ISIS Nails in New York forced to change name to stay in business
Rong Xiaoqing in New York
When Charlene Tse, owner of a nail salon in Forest Hills, New York, saw the brutality of Islamic State - or Isis, as the group was called - on the news last May, her heart sank.
But not because of the lives being lost in the Middle East.
"I thought, 'Oh God, their name is the same as that of my nail parlour,'" says Tse, who moved to New York from Hong Kong 27 years ago.
A few days later, strangers started to take pictures of the shop, which she had opened in 2011 and named after an Egyptian goddess.
Someone posted a photo online and it went viral. Strangers started coming into the salon to curse at her. People called to ask whether she was recruiting for Isis. Even the Department of Homeland Security called to check she was OK.
"Most of the time I just kept silent, or simply said, 'I don't know what you are talking about.' Sometimes, when I felt the urge to fight back, I asked them, 'If you really think this is a base for terrorists, why do you still walk into my shop? Do you think you will be safe?'" says Tse.
Regular customers began to drift away; those who remained asked gingerly, "Is there any reason you have to keep this name?"
Business fell by 30 per cent.
"When I opened the shop, I hired eight workers and clients were still waiting outside. Suddenly, there were only three workers here. And they were not busy."
Eventually, Tse let the terrorists win.
Last month, she spent US$7,000 on changing the shop's name, both legally and on the board outside, to "Bess".
"I wanted to do it before it was too late and someone got hurt," says Tse.
The new name, borrowed from that of the travel agency her sister runs in Hong Kong, helps the shop blend in with its safely named neighbours, such as Zoya's Window Fashions and Daniel Hair Design.
The rebrand has lured back customers, too.
On the Friday before Mother's Day, Tse and five other nail artists worked non-stop at their stations, while customers queued for their turn.
