thrown out of a nail salon

I am way overdue for a manicure/pedicure.  I try a new place near my home.  

The sign in the window is enticing:

The girl who does my nails is sweet and competent; I’ll call her Sweet Girl, or SG for short. The woman who runs the place is a Tiger Mom gone amok.  I can tell by the way she talks to her workers she is not nice.  In her former life she was probably running a sweatshop in North Korea.

SG charges me $27 and I tip her $6.

There are five chairs for pedicures.  I am sitting in one letting my toenails dry.  I am the only customer.  An older woman walks in and Tiger Mom says to me, “Can you move?”  CAN I WHAT? I want to yell.  Does she not see the four empty chairs next to me?  I suggest one of them and the woman sits down.

The older women then goes to pay and asks, “Why is it $27?”  Her manicurist responds, “Tax.”  “Isn’t that too high,” she queries. (That would make the tax 12.5%).  Even the Big Apple doesn't have a sales tax that high!

Tiger Mom shouts back, “OKAY.OKAY.  GIVE HER FIFTY CENT BACK.”  This appears to be some random amount TM just decided on.

I love these little dramas.  I take out my phone and do the math.  IF we were charged the NYC sales tax of $8.875% the total would be $26.13.  But I know that the sales tax on manicures is less.  I verify this on my phone:

Other Additional New York City Taxes

For services, such as haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages, tanning, tattooing, etc., there is only a New York City sales tax of 4.5%

So, instead of being charged $27, we should have been charged $25.08.  Okay, I know, $2 isn’t much, but still.  It’s more than a rounding error.  It’s more than fifty cents.  But most offensively, Tiger Mom is cheating.

Now I’m involved. 

ME:  “You know, you should only be charging 4.5% tax.”

TM:  “This is how we do it.”

ME:  “Yes, but it’s wrong.”

TM to Sweet Girl:  “Tell. Her. To. Leave.” (The her being me).

ME:  “Wait, you owe me money.”

TM:  “Please leave.”

Older women to me:  “Just report her.  What she’s doing is illegal.”

TM: “Never mind.  What we owe you?”

ME:  “Let me figure it out.”

TM:  “It doesn’t matter.”

ME:  “Well, it matters to me.”

TM:  “The price in the window is wrong.  We charge so little.  That’s why tax high.”

ME:  “Huh?  You keep the price low and then overcharge on the tax?  You can’t do that.”

TM (now yelling):  “WHAT I OWE YOU?  TELL ME.  OKAY I PAY YOU.  THEN LEAVE.”

ME:  “About $2.”

TM (handing me the money):  “OK LEAVE, AND DON’T EVER COME BACK.”

It’s not like it’ll be hard to find another nail salon.