Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And yes, the salon should have disclosed the fee up front or, if they were really that concerned about their chairs, refused service to her altogether.
I VERY much agree w/ this, which makes me believe even more this was a BS reason. they could have politely refused service, no reason not to if they were forthcoming w/ their reasoning (not illegal to discriminate due to size, but if they aren't careful, it could be misconstrued as racial discrimination). the only thing she could have done is gone to another salon. instead they tacked on the fee after the fact. that's the major issue here, not why she was overweight or how it's going to ruin her health, blah, blah, blah. look at it from this angle and not the "fat people are disgusting and are killing themselves, boo-hoo for them" angle many seem to take these days. and if this salon charged everyone who looked/are fat extra, it will NOT last long. better to swallow the cost or add it to the cost of services for all customers
aren't businesses typically insured for their pricier equipment?
Sometimes, but multiple damage claims result in higher premiums. And for all we know, the insurance company suggested the fee. It's not totally implausible.
Quote:
and see my response above. since men are typically heavier than women, I guess all men services would come w/ a fee. this could open up some issues w/ gender bias if enough men complained (like how women complained for being charged more for something men paid less for, like cleaning similar sized shirts). oh, and I guess pregnant women get charged more too (too bad if you're carrying multiples and are on a little mommy spa trip). oh, and if you are on any meds for depression or any steroids for illnesses like lupus, sucks for you, pay the extra fee (these drugs often cause weight gain). $20 says there is no written clause about this at the salon or even a weight limit they go by (ie, anyone over 150lb gets charged extra, over 300lb, doubly so)
Pregnant <> obese. If you were a normal weight before pregnancy, even being pregnant with multiples should not push you over the 200 lb mark. If you're 200 lbs and pregnant and not 6 feet tall, you gained too much weight. Pregnancy is not an excuse to gain a crapton of weight.
Quote:
of course, none of this would be a major issues if customers were told BEFOREHAND of any random fees being tacked on. if you had told your electrician that if he broke your stairs, he'd be fully liable, he may not have gone up there and asked for a slimmer replacement (and one may wonder why your stairs are so weak. if you're salon in the South, it would behoove you to get stronger chairs for your heftier customers).
The electrician job was subbed out. I didn't know he was morbidly obese until he had already completed the job. All attempts to contact him were unsuccessful. I should have sued the contractor but that's another story for another thread. My stairs are not weak, either. It is normal for a set of standard attic stairs to be rated for 200 lbs or even less. My other set of attic stairs is 54 years old and does not have a single crack anywhere. Why? We aren't too heavy to use them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
I VERY much agree w/ this, which makes me believe even more this was a BS reason. they could have politely refused service, no reason not to if they were forthcoming w/ their reasoning (not illegal to discriminate due to size, but if they aren't careful, it could be misconstrued as racial discrimination). the only thing she could have done is gone to another salon. instead they tacked on the fee after the fact. that's the major issue here, not why she was overweight or how it's going to ruin her health, blah, blah, blah. look at it from this angle and not the "fat people are disgusting and are killing themselves, boo-hoo for them" angle many seem to take these days. and if this salon charged everyone who looked/are fat extra, it will NOT last long. better to swallow the cost or add it to the cost of services for all customers
Personally I don't care why she's fat. The salon should have been up-front. AND I would strongly resent paying extra to cover damage caused by obese people. The cost should be passed to the obese themselves. I already pay enough in healthcare premiums to cover them; sure, they pay higher premiums if they're on the open market, but that doesn't even begin to cover their extra cost. I'm tired of being charged for other peoples' poor lifestyle choices. I would be MORE likely to patronize an establishment that made people responsible for their own choices or for the damage they cause, but only if they're up-front with all of their fees.
AND I would strongly resent paying extra to cover damage caused by obese people. The cost should be passed to the obese themselves. I already pay enough in healthcare premiums to cover them; sure, they pay higher premiums if they're on the open market, but that doesn't even begin to cover their extra cost. I'm tired of being charged for other peoples' poor lifestyle choices. I would be MORE likely to patronize an establishment that made people responsible for their own choices or for the damage they cause, but only if they're up-front with all of their fees.
For someone that's been there yourself, as you say you have, I would think you'd have a little more empathy. What if that were you wanting a pedicure etc., before you lost weight?
For someone that's been there yourself, as you say you have, I would think you'd have a little more empathy. What if that were you wanting a pedicure etc., before you lost weight?
Since I always acknowledged that my obesity was my own fault, I would probably have been OK with an extra charge if it was disclosed up front.
I empathize with obese people; being obese sucks; but I will not help them make excuses for themselves. Having eaten myself to obesity then eaten and exercised myself to a lean, fit body, I know exactly how it happened and how I fixed it. I know that the overwhelming majority of obese people are obese due to their own poor choices and behavior, so I won't make excuses for them. At all.
I agree with you about excuses; I know them all, and God knows I've made most of them in the past.
But if that were me hit with that charge, either up front or even after the fact, I would have walked out. There is absolutely no conscionable reason to treat an overweight person like a second-class citizen.
Reps to you! I so agree with your post! What are the odds that this obese woman is living an extremely unhealthy lifestyle? Instead of getting upset over being charged $5 for being overweight, she should be skipping on the nail glamour and instead turning around her life and eating healthy and exercising. I'm sure that she's not pleasingly plump, but plain morbidly obese.
It's not the salon's job to make people healthy. I think they were rude with the client.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek
I don't buy sturdier chairs because my BF and I are both under 200 lbs...why should we buy furniture rated for up to nearly 3x my own body weight because we have obese friends who visit occasionally?.
Time to start meeting at some restaurant instead of home
Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee
this as NOTHING to do w/ the health issues that may come w/ being obese. this has to do whether a business owner can tack on random fees w/ little legitimate reason, ESPECIALLY if the fees aren't disclosed upfront before the services are rendered. the business owner is in the wrong here and this is NOT how people get motivated to lose weight
Many salons also charge extra for men. Its not just fat people, it seems to just be "anyone we don't want to touch."
And some of you are kind of being jerks. Being fat does not mean someone doesn't (or can't) take care of themselves, and those chairs are nto going to fall apart because someone who weighs 350lbs plunks down in one.
and those chairs are nto going to fall apart because someone who weighs 350lbs plunks down in one.
If a company that produces chairs says "these are good up to 200 lb." and a 350 lb. person uses them, why is it such a surprise if they collapse? Of course it happens.
Collapse? Apparently you've never been into a nail salon. Saying this is about wear and tear on the chairs is completely disingenuous. Go ahead and try, you're just telling on yourself.
I am sure that salon will be closed before you know it. What idiots! Very smart of the lady to go to the media though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
