Elegant Spa with Small-town Feel

As soon as you step foot into Elegant Nails & Spa, a wave of welcomes and hellos hit you like a Greek chorus, coming from every single manicurist on duty who appears beyond thrilled to see you, a total stranger.

"Our main focus is good customer service," said Rebecca Nguyen, the shop owner. "We want the customer to always leave satisfied and happy."

The Hermosa Avenue nail salon offers moderately priced manicures and pedicures with Opi or Essie colors, facials, waxing, paraffin hand and foot treatments and comfortable massage chairs. But in gaining customer satisfaction, the owner said that the first step was for her mostly Vietnamese staff to speak and understand fluent English, a skill "not other salons have," she said.

A survey of nail technicians published in Nail magazine two years ago showed that about 80 percent of California technicians were Vietnamese American. Nationwide the figure was 43 percent. Both numbers are estimated to have not changed much over the years.

Most of the technicians struggle with speaking English, according to the state Vietnamese Nail Worker Information and Training Act, which was amended in 2008 to require that pamphlets or instructional packets are translated into the Vietnamese language for technicians, similar to how most product descriptions or packets are translated into Spanish or French in other industries.

Ironically, some barriers still remain. If someone tries to translate "manicurist" into Vietnamese, for example, he or she can't. The word doesn't exist. What has been used is the term "nail worker," translating as "đinh công nhân." But Rebecca's cousin, Michelle Nguyen who also works as a manicurist in the salon, said that language has not been a major obstacle when connecting with her clients.

That's the "big difference between Elegant Nails and other salons in the area," she said. "They welcome customers and talk to them (and) make conversation. If they don't want to talk, they can sit back and relax."

Hermosa Beach resident Devon Dykstra, 19, said that she and her seven family members are regulars at the salon and appreciate the friendly atmosphere, even considering some of the manicurists as part of an extended family.

"All the women here know my family so I can talk to them about anything and the best part is they won't tell anyone," Dykstra said. "I'm glad that it's so convenient for me to walk here, relax, and just get away."

She added that even her father enjoys coming to the shop for regular appointments, often asking only for Rebecca or her sister. Loyal customers, such as the Dykstra family, delight Rebecca, proving her satisfaction with opening shop in a city that embraces conversation and community, she said. Previously, she worked in Hollywood, where customers would rather not speak with technicians.

"Working at those places, the customer always wants to rush you," she said. "They don't really talk to you, it's only what they want."

But in Hermosa Beach, Michelle said that she and other staff members at Elegant Nails are able to build friendships with old and new clientele.

"They're my friends more than they are my customers," she said. "We tell each other personal stories. When they come in, I know their polish color, what they want, if they want to talk we pick up where we left off last time."

All of a sudden, Rebecca jumped up to Michelle's surprise and loudly yelled, "Wait! Wait! Wait," rushing across the shop toward a woman in her third trimester pregnancy, struggling to get out of a massage chair.

"Don't climb out, we'll help you, that's what we're here for," Rebecca said while gently taking the woman's arm and supporting her weight as she slowly proceeded to step out of the chair.

Michelle turned to watch, and then finished her thought, "It's anything and everything for the customer," she said.