AITA For not paying my friend after she did my nails?

A Reddit user recounts a conflict with a friend who offered to practice doing nails on them but later demanded payment. Despite agreeing to help her friend by being a practice client, the user was shocked when presented with a $110 bill at the end of the session. Was the user justified in refusing to pay, or did they unfairly take advantage of their friend’s time and resources? Read the full story below.

‘ AITA For not paying my friend after she did my nails?’

 For some background I (21F) am currently a student but I also work part time to help me pay rent, groceries and school. I do not make a lot, so I am frugal with my purchases. I have this school friend (21F) who I will refer to as Eva who is also in school with me, but she does not work. She purchased the tools to do nails and invited me over to do them one time and so she did, everything was great and we had a fun time.

A few weeks ago by and she askes me if I think she should start advertising her services to make a little extra money. I encouraged her because I did think it would be a nice way for her to make money as she does not work. So she started to purchase all the extra tools you need like more colors, nail tips, a drill and charms. I thought it was very sweet and she had very low prices which was reasonable as she is not licensed and does not have much experience.

She ended up getting some traction from some mutual friends of ours, friends on her sport team, and friends from other groups she was apart of. One day she messaged me asking me if i liked the French tip styled nails and I said yes, so she asked me if I would be down to meet up after our break and she does my nails for she can practice doing them and start offering this service. I agreed as I thought it would be a win for me, as I do not mind the imperfectness of the nails.

I do not ever get my nails done though! So this is rare. I do not get them because I am frugal with my money on things I do not deem necessary, I also have a hard time typing with them and I am an anxious person so I rip or bite them of and so it is a waste all around. I do not have the budget for these as cheap as they are. So the only reason I did agree was that I was doing her a service and they were free.

So we agreed to do them Tuesday, but on Friday night I see that she posted an update to her Instagram that said she was upping her prices by $30. I did not think much as I was not paying. Well, Tuesday came around and we end up doing the nails which took a few hours as she was trying to be preside. At the end of it I was packing up and she asked if I wanted to pay with cash or a phone app payment.

I was honest and said I thought that they were going to be free as she was practicing on me and reached out to me as she knows I do not get my nails done often. She said that her equipment coasted a lot and so she needed to charge me because I used so much of her stuff. We went back and forth for a bit and I agreed to pay her, but then she told me my total would be $110!! Without tip and made a comment that the tip could be small.

I told her I would rather she cut all my nails off instead of me paying as she knows I am struggling with my bills. She did not seemed phased by this and told me I do not have to tip if want to act entitled . I ended up leaving and she had not spoken to me in days.. So AITA?

See what others had to share with OP:

Apart-Ad-6518 −  NTA She led you to believe the service would be free as she was practising her skills. But then she told me my total would be $110!! She isn’t even licensed. You could get them done by a fully licensed professional for less. I do not have to tip if want to act entitled. Projection, projection, projection. She isn’t your friend. She’s a urine extracting, greedy A H.

ThePhilV −  Ummm….no. This chick is trying to back you into a corner, and honestly, she’s acting really scammy, and there’s no way you should be paying her for her to practise on you. At the very least, if she wanted you to pay for materials only, she should have talked about that with you up front.

You’re NTA at all, and she’s gonna learn the quick (and hard) way that if you treat your friends like your personal bank machines, you’re gonna lose them all real fast. If she treats any of her actual customers this way, she’s not going to have a source of income for very long at all.

Briiiiiiyonce −  NTA. If she wanted money for PRACTICING on your nails she should have said that before. Don’t pay this girl. She is trying to charge you almost double the amount that a professional nail salon would charge you. $110 for a nail set that most likely didn’t even look that great (no offense) but she’s trying to steal your money.

cyanidelemonade −  She needs a reality check if she thinks that $110 is a normal cost for nails…not to mention from an amateur. And that’s without mentioning that she asked you to do a favor for her by letting her practice.. NTA.

Fresh_Process6822 −  NTA. When someone asks to practice a service on you, they are not in a position yet to offer quality service so you’re doing them a favor. Why would anyone pay to be a guinea p**? I’d steer clear of this friend. The way the rates are jumping sounds really odd. Also—is this some under-the-table business she’s doing? She sounds like she’s trying to make money off a hobby, not that she’s an actual trained nail tech. If that’s the case, you don’t know how well she maintains and sanitizes her stuff.

Boleyngrrl −  NTA. She just tried to s**m you and was mad when you weren’t a willing participant. Aren’t most nail technicians licensed? I’d report her to the board for practicing without a license, especially if she’s advertising her services and expecting tips. Designing nails that are to be applied by someone else is different, but she is actually doing nails… without training.

How is she cleaning her equipment? Is she sterilising stuff, using new stuff when appropriate? Does she know bloodborne pathogen training? So she’s basically a walking health hazard, and charging what I’d consider salon pricing for the privilege.

shontsu −  NTA. You don’t get to offer to do something for free, then change your mind afterwards and try to charge them.. She tried to s**m you.

Ok_Historian_646 −  NTA. Your friend should have been upfront. She made it seems as though she was using you as practice so that she is able to charge in the future. You should probably have a conversation with her to clear the air…if she’s willing. If not, then you know what kind of friend she is.

RosieDays456 −  OMG what a scammer. I hope you DID NOT pay her and for her to ask for a tip is soooo unprofessional. If she gives you a hard time about not paying, remind her she asked it she could practice on you – people do not pay for being practiced on. If she continues to give a hard time, I’d report her to the local licensing board and let her deal with it that way. She should not be doing nails and charging for them without schooling and a license.

Actually I’d report her regardless, people like her are very scary, no education on how to clean tools, how to do nails, cuticles, never using same nail file or cuticle stick if she uses wood ones, on more than one person, they should be offered to client at end of service, never used on anyone else. She is a walking health hazard and should not be doing nails and charging for them.