A Fife salon owner was called ‘disgusting’ and had a wave of cancellations after asking customers to do a lateral flow test for Covid before attending their appointment.
John Baillie, who owns Lime Salons in Dunfermline and Inverkeithing, took to social media after some customers objected to his request.
Mr Baillie explained he had emailed clients asking them to take a lateral flow test before visiting his salons in a bid to keep people safe amid a rise in coronavirus cases.
But he said that after his request he was sent a number of emails from people threatening to cancel.
The hairdresser said he was left “furious” by the responses, including some which he said verged on abuse.
In a video on the salon chain’s social media page, Mr Baillie explained he had sent the email to look after his staff and customers.
“Everyone has their own opinions, we are all living in this nightmare together,” he said.
“I had a few staff members who didn’t get to have Christmas with their family because they caught Covid.
“The likelihood is they caught it while they were…at work.”
Mr Baillie added that with more Covid-19 cases circulating in the community there was an increased chance someone without symptoms could come into the salon and inadvertently pass it onto staff or other customers.
“If another client caught it and got ill that would be devastating for us,” he added, saying he saw the tests as a way to keep his customers, staff and their families safe.
“All we’re asking clients to do is a lateral flow. We’re not going to demand proof.”
Mr Baillie, who owns two salons in Fife and one in Falkirk, said that some customers had cancelled, while one person said called him “absolutely disgusting”.
“It’s just one more way to make sure everyone has the Christmas that they deserve. If that makes me a disgusting or terrible person, then maybe we aren’t the salon for you,” he said.
But his caution proved well-placed after one customer received a positive lateral flow result, despite having no symptoms.
“One of the clients who was to come in received a positive test on her lateral flow despite having no symptoms,” Mr Baillie said.
“That’s why we do this. If she had come in other customers could have been affected, and my stylist would have had to have taken time off.”
Shirley-Anne Somerville, MSP for Dunfermline and West Fife commented, “It’s disappointing to hear that Lime Salon has received negative and abusive comments from customers, simply for wanting to keep people safe.
“I understand that it’s been an extremely difficult two years but that doesn’t give anyone the right to take out their frustrations on a small business trying to act responsibly.
‘Regular testing important’
“You can have this virus even if you’re not showing any symptoms, which makes regular testing very important.
“I’d encourage anyone who’s planning on mixing with other households – whether that’s visiting someone’s home, going to a restaurant or even getting a haircut – to take a lateral flow test beforehand.”
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