Epidermis Cosmetics

I was walking down Lexington Avenue on September *** at 715pm when the owner of Epidermis started mocking my voice when I said no thank you to taking one of his samples as I walked past his shopHe said that my saying no thank you was fake, continued to mock me, and screamed and waved '*** ***' When I asked for the owner, he claimed that he was the owner and once again screamed, and I mean screamed, and waved his handsI was not even in his store, just an innocent pedestrian, and he reacted with aggression and general rude behaviorIf I hadn't walked away, I would not be surprised if he would have escalated further and approached harassmentI cannot confirm that this was the owner, as he merely stated he was the owner but if he was, what an awful shop environment and set of business practicesAs this shop caters to women, I hope he doesn't treat others women as he did to me today

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
 
 Their response is utte[redacted]  These people are LIARS!!!!  First of all, with regard to their advertisement, (and the term is "loss leader" not "lost leader" and that doesn't apply to promotions, but that's just an aside), the ad offered a free facial.  I did not receive a facial at all.  If they normally charge $200 to have someone slather crap on your face, they're even bigger rip off artists than I thought.  I true facial is done at a real spa, where a derma wand is used, there is steam cleansing, exfoliation, etc.  They do not have a spa or salon.  It's just a store with a room in the back with a sink.  A woman named "[redacted]" slathered some cream on my face.  That is NOT a facial.  BTW, if these people were truly "high end"  there wouldn't be complaints against them all over the internet.  I found several complaints against them online.  They are thugs with all the class of used car salesmen or time share salesmen.  After the "facial", [redacted] left, and [redacted], a salesman, came in and harassed me until I agreed to purchase something.  I NEVER gave him permission to run up $400 worth of charges on my card because, quite honestly, I can be the same type of products at [redacted] for $20.  I didn't notice any difference between the "before" and "after."  Some products DO cost $2,400 and you can see that at the [redacted] website.  At any rate, I didn't want to purchase ANY of their over-priced crap, but felt extremely pressured and harassed by their salesman.  AT NO POINT DID THEIR SALESMAN MAKE ME AWARE OF THEIR REFUND POLICY.  THEY HAD NO VISIBLE NOTICE STATING THEIR REFUND POLICY ANYWHERE.  (Although, when I returned to the store several days later, they had put up a paper sign, conveniently hidden behind another sign, which one has to turn sideways to see.  I HAVE PICTURES!!!)When I returned to the store a few days later, I spoke to a cashier.  There was no [redacted] available and [redacted] the salesperson was not available.  "The [redacted] explained her about the fact that the $100 was for the next facial and not for the free facial and eventually the [redacted] refund the customer for the $100 (June [redacted], 2015 5:55 pm)" THIS IS A BOLD FACED LIE!!!  WHY WOULD I PAY "FOR THE NEXT FACIAL" IN ADVANCE???  Then, they claim that their facials are $200, so why would they be charging me $100 for the "next facial?"  I pointed out to the CASHIER that I had been charged $100 for a facial that was advertised as FREE which is FALSE ADVERTISING.  She agreed to refund the $100, but begged me to come back.  She offered me ANOTHER FREE FACIAL.  I told her I wanted nothing to do with their rip off store, and had no intention of coming back.  So, she refunded me the $100 for the facial which was advertised as free because I told her that FALSE ADVERTISING IS AGAINST THE LAW!  Then, I told her that I wanted to return the products.  I told her I felt completely violated by Epidermis Lexington, and the entire experience had left a bad taste in my mouth.  I offered her the products (which I still have) wrapped and sealed in their original packaging with the receipts.  She told me that she was not able to give me a refund.  I DO NOT WANT THEIR PRODUCTS, WHICH IS WHY I HAVE NEVER USED THEM.  I WANT MY MONEY BACK, SO I CAN FORGET THE WHOLE MISERABLE EXPERIENCE.Hence "and the customer chose to keep the products that she purchased." is yet, another LIE!!!  The CASHIER told me she could not issue a refund.  A this point, I took pictures of their conveniently hidden refund policy.  I have those pictures and would be happy to share them.  Please provide me with an email address, and I can send them to you as JPGs.  NEW YORK STATE LAW STATES THAT, A CUSTOMER HAS 30 DAYS TO RECEIVE A FULL REFUND WITH A RECEIPT.  I TRIED TO GET A REFUND, AND WAS TOLD BY THE CASHIER THAT SHE COULDN'T GIVE ME ONE.  THIS IS WHY I CONTACT THE Revdex.com.  Moreover, New York State Law states that if a company has a different refund policy, the customer has to be made aware, and a sign needs to be posted where it is easily visible to the customer.  Putting a flimsy paper sign up, after the fact, which is off to the side, and hidden behind a larger sign is not making the customer aware of anything, nor is it easily visible to the customer.  I HAVE PICTURES OF THIS, TOO!!!!  These people are thieves and liars. I want my money back.  All I want is to return their over-priced products for a full refund, and to have nothing to do with these criminals ever again.  They prey on people, and use any type of deception and pressure to get money out of people for useless items that have no more proven efficacy than something that can be bought for a fraction of the price at a pharmacy.  I WANT MY MONEY BACK.  I HAVE NEVER USED THEIR PRODUCTS, AND HAVEN'T EVEN OPENED THE PACKAGES!!!!
 
 
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Sincerely,
[redacted]

This company is a big scam. Don't believe in it. The sales lady and the store manager tried to push their products onto me. The 200$ per cream is way too expensive. I can get much better products at Sephora for much cheaper. None the less, I decided to try the facial and booked and appointment. I later changed my mind and called up to cancel it. When I later asked for the refund for they called me to the store. After I went to the store , the store manager , extremely rude, started shouting at me telling me I know the business better and we are big company. I am like if you are so big what's the problem in giving the refund for the service I never took. To which he justified saying he lost a customer because of me. Believe me their whole calendar was empty. There was no other customer. They never returned back my money and said we can't do anything. Their is no customer service to help or to whom you can complain. Extremely sketchy business .. stay away and you will be better off going to sephora who by the way gives free facials. And they don't force products on you. And no one ever charges you just to book and appointment. I wish I have figured when they were taking my credit card details only to book the appointment that how sketchy and ripoff company this is. The store manager showed me bags of customer who ordered products worth of 13k , good for him if your company is really doing so well why the hell are you fighting with me for 180 bucks of service that I never even got to use.
Horrible horrible company and services. Rude manager and their representatives.

Review: I saw an ad for a "free facial" offered as a Mother's Day promotion in a local magazine. The ad did not say anything about having to make a purchase of any kind. When I went in for my "free facial", I was disappointed to learn that it wasn't a traditional facial. They did not use a derma wand, steam, exfoliating procedures, etc. Rather, the esthetician just slathered some lotions on my face, and left the room. Sometime later, she returned, removed the creams, and a man entered the room. I'm not sure if he was the owner or just a salesman, since he only introduce himself as "[redacted]." At any rate, the pair of them spent a few minutes telling me how lovely I looked. (I personally didn't notice any difference between the "before" and "after.") The esthetician left, leaving me alone with the man, who proceeded to use high-pressure sales tactics to get me to make a purchase. At first, he wanted me to sign up for a $2,400 montly program to purchase their anti-aging product. (Seriously???? For $2,400 per month, I could just get a face lift in a few months, and I know I would see real results from that.) Anyway, after keeping me for almost an hour, trying to get me to buy their product, and after I told them repeatedly that I was not interested, and was in no position to buy a $2,400 face cream, I agreed to make a small purchase, just so I could leave. I gave him my card, which only had an available balance of about $50, which is the price of a normal, higher end facial product. (You can get plenty of products that work well at your local pharmacy for $25.) To my horror, he came back, and proudly told me that he'd run $400 on my card. I was shocked!!! I was even more shocked when I looked at the receipts, and realized he'd actually run 2 charges: $300 for some facial mask, and $100 for the facial that was supposed to be free!! I was, also, enraged when they'd printed "No refunds" on the bottom of the receipt. There was no sign anywhere at the register or in the store that stated "No refunds" nor did [redacted] make me aware of any such policy. I returned to the store to see if I could find [redacted]. Not surprisingly, he was nowhere to be found. This time, however, I noticed that they had printed up (on paper) a sign that stated their refund policy, but one would have to turn sideways to find it, and it is hidden behind another sign.These people are despicable scam artists, plain and simple. They masquerade as a high-end beauty salon, but, in reality, they are as classy as a Time Share presentation. Their staff is trained to use extremely aggressive, high-pressure tactics to twist your arm into buying very over-priced crap. It was, honestly, one of the worst experiences I ever had. I don't want their over-priced product, I just want my money back.Desired Settlement: I want a refund for the questionable product I didn't want in the first place. There was no mention that I had to buy anything in the ad, and the salesperson made me feel obligated. I told him, repeatedly, that I had neither the means nor the interest to buy an over-priced facial product. I wasn't thrilled with the product's performance in the store, so I didn't want to purchase it. I have the product unused, in its original wrapping. They can have their product. I just want my $326.94 back.

Business

Response:

Epidermis is a high end cosmetics store in the heart of Manhattan that offers an exceptional service to our customers and give them the opportunity to use our product line. Our specialty is that we only use our own products in our facials, ones that are available for purchase by the customer if they wish in order to gain the same results at their own home. Our products cannot and should not be compared to cosmetic products that can be found in pharmacies but rather those in specialty cosmetic stores, such as [redacted]. In terms of our advertisement for a “free facial”… it is a common practice in business to utilize a concept referred to as “lost leader”; and so we offer free facials in order to attract customers into our store with the hope that our customers will love the facials (which most do). The customers that enjoy our facials regularly return and in addition some may choose to buy our products. Only customers that are interested will be presented with products and may choose to purchase them.In terms of the price stated in the letter of $2,400… that is not the price for one cream but rather for four high-end anti-aging series. The price is actually very similar to other cosmetic stores that offer similar products. The facials that we provide and offer in our store are performed by highly trained NY certified estheticians. The cost of our professional facial is around $200 and it is only with NY certified estheticians and it involves steamer as well any other component of a basic facial. In addition, we are sometimes offer 7 facial for a lesser price in order, yet again, to be attractive (all the other stores in the world use promotions as well). Furthermore, we are compliance with all the laws and regulation of NYC and we always but always have a sign on the cash register stating our refund policy in addition to that we are add the policy on every receipt that we are giving to the customer even though that there is no such a requirement, however, we are not trying to force the customer and therefore we are taking the extra mile to show them our refund policy on their individual receipt. Regarding the charges, the $100 was for the next facial which when the customer came back on Jun e [redacted], 2015 and decided that she does not want it we refunded her the money (we have the receipt for approval). I would like to give the additional facts to this case which is that the customer came back to the store on June [redacted], 2015 and talk to the [redacted] and told her that she was not happy with the charges. The [redacted] explained her about the fact that the $100 was for the next facial and not for the free facial and eventually the [redacted] refund the customer for the $100 (June [redacted], 2015 5:55 pm) and the customer chose to keep the products that she purchased. We are not trying to force anybody to purchase our amazing products we are just trying to get as much people to try because we are having enough confident in our exceptional service and products that we know that many people will appreciate it and will come back as we are seeing the amazing result and the responds (that unfortunately are not in this website, here is only the misunderstandings and the unfortunate incidents).