Hello, m’am. Might I say, very nicely written article, but I would just like to say, I work part time as a nails worker, and I find this highly hilarious and offensive. So let me provide a little answer to your little reasons with a few reasons from the point of an American born, Asian, fluent English speaking, hard working, young woman.
1. What you’re talking about is a full set/fake nails. I, as a nail tech, AND my fellow employees all advise against those, and I’m sure most other nail techs do as well. We always suggest to our customers that they should try shellac instead, which are better and easier on the nails. And tips are usually optional, though we appreciate it because, well, we kind of put in a lot of effort to make your nails neat and perfect for you. Not only that, but the price is high because supplies + effort = EXPENSIVE!!! Do you know how much supplies for everything cost? Yeesshh. In most salons, employees get 60% of what they make for a certain amount of time and the salon owner gets 40%. That measly 40% goes towards supplies, replacing machinery like those precious massage pedicure chairs you all love so much and nail dremels, as well as nail paint (up to $4 a bottle, dang!) and so on. So you can see why it’s so expensive, amirite? That’s like me asking why the hell I have to pay $6 for a burger meal at the local DQ. It’s just a piece of meat stuck between some bread, right?
2. Excuse you, m’am, but do we look like we have the time to do so? Most of the time, salons are so flocked, we run around with our supplies held between our teeth because we don’t have enough hands to do all the work! After work (9am-7pm, 10hours!!!) I just want to take a nap, not to mention do my own MANICURE. And do you know how hard it is to cut your own cuticles. I can cut my left hand cuticles, but definitely not right hand. I’d rather saw my fingers off. Much easier. And another thing, we have to remove nail polish for customers. Has it crossed your mind that the reason we don’t wear polish is because we don’t want to get our OWN polish smeared all over the customer’s hand as we try to remove THEIR polish? Yeah. It happens.
3. I agree 🙂 I don’t want to hold hands with a stranger. But sadly I do, because I have to do my job and make money. #reasonstonotmakeeyecontact And if you really count that as holding hands… I apologize, but your boyfriend must really not hold hands with you often for you to not know what it’s really like.
4. Again. No one said you HAVE to get a full set.
5. That’s all right, m’am. You can keep your cuticles. We don’t want them either.
6. Everyone makes mistakes every now and then. Sometimes there’s a hair in my restaurant food. Sometimes the store worker points me to the wrong aisle. It happens. We don’t MEAN to hurt you. Accidents happen. The “chemicals” we usually use are Anti Septics to clean and help the wound clot. So that, you know, you don’t bleed all over yourself and get infected. I mean, you probably already understand, Ms. Premed. 🙂 And it’s just a little sting and wound. It’s not like we purposely take the clippers and gouge your nail out, only to pour alcohol over it so it burns like the seventh step into Hell.
7. While I do agree this is kind of an issue, it’s not like you spend as much time as WE do under all that stuff. My fellow employees sometimes have to go through three to five customers at a time who do fake nails. That’s a LOT of crap to breathe in. Of course we have to wear the mask! We don’t even have time to step outside to breathe in some fresh air. You on the other hand get to take your pretty, little nails and breathe in a nice gulp of fresh air. Think of it as taking a nice, torturous jog around the block a few times, only to be able to go back to eating your heart out while we have to keep running.
8. That is on you, m’am. Not us. Nails usually take up to an hour to dry because it is dry on top but not underneath. Just a tip. 15 minutes is enough drying time under the dryer, but you have to be careful. You can’t expect to paint a wall then be able to rub up against it five minutes later and expect no stains, right? Same here.
9. M’am, go right ahead. We don’t mind. I’d love to watch you paint your nails without getting any nail polish on your cuticles. Oh! Don’t forget the part where you have to paint with the opposite hand as well. That’s the fun part.
10. You really don’t have to get your nails done. You will not die. I repeat. You will not die if you don’t get your nails done. Go right ahead and get those things.
11. Is there something wrong with this? We are HUMAN. We get TIRED. Sometimes there’s not enough space in the tiny ass closet we call a “break room” to take a nap or lay down. We’re not robots. We need rest, too.
12. Really? Are you really going to call us out for this? And after all your American movies depict nail salons and hair salons as the breeding grounds for gossip, you’re going to sit here and tell me you don’t expect real salons to be like that? Listen here miss, it is not your business what we do or do not say. We have freedom of speech as well. Not only that, but is there something wrong with us talking? Just admit it, this can happen anywhere. Restaurants, stores, and so on. It’s not just nail salons so you really shouldn’t pin this on us. Though as workers, we sometimes rather like having conversations with our customers than talk about them. I guess you’re not the conversational type. Must be why your worker had to go and talk to their fellow workers. Bummer.
Some workers can’t really say what they want to you in English, because in your mind, you’ll probably be like, “That’s not even proper English. Go learn some proper English! You live in America. Try speaking some English fluently. What are you even saying? It’s like a bunch of Asian languages.” Amirite? Amirite? You know I’m right. Well, I’m sorry some of us don’t speak proper English, m’am. A lot of us came to America as immigrants, were unable to get education because of financial problems, and had to take up a job as a nail tech to support the family. It’s a tough job for little money. Trust me. We have to deal with customers like you who complain about every little thing. You REALLY don’t have to get your nails done if you don’t want to, m’am. Just saying. If you see the things I see at home, you would probably not want to bitch at us and leave us be. You wouldn’t want to see the tears shed over fear that we wouldn’t make enough money to pay bills, the backs aching and breaking, the times mothers and fathers even grandparents have to go to work when they’re sick, and what not because they HAVE to make money to SUPPORT their families. Some of us don’t have a choice.
13. It’s honestly not a sweatshop. Sweatshops have no laws or rules protecting the workers. Workers are usually overworked and wayyy underpaid. Not only that, but many sweatshops have to deal with managers who are like slave overseers. We kind of have something like that. They’re called bad customers who point out every mistake, demand their money back, and make a fuss in our nail salon when we’re just trying to do our job. This is America. At least we have SOME rights.
14. This isn’t really offensive. It’s kinda funny.
15. Same.
16. Excuseeeeee me, m’am. Con is a bit much, don’t you think? Are you making us out to be con artists? We’re just people out to make a living, m’am. We don’t MAKE you get a manicure and pedicure. It’s up to you. It’s YOUR choice. We just suggest. Like cashiers at department stores do when you check out your clothes and they ask if you wanna buy perfume as well. Just politely say no. We are not the cause of you deciding you want to get those services and then you have to pay for the services done.
That’s pretty much it. I hope you enjoyed my rant as much as I /enjoyed/ your column. By the way, 🙂 you chose really bad imagery when you said “small Asian woman.” Not all of us are Asian. There are nail techs of alllll sizes and descents. A bit racist, don’t you think?
Oh, and, I’m 5’3″ 🙂 That’s a pretty decent height if you ask me.
Really, you could’ve approached this column in a less offensive way.
Like point out how I hate the feel of toe separators in my between my little piggies. Or how I have to spend 30 minutes picking out a color I like for my nails. Or how there’s always that one person who’s talking loudly on the phone while everyone else is trying to relax. Oh, man. That’s the worse.
Hello, m’am. Might I say, very nicely written article, but I would just like to say, I work part time as a nails worker, and I find this highly hilarious and offensive. So let me provide a little answer to your little reasons with a few reasons from the point of an American born, Asian, fluent English speaking, hard working, young woman.
1. What you’re talking about is a full set/fake nails. I, as a nail tech, AND my fellow employees all advise against those, and I’m sure most other nail techs do as well. We always suggest to our customers that they should try shellac instead, which are better and easier on the nails. And tips are usually optional, though we appreciate it because, well, we kind of put in a lot of effort to make your nails neat and perfect for you. Not only that, but the price is high because supplies + effort = EXPENSIVE!!! Do you know how much supplies for everything cost? Yeesshh. In most salons, employees get 60% of what they make for a certain amount of time and the salon owner gets 40%. That measly 40% goes towards supplies, replacing machinery like those precious massage pedicure chairs you all love so much and nail dremels, as well as nail paint (up to $4 a bottle, dang!) and so on. So you can see why it’s so expensive, amirite? That’s like me asking why the hell I have to pay $6 for a burger meal at the local DQ. It’s just a piece of meat stuck between some bread, right?
2. Excuse you, m’am, but do we look like we have the time to do so? Most of the time, salons are so flocked, we run around with our supplies held between our teeth because we don’t have enough hands to do all the work! After work (9am-7pm, 10hours!!!) I just want to take a nap, not to mention do my own MANICURE. And do you know how hard it is to cut your own cuticles. I can cut my left hand cuticles, but definitely not right hand. I’d rather saw my fingers off. Much easier. And another thing, we have to remove nail polish for customers. Has it crossed your mind that the reason we don’t wear polish is because we don’t want to get our OWN polish smeared all over the customer’s hand as we try to remove THEIR polish? Yeah. It happens.
3. I agree 🙂 I don’t want to hold hands with a stranger. But sadly I do, because I have to do my job and make money. #reasonstonotmakeeyecontact And if you really count that as holding hands… I apologize, but your boyfriend must really not hold hands with you often for you to not know what it’s really like.
4. Again. No one said you HAVE to get a full set.
5. That’s all right, m’am. You can keep your cuticles. We don’t want them either.
6. Everyone makes mistakes every now and then. Sometimes there’s a hair in my restaurant food. Sometimes the store worker points me to the wrong aisle. It happens. We don’t MEAN to hurt you. Accidents happen. The “chemicals” we usually use are Anti Septics to clean and help the wound clot. So that, you know, you don’t bleed all over yourself and get infected. I mean, you probably already understand, Ms. Premed. 🙂 And it’s just a little sting and wound. It’s not like we purposely take the clippers and gouge your nail out, only to pour alcohol over it so it burns like the seventh step into Hell.
7. While I do agree this is kind of an issue, it’s not like you spend as much time as WE do under all that stuff. My fellow employees sometimes have to go through three to five customers at a time who do fake nails. That’s a LOT of crap to breathe in. Of course we have to wear the mask! We don’t even have time to step outside to breathe in some fresh air. You on the other hand get to take your pretty, little nails and breathe in a nice gulp of fresh air. Think of it as taking a nice, torturous jog around the block a few times, only to be able to go back to eating your heart out while we have to keep running.
8. That is on you, m’am. Not us. Nails usually take up to an hour to dry because it is dry on top but not underneath. Just a tip. 15 minutes is enough drying time under the dryer, but you have to be careful. You can’t expect to paint a wall then be able to rub up against it five minutes later and expect no stains, right? Same here.
9. M’am, go right ahead. We don’t mind. I’d love to watch you paint your nails without getting any nail polish on your cuticles. Oh! Don’t forget the part where you have to paint with the opposite hand as well. That’s the fun part.
10. You really don’t have to get your nails done. You will not die. I repeat. You will not die if you don’t get your nails done. Go right ahead and get those things.
11. Is there something wrong with this? We are HUMAN. We get TIRED. Sometimes there’s not enough space in the tiny ass closet we call a “break room” to take a nap or lay down. We’re not robots. We need rest, too.
12. Really? Are you really going to call us out for this? And after all your American movies depict nail salons and hair salons as the breeding grounds for gossip, you’re going to sit here and tell me you don’t expect real salons to be like that? Listen here miss, it is not your business what we do or do not say. We have freedom of speech as well. Not only that, but is there something wrong with us talking? Just admit it, this can happen anywhere. Restaurants, stores, and so on. It’s not just nail salons so you really shouldn’t pin this on us. Though as workers, we sometimes rather like having conversations with our customers than talk about them. I guess you’re not the conversational type. Must be why your worker had to go and talk to their fellow workers. Bummer.
Some workers can’t really say what they want to you in English, because in your mind, you’ll probably be like, “That’s not even proper English. Go learn some proper English! You live in America. Try speaking some English fluently. What are you even saying? It’s like a bunch of Asian languages.” Amirite? Amirite? You know I’m right. Well, I’m sorry some of us don’t speak proper English, m’am. A lot of us came to America as immigrants, were unable to get education because of financial problems, and had to take up a job as a nail tech to support the family. It’s a tough job for little money. Trust me. We have to deal with customers like you who complain about every little thing. You REALLY don’t have to get your nails done if you don’t want to, m’am. Just saying. If you see the things I see at home, you would probably not want to bitch at us and leave us be. You wouldn’t want to see the tears shed over fear that we wouldn’t make enough money to pay bills, the backs aching and breaking, the times mothers and fathers even grandparents have to go to work when they’re sick, and what not because they HAVE to make money to SUPPORT their families. Some of us don’t have a choice.
13. It’s honestly not a sweatshop. Sweatshops have no laws or rules protecting the workers. Workers are usually overworked and wayyy underpaid. Not only that, but many sweatshops have to deal with managers who are like slave overseers. We kind of have something like that. They’re called bad customers who point out every mistake, demand their money back, and make a fuss in our nail salon when we’re just trying to do our job. This is America. At least we have SOME rights.
14. This isn’t really offensive. It’s kinda funny.
15. Same.
16. Excuseeeeee me, m’am. Con is a bit much, don’t you think? Are you making us out to be con artists? We’re just people out to make a living, m’am. We don’t MAKE you get a manicure and pedicure. It’s up to you. It’s YOUR choice. We just suggest. Like cashiers at department stores do when you check out your clothes and they ask if you wanna buy perfume as well. Just politely say no. We are not the cause of you deciding you want to get those services and then you have to pay for the services done.
That’s pretty much it. I hope you enjoyed my rant as much as I /enjoyed/ your column. By the way, 🙂 you chose really bad imagery when you said “small Asian woman.” Not all of us are Asian. There are nail techs of alllll sizes and descents. A bit racist, don’t you think?
Oh, and, I’m 5’3″ 🙂 That’s a pretty decent height if you ask me.
Really, you could’ve approached this column in a less offensive way.
Like point out how I hate the feel of toe separators in my between my little piggies. Or how I have to spend 30 minutes picking out a color I like for my nails. Or how there’s always that one person who’s talking loudly on the phone while everyone else is trying to relax. Oh, man. That’s the worse.