Takes a lot to annoy me, but:

When shortening nails during a rebalance, the client suddenly rips their hand away from you and start studying the nail as if I have taken off too much length. "How is that length?" I ask "It's still too long/round/square" they snap and shove the hand back onto the table. Well, I was in the process of shortening/shaping when they ripped their hand away, what do they expect.
I have one client that does this on almost every single nail.

When clients ring up on a Friday afternoon and ask for the next possible appointment. I usually have no appointments free untill the folowing Wednesday by this time. "But I'm getting married/catching a plane/leaving the country tomorrow, I need them done today. What am I going to do, are you sure you don't have anything left for today. What if I come by right now, could you do them now."

Ooh I just thought of one more.

When you have a cancellation and call back above client to offer them the appointment which they gladly take - and then don't bother to show up

Clients who wipe there nails with fingers/on the towels when you've just etched and sanitized!! Even tho u tell them not to! ha ha it drives me mad!

A client that phones up and says i would like a full set of nails doing like rite now then get funny with u and sound surprised when u say sorry i'm busy.

lol u can't moan too much tho they do pay the bills!!

i already posted a reply to this when it first started but another has cropped up....

....you know when you turn their finger to get to the side of the nail...and they then exaggerate this movement and turn their whole hand onto its side....and say "does that help"...and your like..."no, not really"........you only want to turn their finger a little...not the whole hand.....i always tell them now...just relax and i will move your fingers where i want them to be...but there are always the odd ones who just wanna help out...x

clients that stand touching their spray tan once you have done it leaving white marks on their chest, bum, arms and then ask you to repsray just as your putting your kit away and then moan the next day that tam was great but they had orange finger tips- errrr yes thats cos you kept touching when i told you not to.

also they always ask the same questions, some are never dark enough and others insist they know better, best just to smile and think of something nice. lol

What drives me bonkers is when they know when your days off are, and they know that you're 'closed for business' that day... and yet THE PHONE STILL RINGS!!
PLEASE leave me alone with my family for a bit.

Or there's one that lives nearby. She got squawked at once already (also a neighbor) and she's gonna get it again.
The other night, sitting there doing a client.. and she barges in my front door, waving her broken nail IN MY FACE and moaning about a funeral the next morning.

Ummm it's 9:45, this is my last client and I'm done. She knows I don't do "walk-in's" and she knows to call ahead of time. But figures cause I'm across the street, she can harass me anytime. Like on the ballfield when our kids are playing t-ball. ON a Sunday when my kids are riding their bikes, during my dinner hour, at the school bus-stop for the girls,..... etc...

Did she think to call me at lunchtime? or when she got in from work to ask if I could squeeze her in? No, she waits till my night is almost done.

Guess what toots? You're going to the funeral with a broken nail.

The kicker is... if she wasn't such a pain in the butt, harassing me in off hours all the time, and had she called me when she got in from work, I likely would have squeezed her in first.

But she's pushed my buttons a few times too many, lately.

The clients that ring at lunchtime on Friday and ask if I can have any appointments before the weekend....... You mean today then!!!! Obviously today must sound too cheeky, lol!

My pet peeve is clients that show up 15 mins late, on their mobile, holding their finger up to let you know they'll be a minute. Then when they are finally ready they want to go to the toilet, so you are actually 30mins late.

Most people have a mobile phone, would it really hurt to call and let you know they were running behind?

Though i did have a client that phoned at the time of her appointment and said, "I'm just around the corner", i thought how considerate of her, but then she tells me where she is and its half an hour away! LOL

Someone's already said it but the conversation:
''I NEED an appointment asap''
''How about 3pm on Saturday''
''Have you not got anything today''
''No sorry''
''...silence''
''...silence''
''Oh ok that'll have to do''

Here's my hair twopenneth;

Clients that run to the car in the rain after i stood there and blow dried their hair (I offer a junior with a brolly to walk them to their car)
Clients touching their hair while I cutting it.
Clients that wont keep their heads still
Clients that eat or chew gum while I cutting, then whine cos hair goes in their gob.
Clients that book for a full head highlights, then decide on a tline to save a few quid.
Clients that want their fringe cut too short "so it will last".
Clients that expect me to beleive the bottle of shampoo they bought in 2005 is still going strong.
Clients who use home colour then lie about it (I know EXACTLY what home dyed hair looks and feels like)
Clients who claim they were hairdressers years ago (usually 2 weeks work exp)
Apart from that, I like all mine.

People who call up on a Tuesday for an appointment on "Wed 16th sept"......ehhh you mean tomorrow???

And customers who dye their hair themselves and then say they don't.

Clients who say "I coloured my hair 6 months ago, its all grown out now" when their hair is right down their back...

Although as a hairdresser I must confess I have asked the question about when tips are on, has anyone left their tips this long...sorry

What a fab thread!

My biggest pet hate it when you have been booked back to back and your next client gets there early, you go out to get them, take them into the treatment room and they tell you they need the toilet...ARGH!

It also annoys me when clients come in for facials, spend the whole hour moaning about their skin and when it comes to retailing they say to you 'oh i have something similar to that at home' er...NO you clearly haven't ha ha.

xxx

Clients who stand there talking to you at reception after you've finished doing their treatment, going on and on and on, when they have heard the junior saying to you ' Cathy, your next client is here ', and what's more that next client is sitting waiting, inches away from them, and they still don't take the hint and just LEAVE THE BUILDING.

Clients that think that they are helping you whilst putting a form on by moving their finger about, or when you have hold of their finger they grip so flipping hard it gives you cramp in your hand

At that point, I usually stop whatever it is that I'm doing and tell them with a smile "ummm I'm pretty sure my finger doesn't bend that way" and they apologize and laugh and relax.
Or I take their hand and jiggle it all about lol

But yeah, that drives me bonkers too!