Woman claims discrimination after told she's 'too big' for pedicure chair

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Monday, September 9, 2019
Woman says she was told she was too big to get a pedi
Woman says she was told she was too big to get a pedi

HOUSTON, Texas -- A Texas woman is upset after she said she was told that she was too heavy for a pedicure.

The incident happened Thursday afternoon inside the Rose Nails salon in north Houston.

Security cameras captured Tina Lewis and her mom walking into the salon and then having a brief exchange with employees that she said left her shocked.

Lewis recalled, "I was like, 'Can I get a pedicure? And what chair do I sit in?' And (the employee) was like, the chairs were not big enough for me to sit in. And I was like, 'Are you serious?'"

Lewis was just trying to get a pedicure and instead she said she wound up getting offended.

"I said, 'I'm sorry I cannot serve you because my spa chair is very small,'" said Marie Bui, an employee of Rose Nails.

Bui explains she did not intend to sound rude or mean, but claims a previous customer damaged a chair and they believe it was because of that person's weight.

"After that, the spa chair and the machine broke underneath," said Bui.

Lewis said the shop should put up some kind of signage to alert customers of this weight restriction.

The shop owner said the chairs cost a couple of hundred dollars and they can't afford repairs, so they have to operate accordingly.

Lewis said she doesn't believe that explanation and said she will not be going back to that salon.