Vietnamese Nail Businesses Prosper in Florida
Nguoi Viet, News Report, Dzung Do, Translated by Van Dang, Posted: Mar 15, 2006
Editor’s note: This article was first published in Người Việt Daily News in Vietnamese, the result of a reporting partnership between the newspaper and Florida’s Sun-Sentinel, funded by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Knight Foundation.
Author Dzung Do |
SOUTH FLORIDA — Winter here is warm, summerlike. The “snowbirds,” those from the northern climates, flock here during the early part of the year.
Many of the tourists are seniors or retired people. Some, no matter what the age, have extra money to spare. And one common way they spend it can be counted on 10 fingers or 10 toes.
The nail salon business in this area is booming this time of year.
Người Việt Daily News and the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida decided to pool its resources to take an in-depth look at the nail business here.
First impressions
I fly in from California and meet up with Macollvie Jean-Francois of The Sun-Sentinel. Our first stop: First Nails in neighboring Dania Beach. The owner is a young Vietnamese woman who introduces herself simply as Brenda. She is the oldest in a family of four sisters, each who also own a nail salon but Brenda’s has one advantage: her business is in a center with luxury businesses, anchored by a Publix, a popular supermarket based in Lakeland, Fla. And if you are able to open a salon in a mall with a Publix, it is already a commercial success, despite the $2,500 monthly rent.
At First Nails, we are warmly welcomed, and Brenda visits with us while working on a full set of nails for one of her “favorite” clients. Even as she concentrates, she gives assignments to the six technicians near her and answers the phone. She has an earphone connected to a landline to pick up incoming calls from clients; she speaks both English and Vietnamese.
On the weekends, her 16-year-old daughter helps her. Brenda says her business is her American dream.
“I came here by boat,” she says, having lived in the United States 20 years now. “At arrival, I lived in Richmond, Virginia, and got my hairdresser certificate there. Some time later, I moved to Denver, and converted the hairdresser certificate to a nail certificate. Having been there for a while, I couldn’t stand the cold weather, especially in winter.
“One day, my younger sister, Lisa, visited me and invited me to Florida. When arriving in Fort Lauderdale, I felt such warm weather and liked it... I arranged to move to Florida. I continued working as a nail technician and saved some money. Then, I bought back Fancy Nails in Lauderdale Lakes and worked with Lisa there. Eight years after that, I transferred the salon to Lisa who would take care of the business, and bought First Nails salon two years ago.”
On this day at First Nails, every station is full and a handful of customers wait.
“Because today is a weekend, there are many clients,” Brenda says. “In this business, one day is different from another. However, on the average, we can live on it... Some recent years, it is a little bit difficult because many people are opening nail salons,” she says of the area where Vietnamese Americans own 70 percent of the salons and where prices fluctuate in the competition to find and retain customers.
“Hurricane Wilma also forced me to close my salon for a few days because of power outage in the whole city; it has affected my income a little,” she says, though she refuses to drop her prices.
“The way to keep the clientele of First Nails is not by cheap prices, but service, to use good chemicals, and the cleanliness of the salon,” she says. “Besides, we have some special clients, who know us for a long time. These clients are usually very fastidious, but we try the best of our ability to please them and keep them,” she explained, adding that in these cases, she usually serves them herself “because I know for sure what they want. Moreover, I am the owner, so I must please the clients.”
And being a boss in such a competitive industry isn’t easy, either.
“I must treat my technicians very well; otherwise, they will go away. Nail technicians in this area have high value. Sometimes, I have to give up my own clients to the technicians so that they can earn more for a living.”
For Brenda, a top priority is quality and cleanliness.
“I use only brand-name chemicals, the good ones. Clients here know what is good and what is not. We can’t fake them. If we use poor-quality products, there will be reaction on the skin or on the nail of the clients. When they know, they will not come again.”
A janitor comes in to clean at the end of each day because “when clients see a clean salon, not messy, they step in right away,” she adds.
To verify what Brenda has told me, I walk further inside to the end of the salon. On the left is a new-looking sink with a mirror above on the wall. Lorrick Hayward of Hollywood City finishes washing her hands and then cleans the sink.
“Seeing such a clean sink, after using it, I clean it right away. I don’t want to make it dirty!” she says.
Tara Tuttle of Dania Beach says she is sold on the salon.
“For me, First Nails is very convenient. I can come at any time. I like this salon and am ready to wait three hours to get my nails done. Even if First Nails moves to other location in the area, I will also come... I also recommended some friends here, too.”
The service keeps Hayward coming back.
“If technicians can’t speak English, it is really not a problem. I will find a way to make them understand me,” she says. “For me, better service is more important. But I would prefer if they had both, good service and English. If they speak Vietnamese in front of me, look at me and laugh with each other, then I think maybe they are talking about me. I will feel very uncomfortable!”
And then of course, there is the Vietnamese touch with nails that appeals to Macy Moore of Hollywood, another regular.
“I think that Vietnamese have a secret about nail business. I have learned to be a nail technician too, and I can see that what they teach at school is different from what they do in reality,” she says.
Next stop
Leaving First Nails, we go to Fancy Nails in Lauderdale Lakes, owned by Lisa, Brenda’s younger sister.
Customers here are mostly minorities, and the prices are even cheaper. There are both male and female technicians in Fancy Nails; First Nails didn’t have any men as employees because Brenda says her clients — especially those treating themselves to a pedicure — prefer women. Fancy Nails is in a business center inland and attracts a less-upscale clientele.
When we arrive, we meet Vân Nguyễn, 43, who came from California to work here just a week ago. He had taught at a primary school in Trŕ Vinh province in his homeland and was once Lisa’s third-grade teacher. He had tried to go overseas by boat and lived in Galang Island Camp, Indonesia, for five years. After being returned to Việt Nam, he was not allowed by the government to teach anymore. To earn a living, he had to toil in the fields daily.
More than a year ago, he was sponsored by his brother to come to the United States and work in a production chain for an electronic company in California. After a layoff, he enrolled in a nail class at the ABC Beauty School in Westminster, Calif. While waiting for a new post, he was invited to Florida by Lisa, who offered him a job.
It is an adjustment for him.
“There is a lot more fun to be in California. We can eat Vietnamese food anytime,” he said. Still, “it is fun to work in the nail business. We meet and know many people, we learn how to speak English and serve clients. I feel very happy when clients come back and look for me to do their nails.”
He enjoys the freedom American living allows him.
“Compared with the life in Việt Nam, working in the field under the rain or the sun, life is much better here. The only thing is breathing chemicals, and sometimes, it is a concern. But anyone has to work to live. Whatever you do, you have to like it to do it.”
Thạch Phạm, 30, goes by Jason. He has worked at Fancy Nails for three years. He lived in Hawaii after leaving Việt Nam, then moved with his wife and daughter to Florida. He has worked many jobs, from Taco Bell to a casino.
“I worked in every possible job to pay for the expenses of the family,” he says. “However, I didn’t feel stable, I did not have a clear profession. By chance, three years ago, I read an ad that Fancy Nails needed some technicians, and then I contacted them and was employed. Currently, my wage is only $8.50 an hour plus tips. In total, I earn about $100 a day. It is less compared with what I earned when I was working as a card dealer, but I feel comfortable now, and I can live on it.
“I am saving money and hope that one day, I will be the owner of a liquor store, or a gas station or a restaurant. At that time, my life will be better.”
Heading west
The next day, I drive by myself to Fort Myers, a large tourist city on the west coast of Florida.
The first person I met is Vân Phůng, the owner of Little Saigon Market and an area real-estate broker. Compared with Vietnamese grocery stores in Southern California, this shop is very small, only about 1,000 square feet. But it is the only Vietnamese store in the city. And Phůng says nearly 1,000 Vietnamese live nearby, most employed in the nail business.
When she moved to Florida in 2000, she says she “noticed that Vietnamese here had to come up to Tampa to buy Vietnamese food. I opened this market so that our people don’t have to go far.”
After driving for a while I spy another Publix Supermarket in Estero, a small city next to Fort Myers. I stop in and see Nail Jazz, which is spacious and pretty.
I am astonished when I see about 10 manicure tables. At one end of the salon, there is a row of five modern and sparkling pedicure-spas. The owner of the salon, Kevin Nguỹęn, is about 30 and tells me that each spa cost $3,000 and includes a hot and cold water washing system for the feet. I slide into the leather chair that has a built-in massage system.
“Nail salons here are competing mostly in pedicure, because pedicure makes better money, is faster and an easier job than the manicure,” Nguyễn tells me. “Therefore, salons that have ‘luxury’ pedicure spas will attract clients, especially senior clients who like sitting in a chair that has a massaging system.”
Joan Johnston, a 72-year-old customer, appreciates the luxury.
“I feel very comfortable when sitting on this type of chair,” she says. “I usually read magazines and sometimes I feel so comfy that I fall asleep. Once I am done, the technician does not mind to wake me up.”
At the moment, I count about seven technicians and 10 clients in the salon. The men and women come and go steadily, they range from those in their late teens to senior citizens.
“Young clients are students from Florida Gulf Coast University. They don’t have income or don’t have high income, but we have special prices for them to promote the business,” he says.
Another day
My Florida colleague, Jean-Francois, and I continue our working trip. This time, we visit Delray Beach. We again come to another Publix. We walk into Nail Fever, owned by Dung.
It is a beautiful salon and the best location that we have seen during our visits. Nail Fever is located at the corner of a street in a business center; its side and front are made of glass. When we enter, the place is full; all five pedicure-spas and eight manicure tables are occupied. Dung talks as she works on a client’s hands.
“I have a salon in Atlanta,” she says. “It was a good business before, but recently it became more difficult, so I opened one more salon here. Most clients here are tourists, not only from other states but also from many other countries. However, most of them are coming from cold states.”
Looking at the price list, we notice that the pedicure fee is rather high, $38, compared to other stops on our tour. “So, perhaps technicians like pedicures better because they can make more money?” I ask Dung.
“We take turns,” she says. “One will work whenever his/her turn is, including me. We have a board, each person has a different shape magnet bar that sticks on the board. When a client comes, whoever has the turn will do the job and switch his/her magnet bar to the end.
“If it is like that, technicians will work fast to have their turn again?” I ask.
“It may happen in other salons, but not here,” she replies. “Here, the price is high. Clients are all upscale, and they are very well aware. If we do a fast job, poor quality, they will know immediately. Before anyone starts to work here, I agree with them that we must work properly to retain long-term clientele. If we do the job carelessly, clients will not be back, or if they are back, they will ask for another technician. If it happens, the technician who did a bad job will be sitting and playing (doing nothing). If the situation is like that often, I will fire this technician because he/she occupies the table and does not bring any profit for the salon.”
After leaving Nail Fever, we went directly to a city in the South, Pompano Beach, and we stopped by Elegant Nails, also in another Publix market. The owner is a rather young woman, Rose.
What’s different here is that both owner and technicians wear white uniforms. As in the other places, the owner works while she welcomes us. She juggles this with answering the constantly ringing phones, addressing her customers with a loving and friendly “honey.” Maybe this is one of her tricks to keep them.
Rose also is an interpreter. In most other salons, the technicians were fluent in English.
“Most technicians of this salon are new to the business, newly arrived from Vieät Nam and some of them came to America when they were already seniors. They speak limited English, and I have to help a lot,” she says. “Sometimes, I must stop my conversation on the telephone to ask what the client wants and tell the technician what the client wants. It is very inconvenient, but it happens often and clients get used to it, and they sympathize with us. The important thing is to do good job, and it is not really a problem with some language difficulties.”
Going home
While on the plane back to California, I think about the experiences of the past few days, of how I saw up close what it is like to make a living owning and working in a salon.
But I also learned another thing. Customers are appreciative of the professionalism and skill of the Vietnamese nail workers.
“Talking about sushi, we must mention the Japanese. Talking about kim chi we can’t not mention Koreans, and talking about nails, people think right away of Vietnamese,” one client at First Nails had told me.
I had a question for her: “Do you think that you may offend the Vietnamese? Is the nail business not an honorable profession in society?”
“In America, every profession is honorable,” she said to me. “If the Vietnamese don’t do nails, who will beautify us? It is not true that everyone can do this job. You have to be very skillful and patient to do this! And I think Vietnamese have some secrets because they do a more beautiful job than any other ethnicities that I know. Wherever there is a nail salon, there are Vietnamese. Could you show me any American business plaza without a Vietnamese nail salon?”
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