Inside Happy Nails and Spa, gossip comes with the territory. But now, controversy is stirring around three women who took petty theft to a whole new level.
“They do it for fun,” said nail specialist Cindy Vu.
On Monday, three women wanted the works, said the salon manager.
“Two full sets, three pedicures, they want everything, like the design, the hologram,” said Hanna Nguyen.
Surveillance video shows the three enjoying themselves. First getting their nails done, then relaxing as workers pamper their toes.
But when it came time to pay the $219 bill, they took a more callous approach.
“She said, 'Oh I left my wallet outside I need to go out to get my wallet,'” said Yu.
“We spent the time to do service for them, to make them look pretty, and they get up and run,” said Nguyen.
The acrylic crooks so flustered in their getaway, they forgot one of their partners in crime behind. Workers let her have it verbally in the parking lot before she jumped in a truck and took off, and all of it was captured on cell phone video.
“To get the pedicure and nails and just run out like that, that’s horrible,” said one customer.
For Happy Nails, it’s been a sad seven days. Last week, two other women pulled the same act, back-filling more than $50 worth of services before heading out the door.
“I think it also puts them in a place where they don’t trust people and they have to question everybody who comes through the door,” said another customer.
Now the salon's owner wants the public to file the images of the women into their mind and hopefully give police the tips they need to put these women where they belong.
If you recognize the women from this story, you're asked to contact Avondale police.
