SINGAPORE: It was Ms Chelsey Chen’s second day at a nail salon. However, the restaurant’s staff refused to let her keep unless she agreed to receive a deal when she was finished with her nails and pedicure.
” They did n’t allow me to stand up after the pedicure … There were two ladies and they were standing there cornering me so I could n’t stand up”, said the 41-year-old housewife.  ,
The package cost , S$ 1, 000 ( US$ 770 ) for S$ 1, 200 worth of credits to use on manicure and pedicure services.  , She refused, but finally gave in and paid before she was allowed to leave.
After last week’s report on Nail Palace chain’s cruel practices, nail shops and their selling strategies have become public.
While Ms Chen’s practice was not at Nail Palace,  , additional consumers have complained about the ring. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) conducted studies after discovering that two of its stores had made bogus or deceptive statements in an effort to promote an anti-fungal care package.
The two outlets in Bukit , Panjang Plaza, and Eastpoint Mall were given the order to stop the unfair practices and publish declarations in four major Singapore newspapers, but they missed the deadline by almost two weeks.
When the notices were published, the words were “extremely small” and “practically unreadable”, the consumer watchdog said.
Each outlet received a fine of S$ 15 000, and their managing director received a prison sentence of four months for contempt of court.
HARD SELLING, FEARMONGERING
Even after customers pay for packages at nail salons, it is a common occurrence to be pressured into buying additional packages and treatments.  ,
On Ms. Chen’s second visit to the same nail salon, she had a pedicure and the salon staff insisted that she had nail fungus on her feet. They convinced her to add on an S$ 88 treatment. She also had to fork out another S$ 128 for an anti-fungal cream that they said was necessary.
” To me, they are like professionals. You would assume that because of their experience and what they see daily, they probably see 100 feet per month, so Ms. Chen said.  ,
The staff at the salon, which is located in Novena, tried to convince her to sign up for a separate S$ 500 package for six fungus treatments. Ms Chen refused, saying that she still had a lot of credits, and managed to leave the salon.  ,
” After that, I felt like something was not right. I actually asked my doctor and he said there’s no fungus” . ,  ,
On her next visit, she informed the salon staff, who insisted that the doctor was unaware of what he was saying. ” There was a lot of fearmongering”, said Ms Chen.  ,
“( They said ) your nails, if you do a pedicure, it’s not enough. To have clean nails, you must use the anti-fungal treatment. It’ll be very dirty, it’ll look very bad, when you wear shoes, the bacteria will multiply”.
According to Ms. Chen, salons should not be able to perform false diagnoses or misdiagnoses like she experienced.  ,
” I was really worried. Then after asking for professional advice, I realised it’s part of their sales tactics” . ,
COMPLAINTS TO CASE
The Consumers Association of Singapore ( CASE ) has received 89 complaints about nail salons so far this year. It received 114 complaints last year and 127 in 2022.
According to the watchdog’s president Melvin Yong, the most frequent complaints were from customers who were unable to receive refunds for packages after salons abruptly closed, customers who were unable to schedule appointments after paying for a package, and about pressure sales tactics.  ,
In April, CASE and NAILS signed a memorandum of understanding, aiming to get 50 beauty and nail salons accredited in the next three years.  ,
” This will enhance standards, resolve common consumer complaints and boost consumer confidence in the beauty industry”, said Mr Yong.  ,
Some beauty and nail salons already have the CaseTrust accreditation, but the accreditation is voluntary.  ,
Ms Rachel Tang, the founder of NAILS, which promotes the local nail and beauty services industry, said some salon owners have told her” they ca n’t control”  , what employees say to customers.  ,
Many employees may share “more passionately” while trying to hit their commission quotas, she said. Some foreigners may have trouble interacting with customers because English or Mandarin is not their first language, and there might be issues with packages being sold.  ,
For example, although the CCCS has a list of fair trading practices for the beauty industry, these employees may not be able to understand the document, said Ms Tang.  ,
” As an association, we do not approve of hard selling. Our association’s push for better skills qualification aims to enable each service provider to attract customers via their technical skills and service quality, instead of only depending on packages, discounts and promotions”, she added.  ,
Some salons are cognizant of the competitive nature of the industry and are willing to adapt, said Ms. Tang, noting that there are more than 500 salons in Singapore.  ,