New York woman asked her technician to make her nails shorter, but the salon owner allegedly grabbed her by the hair and chased her down the street

A nail salon owner in New York has been accused of physically attacking a customer after the customer asked for her nails to be trimmed shorter. The customer, who goes by Grace on TikTok under the account @grace.mitscherlich, shared a tearful video online describing what she said happened during her appointment at Alica Nail Spa. The video has since gathered over 867,000 views.

According to Grace, the trouble started after her nails had been done and she asked her technician, who she later identified as the salon owner and manager, Wendy, if they could be made a little shorter. She claimed Wendy became upset and told her she should have made that request earlier in the appointment. Grace said she tried to stay calm throughout the exchange.

Grace said that as Wendy continued to raise her voice, she offered to pay extra to smooth things over, but the yelling did not stop. When Wendy allegedly demanded that she hand over her hands to continue the service, Grace said she declined, telling her she no longer felt comfortable being touched given how the interaction had gone. She said another technician then stepped in to take over.

The customer alleged the owner chased her out of the salon and into a nearby restaurant before police arrived

According to Grace, Wendy continued shouting at her from the other side of the salon even after a different technician had taken over. She said she stood up in an attempt to calm things down, but claimed that Wendy then ran toward her. “She ran towards me and she grabbed my hair and she pulled me back,” Grace said in her video.

Grace said she ran out of the salon to get away. She alleged that Wendy followed her out and chased her down the street, attempting to grab her again. Grace said she then took shelter inside a nearby burger restaurant to get away from her.

According to Grace, Wendy followed her into the restaurant and told her she could not leave. Staff at the burger restaurant, she said, told her they were sorry but could not do much to help since there was only one exit. Grace said she waited there until police arrived, after which she filed a harassment report.

In a follow-up video, Grace said she was disappointed with how officers handled the situation. She claimed the police told her that because they had not witnessed the alleged attack themselves, there was little they could do. She also alleged that officers instructed her to go back to the salon and pay for the service, even though she said it had not been completed. 

She added that she was considering disputing the charge with her bank for that reason. Similar disputes over service and payment have led other customers to seek refunds from salon owners.

Grace also claimed that Wendy told the responding officers she had surveillance footage showing Grace trying to leave without paying. In response, Grace said she encouraged Wendy to show the footage, arguing it would also capture what she alleged was the physical altercation. She further claimed that Wendy gave officers a false name. 

Throughout her account, Grace maintained that she had never intended to leave without paying. “It was always gonna pay. Y’all know what I do for a living. It’s not like I can’t afford like $80 nails,” she said in her video. She also emphasized that she had not raised her voice or touched Wendy at any point. “I wasn’t yelling, I wasn’t raising my voice. I was really just trying to de-escalate things ’cause it’s f—-g nails, it’s not that deep,” she said. 

She also noted in her video that her nails were still unfinished at the time of the alleged altercation. “I’ve never been in a physical fight, obviously. It was just really unexpected,” she said. The customer’s account drew significant attention on TikTok. 

Many expressed sympathy, with one commenting, “That is terrifying. I’m so sorry you had to deal with this,” while another wrote, “I went to the Google reviews, and the way the owner responds to negative reviews is very telling, and I am so sorry this happened to you.” 

Others urged her to take legal action, with one writing, “Girl, get a lawyer and sue the nail shop, and her personally!” and another advising, “ask for the camera footage and get a lawyer or ask the police to go get the footage and sue.” 

Not everyone was convinced by her account, however. “I feel like there’s another side,” one viewer wrote, while another commented, “yeah I don’t believe stories like this, something tells me you’re only telling partial stories.” In a similar incident, a woman caught her salon overcharging her, then got offered a gift card.