Bao Vi (25 years old, Tan Binh, HCMC) called 4-5 nail shop to book an appointment but only received rejections because the shop was full until 30 Tet.
In the end, Vi was lucky to close a nail salon at 9pm on the 28th of Tet. To be sure, the shop requires customers to transfer 100,000 VND in advance to reserve a place. If you cancel your appointment, Vi will have to forfeit this amount.
Near Tet, the demand for hair dye, nail art, and eyelash extensions skyrocketed. Many customers have to book 2-3 weeks in advance, accept to pay a larger amount in time to beautify Tet.
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Customers wait patiently to get their hair done close to Tet. Photo: Gu Hair Salon. |
Like Bao Vi, Thuy Dung (27 years old, Thu Duc City) also has to book a nail appointment in advance to “make sure” during peak times.
“Unlike clothes, cosmetics can be purchased in advance, nail Or you have to work close to Tet to play for a long time. So, every year, I wait until the 27th and 28th of Tet.”
Also because of this common mentality, nail salons are always overloaded. Ngoc Tam (21 years old) – a nail salon worker in District 3 said that she worked continuously from 8 am to 22 pm.
“Customers come in one following another all day, sometimes at 3-4 pm I take a break to eat the first meal of the day” – Ngoc Tam shared. Many days, this female employee also works until 1-2 am because customers arrive late or have some services such as nail extensions, elaborate nail art.
Ly Le – founder of a system of 21 nail salons in Ho Chi Minh City said that her salons are full of reservations until 30 Tet. Determining early this is the time of the main business season, she has prepared personnel and services in advance to work at full capacity before the new year.
“Customers tend to spend more on Tet because they often choose to do elaborate and complicated nail designs. A typical bill that falls between 300,000 VND and 500,000 VND can now go up to 600,000 VND to more than 1 million VND,” Ly Le told Zing.
Overcrowding also occurs in many hair salons. 3 floors at Gu Hair Salon in District 1 are always full of customers.
“The 17 seats at my shop are always full. Because of the large number of customers, the workers also have to work at full capacity from 8 am to 2 am the next day,” – Nguyen Vu Hieu, founder of this hair salon told Zing.
According to Huy, the most popular service is bleaching and dyeing hair. On Tet holiday, a customer can pay up to 15 million VND for hair cutting, dyeing and restoration services.
Because she is too busy but has not booked an appointment, Bao Chung (28 years old, Binh Thanh) also accepts to pay an amount of 1.5 million dong to have her hair cut and styled by a hair stylist on the followingnoon of the 30th Tet. Although this amount is 6-7 times more expensive than usual, this Alex Reed thinks that the price is reasonable for the service at the “90th minute”.
