New York Woman Defended Her Co-Worker From an Inappropriate Customer. She Got Fired Later in the Day: ‘I’d Do It Again’

As the popular saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. This seems to be the case for Dominique Symone (@_dominiquesymone), who told TikTok about how she got fired from a New York City salon for a reason she didn’t expect.

The first client of the day arrived at the salon, and at first, Symone said that things went well. Everyone was still reeling from the monumental win of the Knicks. But then, the conversation shifted from Knicks and basketball to other pressing issues.

“Somehow, somewhere, someway, the conversation takes the hardest left I’ve ever seen,” Symone said. She explained that the client started talking terribly about immigrants and Palestinians. Symone also recalled the client throwing the word ‘disgusting’ around in relation to minorities. She didn’t immediately intervene, because Symone thought that the conversation could still take a positive turn.

“Keep in mind, the person who’s doing her hair? Not from this country,” Symone contextualized. She also said that the owner of the salon is an immigrant, which makes the language used by the customer even more inappropriate. But after a while, Symone noticed the conversation getting worse.

“If there’s a bully in the vicinity, they have to deal with me,” she said about the situation. Symone decided to walk over the customer and the other stylist to intervene.

“Hey, could we maybe change the subject? Like, just maybe talk about something else?” Symone told the customer in an effort to ease the tension.

“What?” the customer supposedly replied, and she seemed offended. After this response, Symone told the customer directly that the subject was offensive, but the woman didn’t care.

Getting into a fight

“I don’t care! I can talk to my stylist about whatever I want!” The woman allegedly told Symone.

“Well, then, you’re disgusting, because you should care about how your words affect other people,” Symone clapped back before walking away. The customer was still disgruntled at this point. In an ironic twist, the customer did change the subject—but this time, she was talking about Symone and complaining about her.

Symone didn’t disclose where the other stylist immigrated from. But according to Symone, it was better that the customer complained about her rather than talking down to the other stylist and, possibly, her family.

“There are a lot of people that feel like me, and they come here, so you better watch your back,” the customer told Symone in what seems to be a thinly veiled threat. Symone neither cared nor apologized to the woman, who continued to talk smack about her.

“I’m going to have a very private conversation with the owners,” the woman said while paying for the salon visit.

“I don’t care! Because I’d do it again,” Symone told TikTok, nonchalant about the situation. When the customer left, Symone checked on the stylist who had to deal with the woman. The stylist was allegedly grateful, thanking Symone for standing up for her since English isn’t her first language. She seemed to be flustered by the experience, as Symone described the stylist to be a timid person.

In an ideal scenario, the attempt to foster a positive workplace could be rewarded by an employer. But the opposite happened for Symone, who received a call at the end of the day.

Fired for standing up against a customer

“Hey, I’m so sorry to do this, but I can’t have this in my salon,” Symone’s former boss allegedly told her. Symone was confused, because from her perspective, she defended her fellow staff member and the owner from the customer’s unsavory rhetoric.

“You’re probably right. This is not the place for me, because if put in that situation again? I’d do it again,” she said, standing by her principles. Although her former workplace didn’t seem to appreciate her, many people on TikTok praised Symone.

Someone said, “The universe will reward you for having integrity.”

Another comment offered financial assistance and said, “We need more people like you out here.”

But others believe Symone has been wrongfully terminated, even offering her legal help.

One commenter wrote, “Need a NY employment attorney? Girl, let’s talk.”

Another pointed out, “You can be harassed by customers (obviously), but they also fall under the umbrella of workplace harassment. So what I am saying is, speak to an employment lawyer about what qualifies for wrongful termination.”

No good deed deserves to be punished. Although many on the internet are asking Symone about the salon, she decided not to disclose its name and instead has thanked everyone else who has shown her support.

(fetured images: Ayumi Photo, Dominique Symone, Nataliya Vaitkevich)

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