Like many Aspen residents, I have been dismayed at the skin-care shops on Hyman pedestrian mall, preying on our unsuspecting visitors for the past couple of years.
Only when I read The Aspen Times article on Thursday did I realize what a massive scam this is and how some of our guests have been extorted out of over $20,000 (“Lawsuits: Aspen stores bullied, possibly drugged customers”).
Thursday I took a detour home from work via Hyman Avenue mall. When I saw one of the scammers enticing one of our visitors into their shop, I politely approached the visitor. I thanked them for visiting Aspen and suggested they read Thursday’s Aspen Times or Google the name of the store and read the many reports of their exorbitant prices and ineffective products, before buying.
I urge my fellow community members to do the same. Speak up and protect our visitors. We love our town and we want everyone who visits to be enchanted by this wonderful place. Please don’t let our visitors leave feeling exploited and ripped off. Take a detour via Hyman mall; be polite, speak up and protect our visitors when you see them being approached by the skin-care scammers.
Lynette Gregory
Aspen