A wax salon in Greenville, North Carolina is facing backlash for dismissing a woman who spoke up against a co-worker touching their tips. Adding to the drama, an employee revealed that the establishment is plagued with bedbugs.
Despite the complaints, only Micheala Lucas was let go from her job at European Wax Center in G-Vegas. Lucas, who had been with the salon since June 2023, shared text messages on social media showing her and her colleagues confronting a co-worker, identified as Cecilia Clare Wiley by The North Carolina Beat, about keeping her hands out of the tip drawer without permission.
@Clare Wiley, please don’t touch my tips no more, I’m being so serious,” Lucas told Wiley in their job’s group chat. “And If I hear it again, there will be a problem.”
Lucas clarified to The North Carolina Beat that there was no threatening Wiley in her message, and her colleagues in the group chat shared the same sentiment. However, it was their boss, identified as Stephanie Buckley, who seemed to perceive it differently.
“There’s no reason that you should be going in the drawer with the tips anyways, only GSAS and STEPH,” Lucas finished saying in her message to Wiley in the group chat.
According to Lucas, she discovered on Sunday that an employee had been counting her and others tips and pretending to be a customer leaving feedback.
Shelbi, another employee in the group chat, also chimed in, warning Wiley with a firm “DO NOT TOUCH MY THINGS AGAIN EITHER.” Shelbi expressed disbelief at the lack of action from management and other GSA’s, stating that it was outrageous for them to be aware of the situation and not address it or inform the team.
After Shelbi sent her message, their boss, Buckley responded, stating that she would be speaking to all the parties involved and that the issue had been handled. Buckley also instructed her employees not to discuss the incident in the job group chat anymore.
Another employee replied to the group chat with four of her co-workers hearting her message, asking, “Can it be a group discussion?” BC I’ve received notes on my tips as well. “And the thought of anybody going in and counting my tips is disturbing.”
An hour later, Buckley stated in the group chat that she had previously learned about Wiley leaving notes on tips. She claimed that she explained to Wiley in private that she could not touch “anyone’s tips besides her own as well as go into the drawer, especially with what has transpired in the past with people questioning their tips being touched.”
“She had expressed that she had no ill intent on the matter and severely apologized for the situation,” Buckley explained to the group of what Wiley said.
But the plot thickened when Buckley made the false assertion that Wiley had been threatened within the group.
“No one threatens anyone here,” Buckley said in the group chat. “I will not stand for it and will not be tolerated. This is a safe space and if anyone threatens here, disciplinary action up to including termination will take place.”
Lucas shared with The North Carolina Beat that she never made any threats towards Wiley. She mentioned that if the situation persisted due to Buckley’s lack of action, she would escalate the matter to higher authorities. Three colleagues supported Lucas, stating they didn’t perceive any threat from her. It appears Buckley may have been unfairly focusing on Lucas’s skin color.
When asked if she felt discriminated against, Lucas said, “yes.”
Employee ask about bedbugs at European Wax Center in Greenville
In a recent group chat exchange, Zhanyia Staton, an employee, inquired about the status of the bedbug situation at European Wax Center. Sources from The North Carolina Beat revealed that the establishment was dealing with a bedbug infestation in the nooks and crannies of their waxing beds. When brought to Buckley’s attention, employees were simply instructed to give the beds a quick wipe down.
However, Lucas shared a different perspective, mentioning that she had suggested shutting down the business for a thorough cleaning due to the unsanitary conditions and the discomfort of customers having to lie on bug-infested surfaces.
“When I asked her if we could shut down, she said ‘no’ and to just clean in between clients,” Lucas shared with The North Carolina Beat.
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The North Carolina Beat made several unsuccessful attempts to contact European Wax Center as they repeatedly answered the phone only to disconnect the call, preventing the opportunity to obtain a statement prior to the publication of this post.
Also Shelbi comment was more aggressive than Michaela but because Michaela is black and Shelbi is white they playing the “aggressive black woman card
Shelbi’s comment on the text was more aggressive, in person it was not. Shelbi didn’t show up with her mother and threaten the young girl who works there. Shelbi didn’t have other write ups on her record. I’m black. I know the manager. It’s a shopping center. The people who work there see each other every day. She is not any more racist than I. The majority of girls that work there are black. Others were not fired. Only Michaela. Why?
This entire thing is completely ridiculous and blown out of proportion. If miss. Touchy still have a job so should Michaela regardless of how y’all saying she “lashed out” I don’t consider that lashing out by confronting the girl about keeping her hands to her own belongings, if she wanted to say something uplifting she could’ve wrote it on sticky notes or verbally said something it’s no need to touch anything. They should’ve never fired Michaela PERIOD.
Rose Mary Alvarez or whatever your name is, you must be a minion for Stephanie. It’s not false about what was shared because it’s proof. That’s the story they want to spin but so be it. And a lawsuit, please. And since you seem to know everything, how many times has the “racist victim” card been played?
Yeah this ain’t it bro. All i see is an employee who instead of voicing her opinion to their supervisor, they lashed out in the group chat and threatened another employee. which i’m assuming violated company policy which is why she got let go. sure the supervisor could’ve handled the situation better and it looks like she spoke to the employees on the side, but depending on who was in the group chat might have been out of her control. If Michaela just reached out on the side, she’d probably still be employed. it appears Clare was just writing uplifting notes and no money was missing. The whole thing seems blown out of proportion and then to pull racism out of this is a whole stretch, this is just a one sided article. this girls family needs to chill, redirect their energy and help their daughter find another job.
The one touching tips of them and hers should’ve been the one fired and out the door. And no way do you think that is OK to be counting and messing with other peoples money?
I think this is disgraceful. Stephanie Buckley is a sweet lovely person. This employee was warned as she already had two stikes against her. This was her third reprimand. She was fired because her (and her mother who got involved) threatened the other employee. This story is false. The claim that she was fired because of her skin color is false. She was fired cause she cannot control her loud mouth. And when her and her mother came down flapping their arms like birds it was the last straw. Shame on you for posting this story. I hope European Wax center and the employees named bring a lawsuit against you Michaela Lucas and Donatello Johnson or whatever the mother’s name is. You may not be playing but you shouldn’t play the racist victim everytime you dont get your way. You the crybaby.
Stfu you don’t even know what it’s like to be discriminated against just for being blk…stay in your lane and mind the business that pays you…it’s ppl like you who need the raciest thoughts slapped right out of you!!!
You the raciist. You must be blacker than me? How you know anything about me. Stfu.
I’m sorry. How do you know all of this information? Because if you were shared this, that’s ANOTHER issue.
Same way you know this