Have you/Would you ever turn a client away?

[Ambur30]

As nail professionals, our main concern is creating, and educating the client on healthy nails. Making them beautiful is an art form and an added service, IMO.

The client that sparked this discussion idea has been to me 4 times now, and the last 3 visits her nails are worse and worse. She says, "I have a hard time remember that Solar Oil stuff. teeheehee" Like it's a big joke!

I explain to her, once again, that her nails are in rough shape, as they're peeling and cracking all over the place. I explain what Solar Oil does and how it will help. I also explain what Shellac (and any other nail covering) will do to nails without moisture. The skin around her nails is peeling, cracking and you can see they had bled in spots. She acts like I'm her doctor simply telling her she should take vitamins.

When the client doesn't follow your after care advice, and comes back to you week after week with dry, brittle, cracked and peeling nails, do you continue to serve them? Or would you ever turn them away to save their nails? Let me add: I am not asking because I am considering turning her away. I was just curious if the thought had crossed others' minds, and if any of you had actually turned a client away, for whatever reason.

Have you ever turned a client away, or even thought about it?

 

[nailbear85]

I think personally I would say to the client that at some point I won't be able to do what she wants me to do to her nails if she doesn't continue with my aftercare advice....maybe you could say something along those lines to her to make her think seriously about her aftercare xx

 

[stirthemud]

yes I have (well sort of) told the Lady in question that the reason her nails were as dry and cracked as they were wasn't because of the Shellac I was applying but because she wasn't using the solar oil I had given her, and that really it wasn't a good idea to have shellac put on again. We agreed on her not having shellac on for a while and oiling her nails, which she has done and she is now having shellac again with lovely strong nails underneath, a true convert of solar oil now I think! I have seen the vast difference that oiling makes and have used the story from one of our other geeks about the using of conditioner of colour treated hair and how we wouldnt dream of not doing it as it would be like straw, well its like that with putting products on our nails.

 

[Shelleyboo]

We used to have a lady at my old salon who used to have a new set every 3 weeks because she used to have them done then bite yes bite them all off everytime, so after a while we said to her it was a waste of her money and our time and if she continued to do it she would cause permanent damage, so she just had manicures after that!!!

Xx

 

[HWilliams]

I have turned a client away re: nails

This person would go to any nail bar/salon as long as it's cheap then when things go wrong, they'd come to me.

She just wants her nails to "look nice" and does not care about 'underneath'.

I was trying to return her nails to a healthy state through manicure but she just stopped coming after 2 sessions then when I saw her in the street she had a full set back on and said, "oh, I only got these done cos they were free"

I'd spent so much time talking to her about nails, structure, acrylic pro's and cons, aftercare etc I just felt like all the nods and oh really's were just an attempt to humour me as she was getting a massive reduction if not freebies off me.

The last straw came when she'd gone to a salon, and had some chipping and lifting more or less straight away and asked her daughter to contact me to find out why it happened and could I quickly fix it?

I'd found out that the salon allowed an unqualified girl in training do her set.

She'd only paid a tenner!

The girl wasn't there anymore as she was literally just in for possibly a very short course and didn't bring a model

But I still refused to help.

The audacity to try to get me to do a quick fix through her daughter via text message really annoyed me.

She didn't want to go back to the salon as the girl wasn't there to have a pop at and as she's pally with the salon owner, that's the real reason why she wouldn't go back to complain!

I just said look, I don't know what acrylic system they use, not sure if mine will worsen the problem once my NSI mixes with an unknown problem so therefore go back to the salon and see if they'll re-do your the nails that your having probs with after only a week regardless of wether or not the girl is there or not.

It was done in that salon, that salon is responsible.

I have never had her call back re: any service at all now

(I'd tanned her a few times)

But you know what? I don't care! I just don't need the aggro or the stress or the falseness and I don't want to be out of pocket anymore.

I love this industry, I love being self-employed but this person made me feel stressed which is why I left the office and changed career. I don't need it and certainly for next to nothing.

H x

 

[Pinkbunny28]

We used to have a lady at my old salon who used to have a new set every 3 weeks because she used to have them done then bite yes bite them all off everytime, so after a while we said to her it was a waste of her money and our time and if she continued to do it she would cause permanent damage, so she just had manicures after that!!!

Xx

I bet she peeled that polish off from the manis. Honestly, I'm like that, that's why I never get mine done. I might do them for a special occasion but that's it x

 

[Sam81]

I have only sacked a client when I really thought it was in his best interests, not a nail client, deep tissue massage, and I couldn't do a strong enough massage for his needs as I'm a little dot and he must have been 20 stone plus. So yes I would if I thought it was best for the client. I have got one though that I'm considering getting rid of, one of those that is intent on finding a way to destroy her nails whatever she has. She's been in for acrylics and Gelish and complained about both. It's as if she NEEDS to prove me wrong when I say they'll last 2+weeks! I don't need the hassle!

 

[Ambur30]

Oh gosh! I almost forgot. I have kinda refused to service a client's nails. I didn't tell her I refused to do acrylics on her, but I did strongly recommend that she stop with them for a while. Her nails were tender, and super thin, almost squishy!

I told her I would really really recommend she leave the acrylics off for a few months and let me do regular manicures on her. (This was before I had Shellac.)

She agreed, but hasn't been back since. I hate that. BUT, when I see her around town, I see that she still doesn't have acrylics. So, I'm happy that she's listened and is letting her nails heal.

 

[kezza*]

I know how fustrating it is when you recommend something to a client and they choose not to follow your advise.

But really, turning them away because of it?

I have a client who everytime tells me she is using the solar oil when I can tell she isn't, all I say is try to use it more often. What more are you mean't to do?

 

[Ambur30]

I know how fustrating it is when you recommend something to a client and they choose not to follow your advise.

But really, turning them away because of it?

I have a client who everytime tells me she is using the solar oil when I can tell she isn't, all I say is try to use it more often. What more are you mean't to do?

We, as professionals, are meant to help our client's have beautiful, healthy nails.

That was my question.

If the product is causing the client's nails harm (due to the client's lack of after care), at what point to we say enough is enough?

I mean no offense at all. So, please read the next comment with an open mind. Your post comes across as a professional nail tech shouldn't really worry about the condition of the client's nails?

So, if weeks go by and because she's not using Solar Oil, her nails are chipping and peeling, do you continue to Shellac her nails? Or do you tell her it's pointless and harmful to her nails to have Shellac done if she's not going to take care of it?

 

[kezza*]

We, as professionals, are meant to help our client's have beautiful, healthy nails.

That was my question.

If the product is causing the client's nails harm (due to the client's lack of after care), at what point to we say enough is enough?

I mean no offense at all. So, please read the next comment with an open mind. Your post comes across as a professional nail tech shouldn't really worry about the condition of the client's nails?

So, if weeks go by and because she's not using Solar Oil, her nails are chipping and peeling, do you continue to Shellac her nails? Or do you tell her it's pointless and harmful to her nails to have Shellac done if she's not going to take care of it?

I'd tell her to give her nail's a break. I wouldn't turn the client away, I personally think that's a bit extreme. Recommmend a warm almond oil treatment or a conditioning treatment.

As a Beauty therapist I try as much as I can to give my client's advise in every treatment but you still get the client's that choose not to listen, that was all I was trying to say.

 

[FlawlessBeauty]

It is a difficult question. I would try to turn my client to a treatment that would benefit them, until it was possible for them to successfully have the treatment they were after.

If they refused and only wanted that specific treatment, i guess it would be a judgement call. You could accept they were going to have it done, so it might as well be by you, so you'd get the money and at least know the treatment was being done well. Or you could refuse.

I have turned one client away, purely because she was consistantly rude, to the point where other clients commented on it, and I and other staff felt very anxious and uncomfortable dealing with her.

There was also a gentlemen turned away in a previous salon. He had a severe psoriasis type skin condition on his back, which i think he must have been scratching at. He wanted back massages and although he had a couple, the dry skin was coming off. The next time the therapist did it, he had blood spots all over his shirt when he got dressed. She told him he would have to see his GP as it wasn't good for him or us. Poor chap wasn't happy at all, but i think he was just embarassed, looking back on it. I was quite a newby then.

 

[xsammi82x]

I wouldn't turn them away, I'd definitely charge them for all the extra work that needed to be done due to their negligence. Times are hard enough, u don't want to start turning people away for any reason xx

 

[geeg]

I wouldn't turn a client away if she didn't follow my advice. I wouod point out that she was not helping herself but its her decision if she wants to continue to have flaky dry nails ... it's not Aids .. it's dry flaky nails!

A Doctor can't make a patient take their medicine either.

I do what I can do to keep clients nails in good health, after that it is up to them and if they don't want to and would rather cover the problem up then I'm not going to turn custom away.

Only ONCE have i refused to enhance a client's nails because in actual fact, they would have looked much worse had I done them then just leaving well enough alone.

 

[sammi010]

The only clients I have ever dropped are those that regularly cancelled appointments at the last minute, or would do the I haven't got cash/lost my cheque book and then didn't cough up within 5 days.

Although a lot of nail techs live and breathe nails most of our clients don't. They have everyday lives to get on with where their nails are not their every thought.

I would never carry out a service that I thought would make a condition worse but I wouldn't ostracise a client because they didn't have a bottle of solar oil within arms reach at all times either!

Would a hairdresser bin a client because they only had their hair cut every 3 months instead of 6 weeks?

 

[Ambur30]

The only clients I have ever dropped are those that regularly cancelled appointments at the last minute, or would do the I haven't got cash/lost my cheque book and then didn't cough up within 5 days.

Although a lot of nail techs live and breathe nails most of our clients don't. They have everyday lives to get on with where their nails are not their every thought.

I would never carry out a service that I thought would make a condition worse but I wouldn't ostracise a client because they didn't have a bottle of solar oil within arms reach at all times either!

Would a hairdresser bin a client because they only had their hair cut every 3 months instead of 6 weeks?

I guess it would be a touchy subject. While I'm sure a stylist wouldn't turn a client away because they didn't cut their hair at the right intervals, would they refuse a client who insists on highlighting her hair every 3 weeks? Knowing that it's destroying her hair? If she politely advices against it, but the client insists on having highlights, she would either turn her away and lose the money (because you know the client will go somewhere else) or she'll bite her tongue and process her hair, knowing full well it's gonna fry it. Lol.

And I guess that was my thought provoking thread question. It wasn't whether or not I should turn a client away. As I was doing that client's nails, the thought popped into my head about how many of you have or would turn a client away.

I do agree with Geeg. It's not that it's some horrible condition or infection or something. It's just dry, flaky nails. I suppose, until the skin is so dry it starts busting and bleeding, I'll continue to service any one's nails. Lol.

 

[VHunter]

I have had two that I've turned away.

One had a SERIOUS infection that really required treatment by a doctor. She was annoyed and said her old tech just applied over it.
Nope, no thanks. Her nails were DREADFUL with a fungal infection completely out of control and it seemed the surrounding skin had some serious issues as well.

The other was a friend.
A biter/picker.
She had lifting issues (also suffered thyroid problems and was on a medicine cabinet of medications for depression, 6 different kinds of pills per day????)
She would suffer lift before seven days and then would pick and pry at them, trashing at the nail plate.
Finally I said I would no longer apply uv gel or L&P because her nails were simply getting worse the more she trashed them. She wouldn't oil daily either, or wear gloves when gardening or housekeeping... she just wouldn't 'care' for them in any way.
I would do natural manis, but NO enhancements until such time as her meds were reduced and the self-inflicted damage grown out.

6mths later, we tried again. She did the same thing, picked at them within 3days.
I never did her nails again and won't.

 

[kezza*]

I guess it would be a touchy subject. While I'm sure a stylist wouldn't turn a client away because they didn't cut their hair at the right intervals, would they refuse a client who insists on highlighting her hair every 3 weeks? Knowing that it's destroying her hair? If she politely advices against it, but the client insists on having highlights, she would either turn her away and lose the money (because you know the client will go somewhere else) or she'll bite her tongue and process her hair, knowing full well it's gonna fry it. Lol.

And I guess that was my thought provoking thread question. It wasn't whether or not I should turn a client away. As I was doing that client's nails, the thought popped into my head about how many of you have or would turn a client away.

I do agree with Geeg. It's not that it's some horrible condition or infection or something. It's just dry, flaky nails. I suppose, until the skin is so dry it starts busting and bleeding, I'll continue to service any one's nails. Lol.

If the skin is dry then that's nothing to do with shellac, shellac is applied to the nail not the skin. If the skin is dry why not recommened another treatment.

I think you should reread sammi010 reply. It said about a hairdresser binning a client because of having her hair cut every 3 months instead of 6 weeks. She said nothing about highlight's every 3 weeks!

I understood the title of your thread but the rest was a bit misleading!

 

[Tigan]

With the pickers etc, it always feels like you've just made a massive transformation on every visit (hand make-over) and with the others you just don't notice any difference all at, the length a bit longer maybe.
I love transforming, however i do cringe at the thought of anyone seeing them after they've picked them all off and saying that i do her nails, lol (would look like i paint in splashes and splotches omg !) lol :lol:

 

[Tigan]

This is quite silly but, notice the clients that always have nice nails seem to look at them alot after youve just done them and the ones who have problems dont actually look at their nails at all after youve done them, i look at them all the way to the door, thinking they look nice now but they havent looked even once.