The picture has been shared nearly 600 times since it was posted on Saturday, but salon owner Son Nguyen denied to local TV station WREG that the sign was up in his business. WREG also found another photo of a man at the salon with the sign clearly visible. The flooring, walls, and chairs are the same, but Nguyen again denied that it was his shop.
But get this—even though he said the sign was never up in his business, he said he’s “thinking” about putting one up.
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According to Nguyen, the only additional charge they have is a $5 surcharge for a man’s pedicure because they don’t come to the salon as often. As for overweight clients, Nguyen said he’s decided his store just won’t work with someone who is severely overweight. He said that it’s difficult for nail technicians to give them pedicures, and he’s had chairs break from overweight clients in the past, which cost him $2,000 to $2,500.
People were ticked about the news on social media. “Why patronize a business where they are rude and disrespectful—know your worth,” one person wrote on Deshania’s post. “Please report them to the Better Business Bureau for discrimination!” another said. Others were understandably confused about what the “service fee” was for.
It’s illegal to discriminate against people based on their weight in the workforce, according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, but most states don’t have a law that addresses refusing services to people based on their weight. But, while it may not be technically illegal to charge extra for someone who is overweight, it’s clearly really, really crappy.