Nightmare customer - what would you do?

Hi all

What would you do???

Im a mobile beauty therapist and since last saturday half 11 at night, I had a young girl keep texting me regarding a spray tan askin all sorts of questions....anyway to cut a long story short, her and her sister came to my house wed afternoon and they both recieved a spray tan. All went well, both pleased with their result.

That evening I received a text from one of them, saying that her sister has had an allergic reaction, is in hospital, fainting and panicking....thought it was a little strange cos at the same time was asking how much i charge for nails !? anyway, i sent her a picture of the ingredients of the solution ( i use sienna x) and then i didnt hear anything else.

Then today, i have rceived another txt, demandin their mum is saying that she wants a refund cos the tan has come off. Im not sure this is true, cos I have never heard of this before.

I told them all the preperation, and they said they had done this.

I dont want to refund, as i think they are trying to pull a fast one.

This is making me not sure of doing mobile or at mine anymore, seems a bit of a nightmare for a few quid.

Comments pls xxxx thanks in advance

nikki2706 said:

Hi all

What would you do???

Im a mobile beauty therapist and since last saturday half 11 at night, I had a young girl keep texting me regarding a spray tan askin all sorts of questions....anyway to cut a long story short, her and her sister came to my house wed afternoon and they both recieved a spray tan. All went well, both pleased with their result.

That evening I received a text from one of them, saying that her sister has had an allergic reaction, is in hospital, fainting and panicking....thought it was a little strange cos at the same time was asking how much i charge for nails !? anyway, i sent her a picture of the ingredients of the solution ( i use sienna x) and then i didnt hear anything else.

Then today, i have rceived another txt, demandin their mum is saying that she wants a refund cos the tan has come off. Im not sure this is true, cos I have never heard of this before.

I told them all the preperation, and they said they had done this.

I dont want to refund, as i think they are trying to pull a fast one.

This is making me not sure of doing mobile or at mine anymore, seems a bit of a nightmare for a few quid.

Comments pls xxxx thanks in advance

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I would request the girl comes back you so you can inspect the tan, chances are if she is pulling a fast one she won't want to be seen and you can then see for yourself if she is genuine. Follow your gut instinct. Carry on you will get their in the end but dont treat that individual again if you feel they will be problematic.
Did you give her an aftercare leaflet?

Aww Hun that sounds like a horrible situation to be in.

Do you KNOW that you done everything correctly? If you do then stick to your guns, tell them that if they had followed the aftercare the tan would not come off in 2 days. I would ask them for proof of what they are claiming even better to see them in person, and I would say you need to see it within the next 24 hours to determine the state of the tan.

If they are pulling a fast one, and it sounds like they are, tell them that any claim for the "allergic reaction" would have to be dealt with by your insurance company them and to be honest I wouldn't get into it with them as it can cause more bother than it's worth, call your supplier and ask if they have had any complaints, tell them what's happened and ask them for FACTS about the chances of a reaction at least then you will be backed up with real knowledge about your brand.

Other than that forget them, it's a one off I'm sure and things like this usually blow over once they realise they are not going to get their money back, if you see them and the tan isn't how it should be then I'd offer them a free tan but I wouldn't give a refund.

Thank you both for your replies x

Yes I gave them aftercare, and I know i did everything correctly, as I have done tans before.

I have txt them saying that re the aftercare, and for them to come back to me within in the next 24 hours......

Will wait for a reply

When you say "young".... how old is young? I know Babtac require parental consent to carry out treatments on anyone under 16 so is she over or under 16?

I wouldn't worry too much about the "coming off" refund - you have had good advice on what to say to handle that - you need to see it in person before you can make a judgement call on that.

Tinxy said:

When you say "young".... how old is young? I know Babtac require parental consent to carry out treatments on anyone under 16 so is she over or under 16?

I wouldn't worry too much about the "coming off" refund - you have had good advice on what to say to handle that - you need to see it in person before you can make a judgement call on that.

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Hi,

They both filled out consultation forms...(I made sure of that!) and there date of births makes them 17 and 18.

Just dont want this hassle

As long as you did a full consultation regarding any allergies etc, and you checked it looked ok before you left (with sienna you can see if you've missed any bits) and you gave after care advice, don't worry too much. Tell them you did everything by your training guidelines so you are not responsible and advice she never uses a tanning product again as should have been her doctors advice if this is what caused her to have the reaction she did. I doubt very much this was the cause but call her bluff. Only other you could have done is a patch test.

awww some people just always try it on. Fact is there is probalby absoultely nothign wrong with the tan, they are just chancers. I know you have text to say you need to see them in the next 24 hours, I would also add something like this "Im sorry you were unhappy that your tan did not produce the results you wanted, In order for me to deal with your complaint, I will need to phsycially see you in the next 24 hours. If I do not see you within the next 24 hours I will presume that you have changed your mind about me addressing your complaint". I look forward to seeing you before Saturday 31 March 2012 4.00pm". \or something along those lines. If she gets in "touch" with you in the next 24 hours but then says she cant get to see you for x, y or z reasons, then by the time you see her it will have naturally faded. she is probalby sitting in a bath of bleach as we speak just to prove a point. As long as you know you have gave the correct information and sprayed correctly then just write these people off. Dont let her bully you or intimidate you though.

Yes the consultation form states if they have any allergies, in which they both put no.....and all was good when they left.

They are not saying anything about the reaction now, they are now asking for a refund cos they say the tan has come off?

I have txt them back, but had no reply yet. I think their phone may be off, as the txt hasnt been delivered!?

As you are mobile I wouldn't waste my fuel on arranging to see them, always advise clients as people have different skin types and routines their tan could last one wash or several, you cannot guarantee anything unfortunately. This also covers yourself. As they are not answering just don't worry any more about it, it's really not worth it, if they were genuine you would have heard alot more.

kizzycat said:

awww some people just always try it on. Fact is there is probalby absoultely nothign wrong with the tan, they are just chancers. I know you have text to say you need to see them in the next 24 hours, I would also add something like this "Im sorry you were unhappy that your tan did not produce the results you wanted, In order for me to deal with your complaint, I will need to phsycially see you in the next 24 hours. If I do not see you within the next 24 hours I will presume that you have changed your mind about me addressing your complaint". I look forward to seeing you before Saturday 31 March 2012 4.00pm". \or something along those lines. If she gets in "touch" with you in the next 24 hours but then says she cant get to see you for x, y or z reasons, then by the time you see her it will have naturally faded. she is probalby sitting in a bath of bleach as we speak just to prove a point. As long as you know you have gave the correct information and sprayed correctly then just write these people off. Dont let her bully you or intimidate you though.

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lol...they made me laugh 'sitting in a bath of bleach' most probably ha ha

I just dont understand why some ppl r like that...

Ive got work tonight and all day 2moro, so im not goin to b home all day...mayb i shld say i can see her 2moro between say 4 and 6??

What a nightmare for you. Don't be put off your job though, it is the rare few clients that do try it on.

I would phone rather than text. It saves you waiting around for a reply and taking all your time. I also find i start questioning myself if given enough time, lol.

Tell her you must see her within 24 hours in order to assess the issue. Is the older or the younger one the tan supposedly didn't work on, or both? Check what they have done since they left you. Don't automatically treat them as if they are lying (though it does seem strange that she was asking about nails with her sister in such a dire state). You have to remain professional.

Your consultation card will back you up. If she did have an allergic reaction, check that your insurance doesn't say you need to have done a patch test, just in case. Ask her what the hospital have said, if they think it was the tan that set it off, if they gave her anything, etc.
Did she wash it off before she went to the hospital? Did the hospital apply anything that may have removed the tan.

If they come to see you and the tan isn't showing and it doesn't appear they've done anything wrong, i would be inclined to either refund them or offer a free re-spray. If it looks ok or they don't come, i would think they were not telling the truth and i would expain that you cannot refund if you can't see the problem.

Hope this helps xx

nikki2706 said:

Hi all

What would you do???

Im a mobile beauty therapist and since last saturday half 11 at night, I had a young girl keep texting me regarding a spray tan askin all sorts of questions....anyway to cut a long story short, her and her sister came to my house wed afternoon and they both recieved a spray tan. All went well, both pleased with their result.

That evening I received a text from one of them, saying that her sister has had an allergic reaction, is in hospital, fainting and panicking....thought it was a little strange cos at the same time was asking how much i charge for nails !? anyway, i sent her a picture of the ingredients of the solution ( i use sienna x) and then i didnt hear anything else.

Then today, i have rceived another txt, demandin their mum is saying that she wants a refund cos the tan has come off. Im not sure this is true, cos I have never heard of this before.

I told them all the preperation, and they said they had done this.

I dont want to refund, as i think they are trying to pull a fast one.

This is making me not sure of doing mobile or at mine anymore, seems a bit of a nightmare for a few quid.

Comments pls xxxx thanks in advance

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What? She has had her tan nearly a week! Most my clients came every week. A tan only lasts. 7-10 days and some people even say only 5-7 days!

If someone text me the next day saying it hadn't taken then yes I would refund, however a true complain will want you to fix it (respray)

A tan does not just come off after a week unless forced, I think she had a tan and now it's fading wants her money back.

kizzycat said:

the reason why i would text rather than have a verbal conversation is that if does take it further you have proof in writing that you offered to see her within 24 hours. but you could call her on the phone as some people are not as brave verbally as they are written and if she still complains, just send a text saying something like "just to reiterate our verbal conversation of the importance of seeing you in the next 24 hours" or something like that
HOlly they had the tan on Wednesday, not Saturday :biggrin:. so she really only has had it 2 days so should be still brown.​

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Ohhhh Im so silly, I quoted it so I could read as I wrote as well.

Well in that case I agree with everyone lol, you need to see before you can do anything.

Thank you for all your replies.

Still havnt heard anything back from them yet xx

I had one last week pull a fast one, saying I'd turned her orange & she was sat in her house in tears at what I'd done to her, that I'd ruined her night out ect,, only to find her tagged in a photo of her night out looking as brown as a lump of sh*t!!! no orange at all. I posted a thread about it on here.... I worried about it all weekend, made myself all upset for nothing, arrgh!

it's horrible isn't it because it makes you feel crap & question whether your in the right business or not, really knocks my confidence if anyone complains.

To be honest.. I always find the young clients trouble (ok not all the young girls) but the majority are pains in the ass.

They forget to exfoliate, come wearing deodorant/make up, say they haven't got moisturiser on (but have) I know older clients can be just as bad, but it's usually my younger clients who are the main culprits.

I'd not let it worry you, you most likely won't hear anything else, id say - if you have had an allergic reaction, I'd like a legitimate letter from the hospital you visited so I can forward on to my insurance company (say that & I bet you'll never hear another word again) x

As for them wanting a refund..........

Just write N O spells NO lol

xxx

Baffles me how because they had a 'reaction' it means you must refund! I'm not a professional in tanning but surely it's not your fault they had a reaction they still had a full service and used your product etc it's just bad luck they had a 'reaction' in the first place.. I'm sure your insurance policies etc don't say anything about giving refunds people just assume their entitled to one!

(Good spotting Holly) Sorry Nikki, i didn't see that it had been a while since she had the tan. Of course it will begin fading and now you can't see what it was like the day after.

Jodie, just in case that was my post you were reading, i meant if the tan hadn't come out i would respray or refund.
Do not refund if someone has had an allergy. If they don't know, how can you know. I might be tempted to give them a good will something or other though if they were a nice customer.

Nikki, i would just leave it and forget about it now. She sounds like a bit of a chancer and if there was really a problem you would've heard about it by now xx