If you were opening up your own nail salon, what would you call it? Polished, Dream Nails, errrm… The Nail Salon?
Alright, I’ve already run out of ideas. Business is not my forte. Regardless, I can’t imagine the name of your salon would cause too much hassle once it’s been decided; after all, people visit for the service rather than the name, right?
Right. Although one woman in Ohio has discovered that a controversial shop name perhaps causes more hassle than it’s worth after members of the community complained her salon’s name is too risqué and needs to be changed.
Dawn Moon became a viral sensation recently when the name of her salon, Hand Jobs Nails & Spa in Sandusky, Ohio, came to public attention.
The salon owner told 13ABC she was initially struggling to come up with a name, but knew she wanted something memorable.
Moon explained:
You don’t want something that they can’t remember or that they can’t pronounce or say.
So, she thought, to keep it simple she would go back to basics and give the salon a name which was so literal it could never be forgotten. And that is how the Hand Jobs salon was born.
Explaining her decision, Moon said:
If you go in and get your nose done, it’s called a nose job right? Well you come in and get your hands done it’s a hand job!
It really is what we do, we work on hands all day every day.
I mean, you can’t really argue with that can you? Although I’m pretty sure the literal definition of a hand job does not (and never should) include nails in any way, shape, or form. But I suppose different strokes for different folks.
The name’s gone down a storm with people online, if not locally. Going viral will do that y’know.
The salon owner said:
In less than a week, I think the whole country knows about us. You can’t pay for that kind of advertising.
As with every controversial decision though, not everyone is happy with the Hand Jobs Nails & Spa and some have even complained to the local zoning board.
Megan Sherlund, the Perkins Township Zoning Director, says there have have been some complaints which have to be taken into consideration.
Sherlund told 13ABC:
Signs should not be text or graphics not be indecent or obscene in nature. We have no stance on it other than we have to take into consideration the entire feel and community of Perkins Township.
Moon says she will not change the name, despite a decision on whether the sign meets zoning restrictions being due by the end of the week.
You’ve got to admire her resilience; and hey, as long as it’s bringing customers in, what’s the problem.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).