Are feet really that different?
By Maricar Santos, Working Mother
By Maricar Santos, Working Mother
For working moms who barely have any time for themselves, going to a nail salon for a manicure or pedicure can be a real treat. You get to sit down, relax and let someone take care of you for once. The whole point is to leave feeling glam and a touch better about your day.
[post_ads]One Tennessee nail salon, however, doesn't appear to get the idea
that you're supposed to make your customers feel better from visiting
your business. As reported by Scary Mommy, a salon allegedly has a sign indicating it charges EXTRA to overweight customers getting a pedicure!
Together now: WTF?!
Deshania Ferguson, who spotted the sign while at the salon, posted a
photo of it to her Facebook page on March 11 with the caption: "Went to
get my nails done on Overton Crossing and Frayser Blvd and this is what
they have up ... So rude." The sign itself reads: "Sorry, but if you are
overweight, pedicures will be $45 due to service fees for pedicurists.
Thank you!" In the comments section, Deshania reveals the salon with the
sign is Rose Nails, at a shopping plaza in Memphis, TN.
The post has gotten almost
620 shares and 125 comments since it went up. Many commenters, as you
might expect, were infuriated by the offensive sign and vowed never to
go there or return. However, some tried to see the salon's side of
things, with one user writing: "If your legs and feet are 3 times the
[size of an] average person['s] there is nothing wrong with charging
extra. That's a lot of work lifting. It's not discrimination, it's
business." A few commenters confirmed they had also spotted the sign.
One user wrote, " I saw that sign before [when] I used to take my nieces
in there, but I stopped. They're unprofessional to ME and slow as hell.
I rarely saw anybody get feet done there, only nails cause it's like
what $17? Real cheap."
When shown another picture of his
salon—same flooring, chairs and walls—with the sign visible, he said he
still didn't think the sign was posted inside his business. He also
told WREG that that he's decided not to service customers who
are severely overweight, citing the difficulty technicians have with
giving those customers pedicures and the cost of broken chairs at
approximately $2,250.
And despite denying ever having the sign up, he said he's had customers get upset because of his policies. He adds that he's owned the business for nine years and tries to please his customers. The only extra pedicure fee he admits to is charging an extra $5 for men, since they don't come to the salon as often.
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And despite denying ever having the sign up, he said he's had customers get upset because of his policies. He adds that he's owned the business for nine years and tries to please his customers. The only extra pedicure fee he admits to is charging an extra $5 for men, since they don't come to the salon as often.
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Sign
or no sign, there are so many things wrong with this salon's policy
regarding overweight women, including fat-shaming. We get that broken
chairs can cost money, but shouldn't it be the responsibility of the
salon to invest in better chairs?
Plus, are the feet of an overweight
woman so different from the feet of someone who isn't considered
overweight that the former should be charged extra? If lifting feet is
an issue, aren't there things a business could buy to help prop feet up,
making it easier on the pedicurist? Why risk offending or embarrassing
customers by making the ones considered overweight pay even more?
One thing's for sure, now that the news about this nail salon's
approach to servicing overweight customers is out in the open, we can't
imagine many women wanting to give them their money.
