1 /5 Qian YE: Today, I took my 4-year-old daughter to this nail salon to get Christmas nails done and experienced unprecedented discrimination. I completely understand that nail salons are busy on Christmas Eve. We waited for about 30 minutes after entering, and one staff member started doing nails for both my daughter and me. During this time, I observed four Western children getting their nails done, with the staff patiently applying polish and using the curing lamp for them.
We initially informed the staff that I wanted SNS nails and my daughter wanted Shellac in the same color as mine. The staff member hurriedly worked on my nails, and when I went to wash my hands, she went to serve another customer. I waited at my seat for a long time before she returned to finish applying the top coat. At this point, I asked her to start on my daughter’s nails, as she had already been waiting for an hour and a half.
The staff member directly said that the color was not available for children, without even attempting to find it. I then said, “Alright, let’s pick another color.” My daughter chose a mix of gold and silver. The staff member, visibly impatient, began applying the polish. She was so rushed that she pushed my daughters left hand under the curing lamp before even finishing the polish.
This behavior was entirely different from how she treated the four Western children earlier. It took her only 3 minutes to apply the polish and then she walked away, telling us to use the curing lamp. While I seated next to my daughter to help, she rudely came over, turned off the lamp, and said, “Alright, it’s done. You can go now.” My daughter, who had waited an hour and a half, received a rushed 3-minute polish job and a 3-minute curing session—6 minutes in total of rough, dismissive service.
I was thoroughly angered. When paying, I addressed the staff members attitude with the owner. The owner seemed completely indifferent, repeatedly asking if there was something wrong with my daughter’s nails, completely avoiding the issue of the staff’s attitude. She offered a $10 discount, but I told her it wasn’t about the money. If I’m paying the same amount, I deserve the same level of service.
I’ve been in Australia for 18 years and speak fluent English. This is the first time I’ve encountered such blatant racial discrimination, and ironically, it happened in a nail salon owned by Vietnamese people. It’s absolutely absurd.