Nail Salon Charges $5 Fat Tax
It’s actually not often that I get emails from more than one tipster on the same subject, but Kari, Leigh, and Amy all sent me links to this story! A woman in Georgia was told she would have to pay $5 extra for her manicure because she was fat.
Michele Fonville claims she was charged five extra dollars for her manicure due to her weight. Kim Tran, owner of the Natural Nails Salon in DeKalb County, Georgia, said the reason she was being charged was apparently fat patrons were causing damage to salon chairs (as opposed to possible normal wear and tear). When Ms. Fonville told the owner she couldn’t charge her extra because it was weight discrimination, Tran allegedly replied it wasn’t fair to charge $24 for a manicure when it costs $2500 to fix broken furniture. She refunded the extra charge and told Fonville not to come back because she couldn’t serve her anymore…
Us fat people take so much crap in our society, the last thing we should have to worry about is being shamed at a nail salon. And while Kim Tran probably can charge fat people more for manicures because there is no national weight discrimination law on the books, it’s still disheartening she would think to only blame large people for breaking her furniture and making them pay for the cost towards items she as a business owner is required to supply.
Leigh lives in the same town, and sent us this link to a local news source, which quotes both Fonville and Tran:
I said, ‘I’ve been overcharged. She may have made an error,’” said Fonville. “She broke it down, then told me she charged me $5 more because I was overweight. I was humiliated. I almost cried. Tears were forming in my eyes….”
“I didn’t want to argue with her about $5. I wanted to make her pleased with her service,” Tran said. “I whispered … I said, ‘I’m sorry, next time I cannot take you.”
When Kari wrote in, she pointed out that Michelle Fonville’s name is in the headlines of some of these articles, which might suggest a subtle note of public “fat shaming.” And then I realized that despite being humiliated and hurt by what had happened, Michelle Fonville decided to speak out about it—go to the media and tell her story publicly and on camera. A lot of people might have been too embarrassed to do that, and have their name in those headlines. But despite her humiliation, Michelle didn’t waver from her belief that the $5 surcharge was discrimination, and that it was wrong, and that people should hear about it.
How many stories like this must happen every day? If Michelle Fonville’s bravery in going public is a rarity, how many other incidents must happen that we never find out about? How many people—who may blame themselves for their weight, who may buy into the culture of body shaming—are afraid to be laughed at, instead of supported, if they insist they’ve been treated wrongly? I wonder.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Cold Hard Cash, Fatism
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Did you watch the video clip? The announcer mentions at the end that the salon owner also claimed she charged more because “it took longer to do her nails”, which is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. Fat doesn’t make your nails bigger. Ugh.
Thanks for linking to my post Mo! When I first read this on Jezebel, I couldn’t believe it. I know we have to pay more for clothes, but nails?
Slowly but surely, fat people are speaking out about being treated crappily. Southwest Airlines has had three people slam them, including Kevin Smith and one woman who went to Inside Edition to tell her story. More women are speaking out about not getting jobs or being fired because of their weight and there’s the British woman who is now a fat rights advocate after being beaten up on a train. Of course, the majority in society believes we deserve to be treated like scum, but I’m glad people are not ashamed to come forward and expose how the silliness of fat-hate.
Maybe the nail salons shouldn’t buy such cheap-ass furniture. I mean, dozens of butts in all shapes, sizes and weights are going to be in and out of those chairs all day long, five-to-seven-days a week. If you buy cheap crap, eventually it’s gonna break regardless of the person sitting down is a size 2 or size 24.
A few years ago, I received a gift certificate for a nail salon. It was a beautiful salon, with comfortable looking chairs so I was excited to get to use my certificate.
When I arrived and told them I wanted a pedicure and a manicure, the man at the front desk yelled something in Vietnamese and a woman went running to the back of the shop. She came out with a tattered chair (it was ripped and stuffing was coming out) and a battered foot tub and told me to sit down.
I told her that I wanted to sit in the newer, non-tattered chairs and she whispered to me that she was not allowed to let me sit in them because of my size. I was livid and went to complain to the owner.
He said that fat people ruin the equipment faster so he does not let the new equipment be used by “fatsos like you” (and he made sure to yell that and point at me so all the other customers would look at me).
I asked for the money that my gift certificate was worth since I would not be able to use the services that my friend bought the certificate for. He refused.
So I walked out, losing out on a gift that was purchased for me and humilated publicly.
Wow. I hope you tell everyone the city and name of the salon so no one ever goes there.
Fortunately, that place went out of business. I did my best to help them lose as much business as possible. :)
Honestly, I think what upset me the most was the fact that a bunch of women were in the place and not one of them spoke up or acted as if it was rude for the man to yell at me and call me names. If I ever saw something like that, I would be horrified and I would say something (and walk out).
It was as if those other women thought it was ok for me to be excluded because of fatness.
I don’t normally say this, but I’m glad to hear they went under.
A few years ago, I received a gift certificate for a nail salon. It was a beautiful salon, with comfortable looking chairs so I was excited to get to use my certificate.
When I arrived and told them I wanted a pedicure and a manicure, the man at the front desk yelled something in Vietnamese and a woman went running to the back of the shop. She came out with a tattered chair (it was ripped and stuffing was coming out) and a battered foot tub and told me to sit down.
I told her that I wanted to sit in the newer, non-tattered chairs and she whispered to me that she was not allowed to let me sit in them because of my size. I was livid and went to complain to the owner.
He said that fat people ruin the equipment faster so he does not let the new equipment be used by “fatsos like you” (and he made sure to yell that and point at me so all the other customers would look at me).
I asked for the money that my gift certificate was worth since I would not be able to use the services that my friend bought the certificate for. He refused.
So I walked out, losing out on a gift that was purchased for me and humiliated publicly.
This is wrong on so many levels. Weight discrimination, business practices, ethics, etc.
So this store owner would deny a repeat customer (i.e. money coming in on a regular basis) and not accept that she’s in the business of customer service and wear and tear on furniture is part of that service? Since when in this country is someone guilty until proven innocent? How about a ‘you broke it, you buy it policy’ – anyone can break or damage furniture. Would she charge $5 to a Mary Kate/Ashley type that barely has the muscles to grip her giant Starbucks, who trips on her 4″ heels because her Birkin bag is too big to maneuver and she spills coffee all over that chair? Maybe the store owner can buy insurance on her store’s assets like the rest of us. Oh no, then she might have to provide her business’ financial records. Nope, better to open your mouth and discriminate against the only people you perceive to feel superior over – and on TV too!
I would have paid the fee, gone home and felt terrible about myself, and that salon lady wouldn’t have thought twice about it. I’m glad Ms. Fonville very publicly spoke up and I admire her very much. I’ll see her in my mind’s eye the next time someone treats me like less of a person because of my appearance.
I’m sorry to play devil’s advocate here, but I think the response to this article is biased by the target audience of the blog. That is to say, of course you agree with Fonville, because you identify with her. Yes, it’s true that asian cultures are less accepting of overweight people, and thus tend to be a lot less understanding/polite than other places, but the fact that this particular manicurist actually spoke up about the weight issue has less to do with being biased against overweight people and more to do with being culturally taught to speak more plainly than most north americans are accustomed to.
In general, most of us – especially up here in Canada – would never tell a client we were worried about their weight causing damage, and would simply eat the additional costs silently. In actually revealing the issue, this manicurist was not discriminating but simply being honest about the physical capacity of her equipment. Yes, a $5 fee seems a little silly, and I personally think the “ratty chair” from one of the comments was a much more reasonable solution.
But saying this issue is about discrimination is ridiculous. If you weigh over 200 lbs, you can’t use machines that can only hold 200lbs. That’s like saying a building is discriminating against obese people because the elevator only holds 300lbs.
Maybe I’m biased because I’ve worked at salons, and I know how hard these people work to maintain their business. Yes, it seems like a dream industry to you as the client – HOW much for a manipedi?- but keep in mind most salons do not have steady business, and the workers are paid on commission, not hourly. The salon uses it’s portion to cover overhead and purchase the many machines required, including the weight limited chair, all of which are ridiculously overpriced because of the high demand and specific requirements of the industry.
I’m not saying the worker in this video doesn’t come off as rude, nor do I think anyone should be confronted and yelled at as one commenter complained of, but pretending your weight does not have any effect on objects supporting it is just plain silly. There’s nothing wrong with being big – I come from a long line of rubenesque women!- but pretending your fat isn’t heavy is equivalent to pretending “your shit doesn’t stink.” Be realistic.
I am 170 pounds, and a coworker at my job is a woman around 240. Her weight damaged a brand new chair after only a few months while I used the same type of chair in the same way for years without issue. I like the girl and have no weight bias, but pretending her obesity had nothing to do with the malfunction would be idiotic, especially since ignoring the problem would cause more issues (ie broken chairs) while dealing with it would lead to finding a chair which could meet her needs. These salons, rude as they might seem, are only doing the same thing: being practical. A machine rated up to 200lbs is perfectly fine for 95% of their customers, and anyone potentially able to damage those machines must accept that they do not fall within the recommended usage. (and yes, these chairs are ‘machines’ with fancy functions for various jobs, and have numerous parts which could easily be damaged by too much pressure).
“dealing with it would lead to finding a chair which could meet her needs”
Precisely. But rather than deal with it, they were charging the customer an arbitrary extra fee for the possibility that she might break the chair or put more wear and tear on it, or whatever the salon owner actually told the woman in question.
I’m sorry, but it was rude. Period. And frankly, it was also probably discriminatory. Firstly, if she is actually charging all people who are over the chair’s capacity an extra fee, there should be a sign and you know what- a scale. It’s flat-out discrimination based on looks, because that woman LOOKS like she weighs more than the chair’s limit. I find it quite likely that the owner serves people on a daily basis who are over the limit as well, but don’t look like it.
I could say a lot more, but I don’t want to diverge from the topic too much, but I do think that if a business is going to serve a client, they should provide adequate facilities; if they can’t do that, they should be up front about it and turn the customer away; not throw on an arbitrary fee that could have just as easily been a “we don’t like you” fee.
“Yes, it’s true that asian cultures are less accepting of overweight people, and thus tend to be a lot less understanding/polite than other places, but the fact that this particular manicurist actually spoke up about the weight issue has less to do with being biased against overweight people and more to do with being culturally taught to speak more plainly than most north americans are accustomed to.”
Huh? I guess I’m not an expert, but it hasn’t been my experience that people from East Asian cultures speak more plainly–if anything, the opposite.
Besides that, I agree with everything Bronwyn said.
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Crystal, I can tell you are a salon employee by your critical thinking abilities. When a person owns a business, the object is to satisfy as broad a base of customers as possible. By quality furniture built for the public, not the cheapest flimsiest stuff to save a buck. There is plenty of furniture that is made to last. I am 240lbs, proud of every beautiful healthy ounce, and don’t break furniture because in my home I buy quality. A big problem today is lack of intellect and common sense. People try to skimp and save, they can’t understand why they don’t have customers. I teach college. It a student doesn’t learn, it is up to me to find a way to reach them, a little extra work on my part.
To me this seems like a business opportunity. So many American furniture plants have went to Asia. Some should come back building quality for larger people. Some manicurist should specialize in the comfort of larger customers, where they can go not worrying about some airhead mostly imaginary and prejudicial wear and tear on their furniture!
Wow…think of all the guys who want a mani or pedi! I bet quite a few of them are over 200. I’d go so far as to bet that the majority are. This is sad. Why is there open discrimmination on women over 200 yet not the guys?
If they want to charge a fee for people that they’re eyeballing as “too heavy for the furniture”, they need to make sure and tell someone about the fee BEFORE they render the service. Arbitrary hidden fees should be illegal. It’s not just rude or ill-mannered or insensitive – it’s cheating. It’s dishonest and should be illegal.
@Crystal – your comment makes it seem as if you think people are being oversensitive or refusing to “deal with the problem” or “deal with reality” of being overweight. That’s not the issue. The issue is that this salon cheated this consumer based on her looks.
I hope their business shuts down.
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Crystal, there’s no excuse for telling someone they need to pay more money because of their body size. They wouldn’t be able to charge them based on that, if weight was seen as unchangeable, which it is for a majority of people.
The reality is these salon owners believe fat people should be able to be thinner, maybe they think humiliating a fat person will motivate them to diet.
It’s unethical to suggest someone has to pay more money than thinner customers, because of wear on the seats. If you can’t run a salon without discriminating against fat people by saying they need to pay more money, then you need to find another line of business. It’s called customer respect, and that means not blaming your customers for your failing to run your business.
Lifetraveler that was a disgusting way for the owner of that business to treat you. I can’t say what I’d do if I had that happen to me. I wonder if that manager was a school bully growing up.
It reminds me of the time my dad and I went to Carson Ribs and the host wouldn’t seat us and my dad got frustrated with her, and asked for the manager. She said she was the manager. This was after she told my dad we wouldn’t be seated because he wasn’t in line. I don’t know if she was being fat discriminating towards my dad, but we haven’t been to the restaurant since. What kind of lousty manager treats their customers, like naughty schoolchildren. You can’t be seated because you didn’t wait in line? Why not just say you don’t want our business!
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If nothing else, I wish businesses would be more up-front about their anti-fat policies rather than letting fatties come in to waste their time and be humiliated.
I’ve found this to be a problem twice recently with groupon–a local bike rental place and a zipline place both had deals available but either didn’t post a weight limit or buried it in the fine print, so I decided not to get the deal rather than spend the money, go there and be told I wasn’t welcome.
Wait, wait. Hold the curling irons. Crystal has mentioned “the fact that this particular manicurist actually spoke up about the weight issue has less to do with being biased against overweight people and more to do with being culturally taught to speak more plainly than most north americans are accustomed to.”
You see, this bothers me.
I’m Asian. (Indian, specifically. So there’s my cred.) This is not a quaint cultural difference here. And as someone who apparently would not break the chair, I’ve been subjected to culturally ingrained discrimination from a gamut of Asian people. And yeah: oftentimes it’s more acceptable to openly display bigotry in Asian countries. But I’ve also received the same kind of discrimination on this side of the pond(s). This issue, Asian cultural quirks aside, would be about weight no matter what the color/nationality/whatever of the person who charged extra money based on weight bias. Excusing due to Asian-ness is ridiculous.
As for the chairs? It’s a salon. With a lot of traffic from a wide (hah!) range of people. Perhaps the Svelte Customers Only Club should ask around to the other salons as to how their furniture doesn’t break. Because as far as I’ve seen, they’re doing just fine without having to discriminate.
I did a little internet research on pedicure chairs, just out of curiosity, looking to see if in the specs any of them give a recommended weight limit.
It seems to me that many things are engineered to take a 500 pound person (like toilets, for example). Why is 200 pounds the limit for a pedi chair? Well, the answer is, that’s probably arbitrary. None of the chairs I looked at gave a weight limit, at least on-line.
Yeah, these things are expensive and they wear out. So figure out how many uses you can get out of them and roll that into the price of a pedi. Go ahead, do the math, I’ll pay.
Just don’t discriminate based on anything. I’ll pay the same high price as everyone who uses the chair.
I hope the salon that imposed this extra charge goes out of business. What rude, stupid people!
there was more to the story. U guys left out that she was a rude and nasty customer. In defense for that Vietnamese lady the only way to get back at her was to say what she said. Not saying that it was right, I’m just saying she wanted to hurt her feelings.
Bojangle,
That sounds like A) hearsay [so I wouldn’t describe it as “left something out”, because it would be irresponsible to include hearsay] and B) not much of a defense.
So according to you, there wasn’t really any problem with the chairs not being able to support her weight, it was just made up to try to “punish” a rude customer? I think that actually makes it worse. Or did they honestly think she was causing problems, but talked about it so publicly in order to punish her? Maybe she was being “rude” because she wasn’t happy after finding out that they tacked on an extra charge because of her weight?