Customers leave when they can't see a price (a short film)

A made-up story about a made-up salon. The film has no speech; the words below are the ones written on screen.

Evening. Sana, in a teal kameez with a long braid, looks at herself in the mirror. On screen: "Sana wants a facial." She picks up her phone: "So she checks Google."

The salon's Google listing says "call for price". Its photos are from 2019, the map pin is on the wrong street, the phone number says "call now" but nobody answers, and the owner line says "own this business?". A red stamp lands on each one: not shown, old, wrong, no answer, and three question marks.

She messages the salon on WhatsApp: "salam! facial kitne ka hai?" The reply: "sirf Rs 2,000 :)". She answers: "done! 5 baje aati hoon."

On screen: "5 pm. The salon." At Noor Beauty Salon, the owner, Noor, waves hello and prints the bill: facial 2,000, gold mask +500, deep cleanse +500. Total: Rs 3,000. Sana clutches her face.

Sana: "You said 2,000!" Noor: "That was the basic one!" Sana: "Nobody told me that!" Noor points at a tiny price list on the wall: "It's... on the list?" On screen: "Neither of them lied. The price just wasn't written down."

Sana gives the salon one star and writes "overcharged. never again." Outside the salon, three neighbours read the review on their phones and walk away. On screen: "One bad bill. Four customers gone." The picture freezes in grey on the empty door.

Silence. Then the letters s, i, t, e, y, dot, p, k stamp onto the screen, with the words "real prices · real photos · real reviews".

On screen: "Sitey puts it all up front." The same listing is rebuilt, one gold tick at a time: facial Rs 2,500, mask and cleanse included; real photos from this week and real reviews; the pin on the right door; a phone that is answered, on WhatsApp; a verified owner; Urdu and English. Next to it, the salon's own website shows the same price in both languages, with a button to book on WhatsApp.

On screen: "The next customer: Ayesha." She shows Noor the listing on her phone: "Rs 2,500, sab included? Book!" The bill says facial, all included, Rs 2,500: the same as online. Both of them smile.

On screen: "And Google moves them up." In a search for "salon near me", the salon climbs from fourth place to first, and its pin grows on the map. Three green charts, for visits, calls and bookings, rise bar by bar, and a big green arrow shoots up.

The film ends: "Show the price. Keep the customer." sitey.pk: websites and Google listings, in Urdu and English. WhatsApp 0334 1415240.