A NAIL salon in Hoyland has experienced a drastic dip in custom after ‘prejudiced’ customers feared the Vietnamese staff may be Chinese and carriers of coronavirus.
Ruby Nails, King Street, Hoyland, only opened in November but has seen a loss of trade in the last two weeks.
The first recorded case of coronavirus was in Wuhan, China, in December. Since then, the virus has been linked with the country, and many people have avoided restaurants and businesses because of it.
Owner of the shop, Phan Duc Hung, spoke about the loss of custom he has seen and said he is ‘worried’ that his business will not survive after the pandemic has ended.
“We only opened three months ago and already people have not been visiting the shop,” said Phan. “They are scared and think we will give them the virus but that’s not true.
“We keep everything clean in the shop and wear masks and ask our customers to wash their hands before and after having their nails done.
“I am worried that people won’t return to the shop because of fear and that I will have to close.”
Phan, who has been doing nails for ten years, recently opened the shop after working at his brother’s nail bar in Sheffield.
“I want people to know we are clean and that we don’t have the virus,” he added. “Hopefully the virus will be gone next month and we can carry on as normal.”
