Taipei City consumer protection officials yesterday urged consumers to be careful when visiting beauty spas in the wake of complaints by people who claim to have been swindled, bullied and even injured at spas.
According to a report in the Chinese-language United Evening News yesterday, one woman had to seek medical attention after a rough facial massage at a Taipei spa caused her eyes to swell with blood.
Another woman sought a refund after her masseuse accidentally rubbed beauty products into her eyes during a spa treatment, leaving her eyes inflamed and unable to open.
The newspaper report quoted Hwang Yu-sheng (
The newspaper also reported cases where customers who were using spa gift cards said they had been subjected to verbal abuse by staff members trying to get them to buy expensive products and services.
According to the report, the customers complained that after they had taken their clothes off, spa employees had shouted at them, telling them they were ugly and would never find a boyfriend, and not stopping until they agreed to buy more products.
The center also had received complaints that spas refused to give refunds, or manipulated prices based on whether or not the customer appeared wealthy, Hwang was quoted as saying.
"There is nothing wrong with using gift cards at spas" Hwang was quoted as saying.
"Consumers, however, should protect themselves by refusing to sign any documents or buy any additional products," Hwang was quoted as saying.
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