to think that a refund isn’t enough.

[Thatstingslikemad]

I went to a well known spa for the day at Christmas. I am allergic to a very specific chemical, and wrote this on my medical form before I had a treatment. The lady did the treatment but then used a final product which contained the chemical, and it burnt me.
I spoke to the manager and they arranged a refund and some tea and cake, and I asked that the staff be trained to read the product labels and medical forms before doing a treatment.

I went back to the spa this weekend and EXACTLY the same thing happened but with a different treatment, except she used it to start the treatment and had slathered it on without even looking at my form. My skin is burning and I have itched all night. The manager was horrified and offered a refund of the treatment (which hadn’t taken place as she stopped immediately) and a free spa day but I’m not keen on returning now, as you can imagine!

What should I do?

They’ve given you a refund both times - you chose to go back a second time. Not sure what else you want from them?! Just don’t go back again!

I think you will have to speak to a solicitor about sueing. I agree it's dreadful but i don't suppose they can offer much else without going through a solicitor. Really poor of them. I don't understand why they have those forms if they don't read them!

I don't think "Spas are regulated are they ? So they can have zero training. Is it attached to a chain I would put your complaint in writing and just don't go back. What else would you like to happen?

I’m surprised that you went back there but astounded that you didn’t verbally mention your allergy and get the therapist to check the labels before applying every single product!

Err...if you chose to go back after having a bad experience (each to their own, I'm sure, but why would you do that?), then, as PP have mentioned, I can't really understand why you didn't specifically mention your allergy to the therapist.

You should have told them before they started, especially after last time.

Why didnt you tell the therapist before they started treatment. I think if you sued that question would be asked as most people would tell the therapist especially as you had had a bad experience.

As said above, did you actually tell them verbally? If l had an allergy l definitely would.

I agree with PP. You'd been there before had a bad experience, and went back?! And then you haven't mentioned that you did anything other than write it on your form again. Even in the first instance I'd have verbally said "I'm very allergic to x and i know it's in a lot of products, it burns my skin so please can you be very careful to check". I know they should read the forms fully but you also need to take enough responsibility.

What is the point of the forms if they don’t read them?!

On a personal note, I don't understand why you'd personally go back there.

However, I agree that a refund is not enough. Or some tea and cake. How the bloody hell have they let this happen twice, to the same person, in such a short space of time too?!

Makes no sense to me - Why have those bloody forms if you're not going to make actual use of them? Do they just want to look fancy or something?

If you knew she hadn't even looked at your form why did you allow the treatment to start?

hmm, after the first time, I woud, have expected more, as they didn't take due care of your medical form

But the second time? I would have started by having a conversation with the therapist. - I can't use xx chemical, before we start please could you double check all the itmes you are about to use. I am puzzled as to why you didn't.

Now that it has happened twice, I would write a letter on the lines of your concern over the therapists not actually looking at the form, and re-training required that therapists actually ask a question about the medical form beofre they start - is there anything on here I need to know before we start?
Depends what you are after - money or reassurance that they will take more care?

Obviously, the OP should have said something for her own safety because people are idiots but that still doesn't negate the massive fuck up on their parts or the fact that they clearly haven't had any further staff training. That's their job. If someone who hasn't got a brilliant command of ENglish comes in they don't deserve to be burnt because the employees can't be arsed to read the stupid form they make you fill out!

I'd be furious OP, and no a refund really isn't enough. You need to be very explicit and tell them what you want or let them know you'll be taking it further.

The first treatment I had, a few months ago was a massage and I mentioned the allergy and she didn’t twig that it was in the final product she used.

This time I chose a foot file and polish, specifically because I didn’t think there would be any products used, just filing, but as she started, she slapped on a gel without mentioning that was what she would be doing, and with my medical form right next to her, so she caught me by surprise, otherwise I’d have stopped her and saved my agony!

If you have an allergy, you need to be obsessive about checking. You should have asked to see the ingredient lists of all bottles, and reminded each person treating you about your allergy. I honestly wouldn't expect a therapist to know every ingredient in every product, so each product needs to be individually checked before use.

I have an allergy to a particular drug, and mention it about ten times whenever being treated by a doctor, even through it is in big red letters on my file. I then ask the pharmacist about it when I put my prescription in. It's my responsibility to double, triple, quadruple check.

Is the thing you react to explicit on the labels of the products?

I can't really understand why you didn't specifically mention your allergy to the therapist

Nor can I, that was a bit daft! However, it was still there fault. Are the burns bad? Have you been to your GP and have you photos etc? You can sue or you could ask for more. What you need to try and avoid is accidently coming across as appearing to be blackmailing them. Ie Telling them you are considering legal action so what are they going to offer you. Iyswim. I think it’s better to decide before you speak to them what you want. Simply refunding the Massage doesn’t seem enough. What about two full spa days for you and a friend

That's pretty bad. Even as a trainee beauty therapy student I could tell you what was in every single product I used for dermalogoca in hnc then thalgo for hnd. Product knowledge is a very big part of the role and it sounds like that is seriously lacking along with the seriousness of the consultation form and health and safety.

www.theretailombudsman.org.uk/health-beauty/

I agree if you have an allergy you need to keep banging on about it especially if the allergen could bein something. Btw is it Aloe Vera it seems to be i every lotion it is a pain in the arse trying to avoid it

I think if I had experienced an allergic reaction like that I would have either not gone back or verbally checked and confirmed I was allergic to certain products and asked the therapist to check thoroughly before applying. Not doing so seems particularly provocative behaviour to me..

I do think I would have mentioned verbally to the therapist after the first bad experience. My skin reacts badly to Aloe Vera (which is very, very unusual) and I tend to always mention it when anyone is putting anything on my skin - the cooling gel after eyebrow waxing/threading usually contains it, the stuff they use at make up counters for wiping off makeup/colour matching etc usually contain it etc.

That said they have messed up by not checking your forms. As it’s happened twice now I would be expecting the manager to be promising re training his stuff to ensure this type of thing never happened to anyone else. What if it happened to someone else with severe allergies? A skin reaction they can brush aside but sending someone into anaphylactic shock and risking their life not so much.

What do you want from them? You were obviously satisfied with the first refund and tea and cake as you returned a few months later. So you need to decide what exactly is acceptable to you this time and take it from there.

On one hand, yes you probably should have been absolutely clear with them, repeatedly if necessary, because you've already had a problem.

But. They ask for medical forms for a reason and you filled it in with your allergy details. They should have been double and triple checking that products used weren't going to cause a problem. They're supposed to be trained on this stuff and it's simply not good enough for them to be in possession of a medical form clearly stating allergies and then not be actually doing anything about it. There's already been an identical incident and they haven't learned from it.

What else to do about it is a tricky one (I've had a similar thing recently from the health club I'm a member of; I had skin problems last week after using the pool) as you don't want to come across as using it an excuse for demanding freebies (not that I think you are!). They've apologised - as they should - and they've offered something as a token of their apology, which is fair enough. In your shoes I think I'd submit a written complaint to both the spa's manager and to the company that owns it (if there is one). State what happened, and why you didn't think there'd be an issue this time (previous issue you hoped they'd learned from, medical form present, type of treatment) and ask for a written guarantee that they will ensure all staff understand issues around allergies, have undergone sufficient training and procedures have been put in place to prevent a repeat.

I'd go on the free day, and be very specific about allergies again. If they ballsed up after that I'd be reporting them to the Health & Safety Executive.

I'm a bit alarmed why you didn't verbally state it especially with what happened last time.

I do think you have a case for compensation, how bad were the burns? Did you take photos?