The RCMP are investigating after a woman says she was assaulted and locked inside a nail salon in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, after refusing to pay for a manicure she deemed unsatisfactory.
A staff member at HD Nails in Chilliwack, B.C. filmed the confrontation on Saturday and posted the video online where it has since gone viral.
In the clip, Ashley Deshaies can be seen physically struggling with a group of employees inside the nail salon. She is heard yelling for help and telling a male staff member gripping her arm to let go of her right before she kicks him in the leg.
“Don’t f---ing touch me,” she screams in his face. “Let me out of your f---ing shop.”
After more arguing, the 26-year-old woman speaks directly to the woman who gave her the manicure and pedicure.
“When I asked you to fix my nails you would not fix my nails. They’re all different lengths,” she yells at her. “You guys didn’t even finish my toes. It looks horrible.”
The employee responds by saying that her nails look “nice” and demanding that she pay her $76 bill. Deshaies says she will only pay for half, unless her nails are fixed.
“They’re all different lengths!” she repeats.
“Don’t say that. You liar!” the manicurist yells back at her.
The dispute becomes physical again when Deshaies is prevented from exiting through the shop’s front door after multiple attempts.
Eventually, Deshaies’ father Bernard Besier and a friend arrive and start recording video of the altercation from outside of the salon. He can be heard calling the police as he watches his daughter fight with the employees inside.
“I will break this window down,” he tells the police.
Chilliwack RCMP arrived and intervened in the dispute. The staff at HD Nails told CTV Vancouver that police ordered the customer to pay $23 of her bill.
Anna Dang, the owner of the salon, says she’s not sure if they were allowed to lock Deshaies inside, but they did it to try and force her to pay what she owed them.
“I want the money because I don't want (to give) my service for free,” she explained.
Both Dang and Deshaies claim they received scratches and bruises from each other during the tussle.
“She hit my face,” Dang claimed.
Samantha Schneider, a friend of Deshaies who posted the video on Facebook, says her friend is still “extremely traumatized” from the incident.
“She has asked that I remove the video for now until she can fully wrap her head around this,” she wrote on Facebook.
Deshaies’ father says the RCMP officer who responded to the call didn’t take his daughter’s statement and threatened to arrest her if she didn’t pay a portion of the bill.
“He should have basically taken the statements from both sides and said [to the staff], ‘If you want to pursue this. If you want your money for the service provided, take her to civil court,’” he said.
Besier said the family believes Deshaies was forcibly confined in the salon and the employees should be investigated.
Chilliwack RCMP refused to comment on the case on Monday, but said they would provide an update later in the week.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
