Self-Advocacy

I get it. Small businesses depend on getting butts in seats and keeping them there. Which is why I was willing to wait 40 minutes without complaint at our local nail salon. It didn't seem that busy when we entered, and they brought us to our chairs as soon as we chose our polish. 

But. 

We waited without explanation for over 30 minutes as all the technicians worked on other customers. And it was without a word that one of them twisted the water on in our basins and gestured for us to put our feet in. There was nothing added, and she turned the water off on her way back to the manicure she was working on. 

"Should we just leave?" Heidi finally asked a few minutes later. 

I sighed. I knew Heidi wanted her toenails done before she left for the beach, and it was hard to let go of the time we had already waited without getting service. "Let's give them 5 more minutes," I suggested. 

Within two, a technician came and began working on Heidi's toenails, and I felt optimistic. A few seconds later, they brought another customer back and sat her next to me. She couldn't have been there more than 5 minutes before she loudly asked, "Who am I waiting for? They said they would take me right away up front."

All the employees stopped what they were doing and stared at her in alarm. "Soon, soon," one of them assured her, but that was it for me. I pulled my feet from the tepid water and slipped them back into my flip-flops. Heidi's toenails would be done, and mine could wait.

"I'm going grocery shopping," I told Heidi. "Text me when you're done."

As I stood up, several of the workers shook their heads. "No, no!" they told me.

"I'm finished!" one of the technicians promised. 

It was the first time anyone had spoken to me in 45 minutes. "Nope," I told them. "I've been waiting too long! Maybe next time," I shrugged and I strode out of the salon, feeling liberated.

Oh, they tried to explain to Heidi that they had been unexpectedly busy, but the truth was this was the second time that this had happened. Back in June when my sister was in town, the three of us had gone for pedicures and had ended up waiting a long time. Then, I had been willing to believe it was a one-off and give the place another chance.

"Do you think you'll ever go there again?" Heidi asked later.

"I might go while you're at the beach," I said. "I kind of want to see if walking out made any difference."