“You can fix my nail or I’m not f***ing paying.”
That’s what a customer at HD Nails in Chilliwack said on a video that showed her engaged in a verbal melee with staff that turned physical.
The customer received a manicure that cost $76.
Dissatisfied with the work, she offered to pay half the amount.
The owner of the salon subsequently locked all the doors and wouldn’t let her leave until she paid the full amount.
Video from the scene showed the customer yelling and swearing at staff, and employees trying to hold her as she attempted to leave the store.
“And then I called police right away, and then the police said… don’t let her go outside,” said Anna Dang.
RAW VIDEO: Social media video captures dispute from inside Chilliwack nail salon
Asked whether police told her to keep the customer inside, Dang responded that they did.
Salon staff recorded the encounter as the customer called her stepfather, who subsequently arrived with a family friend.
They recorded their own version from outside.
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Family friend Fred Rischanek said the customer was in “total distress, and she just wanted out of there.”
“She was just saying, ‘help me, help me,'” he said.
Stepfather Bernier Besier said Rischanek started banging on the window trying to enter the salon.
“They wouldn’t let her out,” he said.
RAW VIDEO: Social media video captures dispute from outside Chilliwack nail salon
Consumer rights advocates say a business has no right to lock people inside.
The complainant, however, was within her rights to refuse to pay, as long as she left contact information so that the business could take legal action.
Coverage of consumer protection on Globalnews.ca:
“If you’ve got something that you don’t like, you’re pretty stupid if you just take it and be quiet and walk away from it,” said Bruce Cran of the Consumers Association of Canada.
“Why would you spend $10,000 chasing $200?”
Chilliwack RCMP did not comment on the matter Monday.
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