Pink Lime Salon & Spa Calgary, Bassem Jawahri Stealing pay, not paying wages, bounced checks, dead rats, unlicensed staff, unsanitary premise, slimy despicable boss Calgary Alberta

I will be honest here.  I worked for Bassem many years ago.  I agree I had moments when I wanted to strangle the guy.  BUT I am going to stick up for him here...because I know for a fact alot of what he is being accused of is because of a disgruntled spoiled lying and ENTITLED employee who probably took her training in Alberta and was not worth more than $15.  1.  If you sign his contract...it was legit.  Each and everything he does is legit.  Although he can be very strict so far as cleaning, organizing, and breaks go.  It is like boot camp there.  And it is that way because the women who take alberta courses are generally useless, and we are expected to build a business off them when they cost us money like mad.

I will say this tho to everyone that worked for him. He will teach you discipline.  And this city has far too many self entitled spoiled brats.  You probably cant hold down a job anywhere.

Further to that, this industry in Alberta so far as regulations are concerned are not Bassems fault.  He did not set the law.  There is no regulations whatoever in Alberta regarding Estheticians.  Its actually sad these people are getting these jobs in the first place.  I could hire a school bus driver and say "Hey can you paint my toes and laser my legs" and all of a sudden you are an Esthetician and Laser Technician.  lol  Its crap.  They have schools here that train these people for 2 weeks and certify them and put them to work with people like myself who has about 5 years of education under my belt and then they expect to make the same amount of money, for lazy negative attitues. And as soon as it is pointed out they need more education and have to invest time into learning, they become disgruntled and ENTITLEMENT kicks in.  I am fighting now to have these laws here changed because people here who took training here in Alberta the past 12 years are NOT WORTH more than $14 per hour. And they should not feel that they are, because they have no knowledge and skills after 2 weeks of education from a supplier who just wants to sell them thousands of dollars of equipment.

Sor far as the mouse goes...WHO CARES!  If its cool out they want in...hello Pink Lime is located near a river!  what do you expect!  And no rats in Alberta...lie.  

You dont think other businesses have the odd mouse run through...She probably came across as stupid to other staff and they were making fun of her joking.

 Anyhow, who cares if the massage therapist makes 15 per hour and he gets the rest.  NO BUSINESS should ever have to announce where that money goes to.  He is the owner.  It is nobodies business.  SHe was hired at a wage...that what she gets.  If she does not like that, dont work there...who cares if he takes that money and buys toe jam with it...its his risk, his business.  His money. And I am shocked he responded and told you were that money goes...lol  I would have not even explained that to you.  You dont have the right to know what the owner spends his money on. 

Find something constructive to do withyour time people...

I am the owner of pink Lime Salon & Spa in Calgary.  I have been here now for 14 successful years.  I have been active in the community and support my clients causes at each and every opportunity I get.  I will layout my reply in point form.

1....hires unlicensed massage therapists, and also has unsanitary premises...

We do have unlicensed massage therapists on staff, they are called Estheticians.  In Alberta their education allows for them to administer relaxation massage.  This service does NOT allow for us to give the client a "receipt for insurance" as they are not registered. 

2....and also has unsanitary premises....

We have a strict cleaning policy in place.  Our premises is clean, sanitary and exceeds health codes.  We are very clear to our staff that this a place where our clients are in slippers or bare feet, thus we all need to work together to ensure that all the duties are completed each and every day. 

3...The salon deliberately subtracts earnings from its employees unlawfully...

Yes we do take deductions from payroll.  As per our hire agreements, at this time we discuss all deductions that will be be made from your cheque on a monthly basis, and we lay out what is over and above.  Such as - if you work an 8 hour day we deduct 1 hour for breaks/lunch.  Also, some other deductions that could be made are services that were received, product purchased, business cards, personal advertising, parking, just to name a few.   As mentioned before, these are all laid out to the employee at the time of hire.    There are no surprises. 

4...My wife worked there since February of 2009 and was laid off on June 3rd...

This ex employee gave notice at the end of May.  As you can see from when she started(February) to the time of notice it was days after her 3 months with me.  This entitled that she give me a notice of 1 week.  During her employment with me, her schedule was never consistent.  Once her notice was received, we had her work a couple of shifts in her final week.  This could have been no different than any other week she worked with us.  We did not require her to work the rest of the week.  As per our hire agreement, we are an "on call" type of business.  If you are needed - you are there, and if you are not required - then you are clocked out.  All employees understand and adhere to this rule.  She was not laid off, simply she resigned.

5...At the rate of $110 an hour, where is this money going to if the "therapists" are only getting paid $15/hr....

OVERHEAD - RENT, UTITLITIES, ADVERTISING, BUSINESS CARDS, RETAIL AND BACK BAR PRODUCTS, SHEETS, OILS, CLEANING PRODUCTS, PARKING, BUSINESS LICENCES, INTERNET, PHONES, CATERING, WAGES, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.... where does he think the money goes?

6...While my wife was working there she was told that there was a dead rat underneath the refrigerator....

This is a rather serious accusation.  First I would like to start by saying that there are NO RATS IN ALBERTA!  Our location is located DownTown Calgary in 5West Towers, a Grade A building in the WestEnd of Town.  We are 1 block from the River and C-Train tracks, and there has been nothing but construction sites around us.  I have to admit that we did have a tiny mouse - The building maintenance has told us that when the staff go to the back alley to smoke, is when the little mouse crawled into out staff room.  It was located and eliminated quickly.  There are no mice in our location, has never ventured past the staff room. and has not been spotted since. 

I hope this helps understand a little better our side of the story.  I can not ensure that each and every employee will be happy upon their exit with our organization.  But I do only wish success to their futures, and pray they do the same for myself.

Thank you and feel free to contact myself regarding this rebuttal

Owner of pink Lime Calgary

Bassem 403.242.7465