Unhappy daily deal buyers cite high deal sales volume

— -- Stephanie Ahle paid full price for laser hair removal at Hudson Med Spa in Kansas City, Mo., but says she got swept up in the mayhem in August 2010 due to the spa's Groupon deal.

She is suing Hudson for scars from burns she says she sustained when treated by someone her lawsuit says was not adequately trained in laser hair removal. In its answer to the lawsuit, Hudson denied all the allegations, including that Ahle was injured.

The spa sold more than 1,000 $125 deals for six hair-removal sessions. Ahle says she paid about $1,000. Hudson co-owner Michelle Busby said in a deposition that the company typically did about 20 laser hair-removal appointments a day.

Ahle's attorney, Angela Cahill, says the spa couldn't have safely filled all the appointments in the nine months allowed for redemption. Spa employee Melissa Nicholson, who treated Ahle, said in her deposition that she worked part time at the front desk and occasionally did laser treatments.

Busby, in an e-mailed response to questions, said Hudson "followed proper procedures in its treatment" of Ahle. She added that "Hudson's participation in Groupon marketing in no way compromises the quality of its services." In her deposition, Busby said Ahle ignored warnings to avoid sun exposure in her bikini area, which led to discoloration.

Christy Cheung, 27, also had to compete with a daily deal crowd last fall when she tried to redeem a Groupon coupon she bought for five sessions of laser hair removal at Vivia Center for Cosmetic Therapy in McLean, Va. She says she had to call five times before anyone picked up the phone to help schedule her first appointment.

Spa manager Savannah Marks said in an e-mail that the center has experienced "periodic spikes in demand" due to daily deals but has "successfully managed those spikes" by spacing out how often they offer a daily deal. But Cheung says the problem was that as her deal was about to expire, coupon holders were rushing to schedule their five hair-removal appointments at the last minute.

Groupon, in an e-mailed statement, declined to answer questions relating to cosmetic procedure deals.

Another med-spa owner, Theresa Caputy, says she decided against offering daily deals after reading the bad reviews many businesses get on Yelp after doing them.

Caputy says she wouldn't want to be a customer at a spa during a daily deal.

"So many of them have to bring in new people to help them," says Caputy, who owns Skintelligence in Vienna, Va. "Now that I know how innundated people get, I would hesitate to use a Groupon for cosmetic medical procedures."

Christine Frietchen, editor-in-chief of ConsumerSearch.com, agrees. She says cosmetic procedures should be researched thoroughly, including checking reviews of the business and possibly speaking to the doctor, which "goes against the idea of a daily deal — to buy something very quickly."