[UPDATE, Sept 11, 11:45pm]: Article amended to reflect statement by Opatra

Things have been going south for a Suntec City beauty salon after it was reported to have allegedly pressured an elderly woman into purchasing over $13,000 worth of products. 

The salon, Opatra London, is now the target of backlash on social media following the tale of events. The store, operated by a franchisee of UK-based Opatra Skincare, temporarily deactivated its Facebook page.

But it was not able to escape the troll(s) on Google. The salon is currently being indexed on Google as a "public toilet". 

The son of the elderly woman — known as Madam Tay — had tipped off news website Mothership on the “aggressive and unethical” sales tactics of store employees that apparently coerced the 63-year-old cleaner into spending $13,180 on Opatra’s beauty products and equipment.

Here's what allegedly happened according to Madam Tay's son:

• After her work shift on Sept 4, Madam Tay was invited into the salon while passing by.
• Staff members performed a complimentary facial for her.
• Initially, they persuaded Madam Tay to buy $1,180 worth of beauty products, which she did.
• They then convinced her to purchase more stuff worth $12,000.
• After maxing out her debit card limit at $2,000, she was told to withdraw the remaining $10,000 at a DBS branch.
• Madam Tay’s son claimed that his mother had been “intimidated by their persistence” after spending a total of five hours at the store.
• After Madam Tay told her son about the incident, a police report was lodged.
• The son then went to the salon and asked for a refund, but Opatra was said to have refused at first, claiming that Madam Tay was fully aware of the purchase.
• He argued that his mother is “illiterate in English” and was not able to understand the fine print of the salon’s invoice.
• He reported the incident to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) on Sept 7, and Opatra refunded $12,800 the next day.

According to Opatra, the staff members involved will face a disciplinary hearing and actions will be taken if any wrongdoing was found. As for Madam Tay’s son, he plans to pursue the matter with Case, Lianhe Wanbao reported. 

A suggested change on Google

Typically in situations like this, netizens would be flocking to the Facebook page of the allegedly offending brand to bombard it with angry comments — but Opatra deactivated theirs for a brief period of time.

On Google, the salon has less control over reviews. The index page for Opatra London received more than a few one-star reviews as a result of the incident.

Someone managed to switch up the description of Opatra London as well. Its address in the north wing of Suntec City remains the same, but as for its category? A "public toilet" instead of the original "beauty supply store".

“A Google Maps user suggested this change,” the website simply stated. 

The new category is currently undergoing a review, but for now, Opatra London remains listed as a "public toilet" on the platform.

'We value our clients'

Opatra has since remerged on Facebook with a statement to issue their side of the story. 

In a post on Friday night (Sept 11), Opatra wrote that the incident “has been painted in a different light”. 

“The customer purchased our products after our usual facial and consultation. She changed her mind three days later requesting for a full refund,” the post read. 

“We complied with this and refunded her the full amount on the same day to ensure a positive customer experience — which is of utmost importance to us.”

Nonetheless, the company affirmed that an internal review will be conducted and that it plans to stay here for the long term. 

ilyas@asiaone.com

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