Living A Bold Life

Bruise and the stupid line still there!

I went into Rejeuvine Med Spa to get the $60 worth of Botox I get every few months. I left with a $980 bill, with 6 – 9 months of Restylane pumped into my face and a huge bruise on my cheek. In the process I was lied to, my credit card was charged without my authorization and the procedure was performed on me BEFORE I signed a consent for it. I don’t even know if that’s legal! And on top of everything? That stupid line I was trying to get rid of is still there! Happy 40^th birthday to me

In Autumn’s defense (she was the person who did the injections) I think she’s a nice lady who is poorly trained in office procedures, and she was certainly remorseful for the bruise on my face and the miscommunication about the price. But America and the other female owner of the spa should really relook how they run their business and how they treat customers. I had told Autumn that I only ever have a little Botox, that I was petrified of the injections and that I was happy to wait until after my 40^th birthday the next day if there could be a bruise. She said yes, sometime’s there’s a bruise, but handed me an ice pack, said I’d look fabulous, and came back with a syringe of something. Just for the record, I didn’t even know what it was until I checked the receipt the next morning because I had to Google why I was in so much pain!! She injected one syringe and then said she though it best to do another. The whole time I was imagining that it must cost around the same price as Botox and that I’d be in for around $200 – $300, which even then makes me squirm. And remember that I’m kind of freaking out and she’s having to tell me to breathe slowly because I’m panicking about the needle. When she was done I was horrified that there was a huge bruise on my cheek, and then she told me that I’d feel like she smacked me once the lidocaine wore off (would have been good to know), and that my face would stay like that for 6 – 9 months and no, sorry, it looked like the tiny little line I had wanted gone was going to stay. Oops. Then she asked me some questions from a clipboard, said that I probably bruised because I took fish oil (would have helped to ask me first) and then asked me to sign a piece of paper that turned out to be the consent for the procedure I had JUST HAD! Again, I was upset, but not as horrified as when I went up to the front and was told that I owed $980. I was in absolute disbelief! I said that if I had know that it cost $450 per syringe there is NO WAY I would have agreed to it. Absolutely no way.

America the owner of the place asked me to pay $500 of the $980 bill, and said she would work something out and call me that evening. She said she was going to keep my credit card on file but that she would call me. I even called back a bit later to again express how upset I was and she said to me, “Well you know these things aren’t free. I’m a business owner and I have to cover my costs”. I explained that I understood that, but this was her area of expertise, not mine, and that I had no idea how much a “filler” cost and that it should have been explained to me. Perhaps if I had signed a consent for BEFORE the procedure we could have talked about that. I see it like this. I order a $60 bottle of wine in a restaurant and then and get charged $920 for the next bottle. That’s just not OK, and you have to manage your customer’s expectations! I don’t know what a filler is, and I should have been told upfront that it was not similar in price to Botox. Anyone offering me a procedure that was so grossly different in price had a duty to tell me, and even though I really, really wish I had, no, it’s not only my responsibility to ask.

America never called me back that evening as she said she would. So I didn’t have anyone to tell about the huge amount of pain I was in. That I couldn’t smile, and that at 2am I was in tears because I couldn’t sleep.

Nor did she call me the next day, my birthday. Instead, Autumn called and I said I was really worried about a small pea side lump next to my mouth and the fact that my cheeks felt like ping pong balls. We talked about the fact she never told me the price, and she admitted that it was her fault and she had communicated badly with me, and that she felt really bad. She said that she didn’t deal with the finance side but that I should come in any time the next day and she’d see me immediately. She apologized when I said how much pain I was still in and suggested that I take Motrin.

Woke up the next morning and was so shocked to see that my card had been charged an additional $400! No call from America.

Went in and met with Autumn. She said that the lump was filler from where she tried to get to the tiny line and that it would last for 6 – 9 months. She then offered me a free photo facial, which I declined because I really don’t want to go there ever again. She again stated that she was remiss in not telling me the price first, that she should have had me sign the consent first, and that I would need to speak to the owner about charging my card.

America was not in the office, so I spoke to the other owner whose name I didn’t catch. She told me that America had meant to call me and had said that previous evening that she had forgotten. She didn’t however forget to charge my card $400 without my authorization. I explained that it was illegal for her to do that and her words were “that’s true”. She said that there was “background information” that America would have to tell me. I left the office almost in tears. I do have a recording of the entire conversation with Autumn and the other owner.

To rub salt in my wounds, America’s only call to me after that visit was as follows, “I didn’t call you because you had spoken to Autumn and I didn’t want to disturb you on your birthday. I went ahead and refunded you your $400. The next time you go to a place I suggest you not get stuff done without knowing the price, and I’d like to tell you please do not come back to Rejeuvine”. Wow. Talk about feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut! This lady did everything wrong in her management of this issue, and then insults me like that? I spent my 40^th birthday on painkillers, in agony, with a swollen face after having had a procedure done that was not properly explained to me, and she suggest that I never come back! You bet I’ll never be back and I suggest that everyone else do the same!