Photo by Jon Anderson
Jack Nguyen is manager of Paris Nails in Vestavia Hills.
Jack Nguyen is manager of the Paris Nails salon in Vestavia Hills.
Q: How long have you been in this business?
A: We opened almost six years ago.
Q: What made you decide you wanted to be in this business?
A: We’ve been doing the nail business for a long time, over 20-something years. The nail business is popular. It’s kind of easy to manage and control.
Q: What’s your most interesting encounter you’ve had at work with a customer?
A: Doing the nail business is kind of interesting. You meet different people every day, and you talk with people. Most customers come not just to get their nails and their toes done, but they also like to communicate about their life. I love to talk to them.
Q: Have you ever had an unusual encounter with a customer?
A: In any kind of business, you can’t please everybody. Some are easy people; some are difficult people. Sometimes we have a problem with a customer — they’re not happy. Most customers are really happy with our service.
Q: What’s something that most people might not know about you?
A: I tell customers how I came to Alabama. I came from California, and I came here in 1999 for a visit, but I visited a nail shop, and it got me interested in it, and I started doing it in 1999, and ever since I love to do what I’m doing.
Q: What do you think about Alabama?
A: It’s a pretty nice place to settle down, compared to a big city. I ‘ve been here 25 years, and I love being here. My family — they moved to Florida after I moved here. They want me to move to Florida, but comparably, Florida is too crowded. I’m not used to that. I love staying here.
Q: Any hobbies?
A: I like to do lots of things with computers. That’s what I went to school for. But you know, sometimes a career chooses you.
Q: What do you do with computers outside of work?
A: I can fix computers and do a lot of things on the computer. Sometimes I help people out, like friends or some customers that have problems with their computers and they need help. I don’t mind helping them.
Q: Do you travel much?
A: Yeah, I love to travel. We love to travel back to my country at least once a year. Vietnam. Just relax and have fun. We have a lot of relatives there.
Q: What brought you from Vietnam to the United States?
A: Vietnam is a Communist country, so the government controls you. Whatever you do, you’re under their control. The United States, it’s like freedom country. You can do a lot of things. Freedom. That’s why a lot of countries like to come to the United States and live here. My dad — he was in the military, and in the Vietnam War, he was on the U.S. side, so after the war was over, the United States had an operation for old soldiers to come to the United States, and that’s how I came to the United States in 1992 with my whole family.
