I felt that I should share an experience my family recently had at Diva Nails. My birthday was a few days ago, and my brother wanted to get me a gift certificate to have my nails done. He is 19 and ha... Read More
I felt that I should share an experience my family recently had at Diva Nails. My birthday was a few days ago, and my brother wanted to get me a gift certificate to have my nails done. He is 19 and has autism. My mom dropped him off at Diva to run in and purchase the gift card, telling him to ask for a "student" mani/pedi (he is in his fifth year of special education at Seaholm and I am a college student). My mom pulled into a parking spot to wait for him to come out, only to be greeted by my crying brother knocking on her window a few minutes later. He was visibly shaken, and my mom immediately asked what had happened and what was wrong. My brother told her that the man at the counter would not let him purchase the gift certificate, raising his voice and saying that it "was not allowed" He told my mom that he told the individual that he was confused, and needed the reason to be explained one more time (this is something he's been taught to do when he doesn't understand), to no avail. My mom then walked with my brother back into Diva, asking to speak to the individual who had interacted with my brother. The man was clearly annoyed, and spouted off several drummed-up reasons why my brother was not allowed to make the purchase: He was "too old" to be a student (as I said, he's in his fifth year of special education at Seaholm and even presented his student ID), he couldn't buy the card for another student, he would need to bring me in with him to verify my age, and, even then, my age would supposedly dictate which days I would be allowed to use the certificate. What it boils down to is this: my brother was clearly struggling to process the information, and, instead of slowing down and trying to help him understand, this man raised his voice to the point that my brother began to cry (and this is NOT something he does often). I cannot even begin to fathom what this individual was thinking: perhaps he was anxious to get my brother to leave the store, simply not wanting to "deal" with someone who needed to be communicated with in a different way. My mom can verify that he similarly raised his voice to her when she entered the salon (people were turned around and staring). After seeing his horribly ignorant and impetuous behavior for herself, she stated "We'll absolutely be taking our business elsewhere" To which he yelled, "FINE!" and walked away, leaving my dumbstruck mother and brother in his wake. Respect for and kindness toward those who are differently-abled should be something we demand from our local businesses. Evan deals with enough hardship on a day-to-day basis; he shouldn't have to fear humiliation and belittlement when doing something as simple and kind as purchasing a birthday gift. We'll now be taking our business somewhere that treats its patrons with the decency and civility they deserve, and I urge you to do the same. Read Less