Inspire Salon & Spa

This rating of 2 stars, or «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» is the best way to describe my experience. A bit off the beaten path, this salon is oddly located on the second floor of a small office building next to the Franklin Northwestern Mutual campus. I say odd, because the signage is poor on the lobby level, and the elevator is dingy and dumpy — thankfully the music of the salon draws the customer in the right direction after stepping out of the elevator.
I arrived 5 minutes early for my Groupon purchase of a «75 minute pumpkin pedicure». I approached the check-​in desk, and awkwardly waited. And waited. A girl approached the desk to ask if I’d been helped (the receptionist? A stylist? I’ll never know — the desk was unmanned again upon payment and required waiting for this un-​hurried person to return). She was sullen, but pleasant. She then told me to take a seat, and Michelle would be with me shortly. The waiting area is in the middle of the salon, which is confusing… and as the couch was occupied, I took a seat in one of the 2 chairs by the wall… which also turned out to be the blow-​dry chairs (?!). A little more customer service, welcoming attitude, and guidance for new customers would be greatly appreciated. The quasi-​receptionist did offer me a cup of water, which is standard in Aveda salons.
Did I forget to mention this is an Aveda salon? Not sure if it’s an «Aveda Concept» salon, or just one that uses their products. The décor and products were nicely displayed, but one comes to expect a certain service level of an Aveda Concept Salon, that was missing from this salon, so it was a bit of a mystery.
After waiting about 5 minutes, Michelle approached me to take me back to the pedicure «room» which was a curtained-​off corner of the salon. They had a wonderful electric massage chair, and the view outside of the salon window was fabulous: meadow and un-​developed land as far as the eye can see. Michelle was extremely sweet and friendly; a little shy, perhaps due to her novice standing in the salon. She was easy to make conversation with, but the pedicure station is awkward because there is no stand or stool in which to place one’s feet. The pedicurist sits on a (pretty) little pillow, and holds your feet on her knees. Not only did I feel bad for this girl’s knees, but it was a bit uncomfortable to keep replacing one’s foot when knees move, bodies shift, etc. Strange, to say the least. The pumpkin part was underwhelming — a masque applied to the feet and then wrapped in hot towels… which would have been great, except your feet are left hanging on the floor with these wet towels, which not only made the carpet damp (mildew), but also felt unsanitary and awkward.
Here is the part that determined my return status to this salon: As I sat in the massage chair, reading my magazine and letting my toweled feet soak, 2 of the workers came into the area to paint each other’s nails. I can certainly understand how this is easy to do, given the place of employment, however their chatting squashed any hope of relaxation. If I had paid full price for this service, I would have been pissed. I’m not sure how much the full-​price version of this service costs, but at $ 30 (plus tip), a client would like to relax and enjoy the service without the employees performing work on themselves that should be left until after the clientele leaves. It’s just unprofessional… which is how I would sum up this entire experience. The salon doesn’t seem that it has been around for very long, but there is too much competition in the area for a service-​based small business to present their sloppy side to potential loyal clients.
I would recommend Michelle, but based on my experience would not recommend this salon, nor plan on returning. I’m looking for 5-​star service when I pay for service explicity, and there are too many other great salons and day spas around this area that will provide exactly that.