Wife extending offer to local Muslim women makes waves.

Hey gang, looking for a little insight into an issue my wife is facing at her job right now. She does nails and works in a salon where she pays $120 a week in space rent. She is self-employed and a damn good woman. She excels at her job and does wonderful nail art.

Last month her father had to have triple bypass surgery and is currently recovering. My wife decided to give any of the hospital employees a discount on any services to show her thanks for taking such good care of her father. She has extended her discounts (which are roughly about HALF of what she normally charges for services) to any staff that work for the local school district in order to show thanks for their dedication to our cities' children. No static from the owner for this.

Here is where things get wonky. Neither of us identify with politics in a big way. We did not support either candidate during this sh&*storm of an election and were appalled at the actions and words of both candidates.

Now we live in a small town, population roughly 28,000 people, and there is one mosque here. Earlier in the year there was a small protest at a local grocery store here owned by a Muslim family. The same Muslim family owns the local mosque. The same day these people were protesting, the mosque was having a "meet and greet" with the community to show that they were open and friendly. They had pizza and water to give to the community. I don't know what their turnout was like but when I heard that people were throwing slurs at these people, the wife and I promptly went to their store, bought two bouquets of flowers and hand delivered them to the mosque.

And they didn't try to blow us up even ONCE! Imagine that!

So with all the hateful rhetoric that has been going around about Muslims, my wife decided she would try to reach out to the SMALL Muslim community here and offer any women from the mosque a FREE service. This isn't a slight against non-Muslims, this is trying to show a little compassion for a minority in our community that are probably feeling pretty fearful for themselves and children's safety.

All of my wife's coworkers and the owner of the salon are staunch republicans and Trump supporters. Which is fine with us. We might not agree with what President Elect Trump has said, but we stay out of political arguments. We both put people first and political ideologies second.

Well the owner found out and confronted my wife about it tonight, stating that she felt "that you're giving one group of people special treatment over others" which is obviously a falsehood. My wife explained that she felt that it was something that she wanted to do to show solidarity with the minorities in our town. And that she has already extended discounts and special deals to several "different groups" in town.

The owner told her to take down her posting offering the women a free service, which my wife did, but told her boss that she would just go in person to the mosque to extend the offer.

What are your thoughts on this, friends? My wife is pretty pissed about it, and afraid she'll be kicked out of the salon. Is she in the wrong for trying to include and already excluded group in this town?

Looking forward to your thoughts on the issue, thanks guys.

The nation is in upset and turmoil right now.

Best thing to do is forget and forgive and go on.

Creating more upset and hate is not the solution.

The business owner lacks business sense . Object of business is to make money not to be an idiot .

Hell over here Theyd would lose money being stupid like that as its mix of buddhist , daoist , muslim , hindu that people follow .

Thanks for replying.
So do you think she's wrong for offering the deal?


a reply to: pianopraze

Thank you, those were my thoughts exactly. She has already essentially lost money from the half price deals to hospital and school employees. But she is new to the career and trying to build a client base. So she sees these as opportunities to grow her business.

a reply to: VengefulGhost

Tell her to stick with it , she on the right track . It will take time but in long run business will pick up for her .

What about if she ran business from home instead or find a shoplot to lease that doesnt have an idiot for an owner ?

a reply to: denybedoomed

Am I the only one that smells BULL#?

If im wrong please forgive me, but I have heard this all before and it turned out to be a lie.

a reply to: muSSang

What would I gain from fabricating this story? I'm just looking for discussion, not trying to persuade anyone here. But take it as you will.




ETA

I forgive you.

a reply to: VengefulGhost

Not without a costly business license, and we have four children so it's not the ideal place for a nice relaxing mani/pedi. haha.

Momentarily forgot they dont do much to encourage new businesses and business growth .

Over here they encourage it ( and in more rural areas / small towns like where Im at most just set up at home or put up stalls along roadside . without all the licence hassle other than the fee of roughly $25.00-$50.00 a year at current exchange rate though not many pay it and other than down in capitol its rarely enforced think last time saw them bother to check business licences was ten years ago and that wasnt much other than couple guys walking around and spending more time drinking coffee than anything . )

While your wife has the right to run 'her business' the way she wants, because she is a contractor . . . the owner of the shop does have a valid point. He/she could get in trouble for discrimination (as can your wife) for such an offer. It is one thing to do a limited or permanent discount to a group based on an affiliation (medical workers, police, firemen, etc...), but to do so according to ethnicity or religion is a no-no.

With that being said, you could make a discount during a certain period (say the week before Ramadan for Muslims, or the week before Easter for Christians) for members of a church. But make sure you are consistent with varying groups.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

Thanks for the reply, I will relay that message to her and she what she thinks.

Let me clarify that she's not offering Muslim women free services for life, it's like a one-time thing. However I do see your point. In turn, could the owner not get in trouble for discriminating against my wife's decision to offer her services how she sees fit? She's not on a payroll and realizes that she's putting her tenancy on the line. Arizona is a right-to-work state, so if the owner doesn't like it, she can ask my wife to leave, no questions asked.

I think the owner is less worried about getting in trouble for discrimination and more worried about letting Muslim women into her shop.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

a reply to: denybedoomed

It is still their business that they rent space out of. Thus they pay the licensing etc...

It would be the equivalent of your home's landlord having rules that you can't have loud parties, pets, or signs in the front yard. Their property, their choice.

Just before you go and get yourself in more hot water.

Do Muslim women do their nails or is it a big no no sinner sort of thing for them.

The fun of trying to do good deeds in a stuffed up society.

P

originally posted by: pheonix358
Just before you go and get yourself in more hot water.

Do Muslim women do their nails or is it a big no no sinner sort of thing for them.

The fun of trying to do good deeds in a stuffed up society.

P

That really depends on the sect. But most of the Muslims in America as well as other western nations do like to keep up with fashions. Many wear designer clothes and make-up under their full hijabs.

a reply to: pheonix358
Good question!

had to look it up to find out.

from yahoo answers:
It has to do with ablution. For a Muslim (male and female) ablution or "wudu" in arabic is a ritual cleaning done before they pray or touch the Quran. It's a process, but the important part for your question is that all the parts that need to washed, which include the hands, must touch each part. So the nail polish or varnish blocks the water from touching the actual nail.


However, one can receive a manicure without actually having polish or acrylic applied.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

Many wear designer clothes and make-up under their full hijabs.

Why?

That is just the silliest thing I have heard this week.

Mind boggling stupid.

P

originally posted by: pheonix358
a reply to: JDeLattre89

Many wear designer clothes and make-up under their full hijabs.

Why?

That is just the silliest thing I have heard this week.

Mind boggling stupid.

P

I guess they take those hijabs off at home.

The owner told her to take down her posting offering the women a free service, which my wife did

I'm having a difficult time visualizing this posting. Was it at the salon? On a bulletin board at the grocery store? What did it say? "Free nail service to congregants of the XYZ Mosque"? That sounds both tacky and absurd.

As a business owner, I flinch when I see/hear/read something is free. “Free" denotes lower or inferior quality… something I’d not want associated with my brand, store, or operation. And that “free” that your spouse is advertising is not equally available to all walking through the door. Who carries the liability insurance for what business practices transpire on site?

I think the owner is less worried about getting in trouble for discrimination and more worried about letting Muslim women into her shop.

I think you and possibly your spouse want it to be about Muslim women, instead of understanding and accepting the general principles of business law, and the risks a business owner is exposed to on a daily basis.

The business owner needs only one lawsuit claiming some type of discrimination for his/her liability and business practices insurance to be canceled. Will your spouse make the same offer to Shiks, Jews, Wiccans, Christians, etc.? Renting your spouse a chair each month exhibits implied trust that your spouse will make mutually beneficial and sound business decisions.

Why not just offer a free stencil application on each pinky to anyone coming in during November, or a two-fer every Tuesday. Print double sided business cards with an offer on the backside, take them to that grocery store that's owned by the same family who owns the mosque (a 'family' can own a mosque?), and walk around handing them out to anyone shopping.

Plenty of approaches to client-building that don't involve “free” but more importantly exclusionary offers.

How would your wife feel about the owner putting up a sign that said " 10 % discount for Christians. Muslims and Jews must pay full price." ?

Bet she'd be livid.