Holocaust Survivor Asked to Pay $30 Extra at Nail Salon Because She's in a Wheelchair
By: WECT
Updated: January 17, 2013
The family of Wilmington, North Carolina woman says that she was the victim of discrimination after a nail salon reportedly tried to charge the 86-year-old an extra fee because she is in a wheelchair.
Ilse Rosenberg, a Holocaust survivor, said the experience brought back memories of how she felt all those years ago.
Rosenberg's caregiver, Melissa Padgett, took her to Lee Nails, inside Independence Mall, earlier this week for a manicure and pedicure.
"After she gets her feet in the chair and she's comfortable and her feet are in the water, he [an employee at the salon] said because she is in a wheelchair and it's an inconvenience of her being transferred in the chair, it is a $30 dollar up charge," said Padgett.
But Padgett, who is a CNA, said she had already transferred Rosenberg into the salon chair.
Still, she says that the salon manager told her to leave if she didn't want to pay the extra fee.
"I went back to Ilse, and at this point, I'm crying because I'm humiliated," she said. "When I saw her face, and I had to tell her we had to leave or pay an up charge, it broke my heart."
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