The story of an elderly woman who originally only wanted an $18 massage but ended up spending $40,000 on different packages at a wellness centre in Chinatown made the news on Wednesday (Sept 28).
The salon attendants at the centre had pressured the 70-year-old auntie into spending such a large amount within just three months.
What started out as simple treatments ended up with multiple attendants and additional medicaments that the auntie claimed she never asked for, Shin Min Daily News reported.
She was also told she had several other issues such as blood flow blockage that spurred her on to order packages costing thousands of dollars.
The incident has since been reported to the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) and the auntie got back $20,000.
The salon denied that the woman had been duped into ordering more packages, mustsharenews reported on Wednesday (Sept 28).
Netizens commenting on reports about the elderly woman’s case shared their own experiences of how they’ve been subjected to similar pressures at salons as well.
One woman said that she had to endure such talk during a whole massage session, calling it “quite a torture.”
She added that “Even you had just renewed, new patterns keep coming up… there goes the dreadful never ending sales talk again.”
Netizens agreed that “all kinds of tactics” are applied in a lot of these establishments.
One commenter called it “Daylight robbery.”
They “even used scare tactics” on one woman.
Experiences that are supposed to be relaxing, such as massages, end up being “so stressful.”
“Please educate your elderly parents,” another urged.
Another agreed that the targets are often the elderly.
/TISG