permit.

I need to preface this review by saying that, for me, if the customer service is horrendous there really isnt any coming back from it.
My friend and I purchased the Living Social deal to Tes and went yesterday at 4pm with appointments. First off, no one greeted us when we walked in. There were only 2 customers in the «spa» and 3 employees were in a conversation with one person. Once they finally did notice we were there they kept asking us if we had appointments even after we replied yes and had given them the LIving Social Deal vouchers. There were 2 vouchers, one for each of us, and they kept asking us if there was one for each of us.
The woman leading us to the pedicure chairs was quite bewildered and didnt seem to know what she was doing… when we asked if this was where she wanted us to sit, she snapped at us. The pedicure water was lukewarm at best, and my technician cut my nails WAY TO SHORT even though I had asked her not to 3 times. I still went home and used a pumice stone on my feet… that’s how «good» the pedicure was.
The polish applied for my manicure is uneven and the edges were not painted. Once the manicure was over, they rushed us under the dryers and then rushed us out. When we gave them tip money they came up ti us in mid conversation asking if the money was for one of them or both of them… we gave them $ 30 not $ 5!
The color selection is less than desired as well.

This has become one of my favorite places to get a mani/​pedi and definitely the best in the area.
I’ve been trying all the ones on the deal sites and whatever ones have a deal from M-​W to find the best one that is for a girl on a budget but still wants to look FLY-​Y-​Y-​Y. (They have a special on M-​W.)
Got a Groupon for here, made an appointment with the clear and articulate appointment setter. And that is a BIG PLUS.
The establishment is small but it was cute and nicely decorated.
My technician didn’t speak a lot of English but she was through and when I was waiting for the all good stuff to dry, she gave me a quick shoulder massage. UM, AWESOME! (You know how your shoulder kinda cramps up from getting a mani… this is the sweetest thing)
AND it didn’t chip for awhile. Like a few weeks, where as in most cases it chips in 3 days.
Oh and then they gave me a coupon to use for next time. So you want to reward me for using a GROUPON??? by giving me another coupon??? This a nice change.
Everything was clean and everyone was happy and nice.
Like how it should be.

I don’t know this place has so many bad reviews. My experience here was great! I also had a Groupon here and was a bit annoyed when I saw it was by appointment only and no one answered ever when I called. But I took it in stride, because hey, it costs $ 20. And I’m sure they got slammed with calls.
So anyways, finally got a hold of them– made an appt for the next day. Got there 20 minutes before my appt and they were able to accommodate me without any problems. I had an older lady do my nails and she was great. My pedicure was relaxing and my toes finally looks sandal-​ready.
The greatest part was when I got a manicure. The color I originally picked out looked way too light on my nails and I told the manicurist that immediately. She got up to help me find the right color and even tested out three more colors on her own nails to show me. She had a lot of patience for me!
On my way out, she gave me a card with 40% off my next mani-​pedi. Definitely returning here!