Salon owner hopes prize thief’s hair burns

Karma is being called on to deal with thieves who stole a limited edition set of hair straighteners that were top prize in a competition.

The white ghd product valued at $350 had been advertised as the big win for customers shopping this month at The Shampoo Shop & Salon, on New Plymouth’s Devon St East.

On Tuesday last week a thief stole the straighteners from the shop’s window display while a sales assistant was kept busy.

Co-owner Jane Moodie said the theft had shaken her faith and confidence in people.

‘‘That one just sealed it for me, now I trust no-one and I will be watching everyone like a hawk,’’ Moodie said.

‘‘I hope that karma comes to rest and it burns their hair.’’

She noticed the prize, which more than a couple of hundred customers had entered the draw to win, was gone as soon as she arrived at work.

Moodie said things were tough in the retail sector and the draw, offering the business’s biggest prize ever, was one way of enticing customers into the store.

‘‘Unfortunately we were stupid enough to put it in the shop window.’’

Moodie attempted to flush out the culprits, who are believed to have struck between 9am and 11.15am, by putting a sign in the window saying she had surveillance footage of them and was prepared to post it on Facebook unless the prize was returned – no questions asked.

‘‘I would have just let them drop if off and let them go.

‘‘I was giving somebody a chance to think, ‘I shouldn’t have done that’ and brought it back.’’

Nobody came forward but Moodie was still interested in hearing from anybody who had any information.

Moodie and her business partner, Jan Bocock, were in the process of arranging for a replacement set of straighteners yesterday when the ghd representative agreed to replace the stolen ones with a limited edition pink set, which supports the Breast Cancer Foundation.

‘‘We promised there would be a ghd up for grabs and thankfully we can now still deliver.’’