Did I get a crappy manicure, or is this normal?

It sounds like you got a crummy manicure. The best manicures I've gotten have been cheapo $10 ones at the strip mall places where the women scold you in Vietnamese for not taking care of your nails properly, and then laugh at you with all of their co-workers. (At least, I assume this is what's going on.) How to tell if your cheapo strip mall nail place is sketchy or just cheap: Walk in during a busy time (usually lunch hour or right after people get off work, or early afternoon on weekends) so you can see how they operate. Look back to where they're doing pedicures. Is there someone scrubbing out the tubs? Does everything look clean? Is someone sweeping? Look around for an autoclave. It should look like a cross between a small safe and a microwave. If they've got someone taking tools back to an autoclave, that means they're sterilizing their equipment. This is a good place. If you visit and you don't see anyone cleaning anything, move along to another place. This is a place where dead foot skin and nail dust float around and people poke at you with sharp objects. There is always something that should be getting cleaned during their rush hours.

Even if a dozen people replied with "Yep, totally normal." the fact remains that you paid for a service and were not happy with the results. That's enough of a reason to ask for a refund or take your business elsewhere in the future.

Just sounds like a crappy manicure. In all honesty, I've never had a manicure or pedicure that's been life-changingly impressive, but they've all been decent. I'd probably write or call the manager and explain (gently, with no expectation of a refund) that I had a disappointing experience, or I'd just let it go. If you just want pretty nails and don't care about the "experience," there's a pretty big nail-blogger community out there, and tutorials abound, and you can give yourself gorgeous manicures with a little practice. (Warning: you could turn into a polish addict. Like, holy shit dude, did you know about this http://www.scrangie.com/2011/09/lcn-magnetic-power-magnet-nail-polish.html?) If you have a nail-junkie buddy or two (or are there meetups for this sort of thing? because that would be rad), you guys can split the cost of polishes and practice on each other.

Oh lady no! That is not right. No no, that is a garbage manicure. Here's the thing. I have paid $14 for nail services and I have paid $40 and even $90. (Shh, I was in a fancy hotel.) Almost every time, I have been FAR, FAR happier with the $14 pedicures and manicures. I'll never give up my cheapo Avenue A nail spot. Look for the dump with the vibrating chairs with the line on Saturdays and go there.

That sounds crappy. But you shouldn't have to spend more (In toronto, i pay $35 for combo mani/pedi of the non-express variety.) The more expensive places have never done a better job, and have several times done a worse job. I stick to my tried and true cheapy nail place now! (Also: if your cuticles are in decent shape to begin with, you might want to ask the technician not to trim them at all, and to just push them back instead. I've found that trimming nice cuticles never makes them look better - its really only a benefit if you've walked in with cuticles that are already a mess.) The thing thats great about crappy manicures is that they aren't permanent! So next time, go somewhere with decent reviews on yelp, or recommended by a friend, and probably/hopefully it'll be better.

Back when I was single and had disposable income I got regular manicures. When I moved to a new place (San Francisco) I visited five or six nail salons, trying to find a place I was happy with. Eventually I stumbled into a little nail salon run by a pair of sisters from Cambodia, and while I was sitting there, listening to them chat to the other patrons, it became clear that a couple of the women in there had been coming to see them for 10+ years. Whether or not a place has regular customers is a great litmus test. Pre-Yelp, that was the way to find a good place to get your nails done. Nowadays, in the rare event I'm splurging for a manicure, I turn to Yelp. The thing about the nail salons that appear cheap-o is, that's what they do. If they do it badly, they are out of business. A multi-service salon can get away with crappy nail services in a way that a single-service place cannot.

A lot of nail places specifically offer a polish change service, which is exactly what it sounds like. They do your polish but no trimming, filing, etc. It's usually several dollars cheaper, so if you are reasonably okay with the shape of your nails, just ask for a polish change; you won't have to worry about additional services and it will be faster.

Perfectly ok to go to another place now. Btw, they should ask if you want your cuticles cut or pushed back before they do either. You can say you want neither, only to have the polish re-done. Then once your nails are completely dry, just mousturize frequently and they should look just fine by Saturday.

I get my nails done every week so I have to go the cheap route, and I'm totally satisfied with it. I've also had my nails done the $90 route, and have always been disappointed. Finally, I would never ever do my own because there's no hand massage!