how do i convince her ?

[angel fingers]

i did a set of gel nails for a lady last friday, and she left the shop content. at 10 pm that night she called me at home to say that one had come off. i offered to fix it for her if she came in at 9.30 . the nail was broken off at the point where the tip joins the natural nail. she complained that she had to cancel a hair appointment at 10, although she left me about 9.45. this afternoon she rang me at home again saying that she had lost another one later on saturday and another today.i told her to ring the shop and book in for a repair as i do not keep the diary at home.when she called she told my colleague that she thought that she was getting a very unproffesional service and that she was giving me one last chance to fix it and if she had further problems she would expect a refund. i know there was not any thing wrong with those nails and i suspect the reason that they are breaking is because she is not used to having the extra length. how can i explain that once they leave me the care of the extensions is out of my control and as such no guarantee is given. she is booked in on friday, and i'm sure there will be more than the two repairs by then. when she asked me how long they would last her, i said that it was difficult to say but that i always wear gel with no problems and that i had a client who looked after a horse who usually came to her maintenance apointments without any problems. i cant stop thinking about it and as i'm quite a nervous person, its really eating me up. :Scared:

 

[cuticles]

Angel. I agree with you, customers are sometimes quite difficult!
1. Do you have aftercare leaftlet, that helps
2. I assume you talked about length of enhancements.
3. Did you ask her to sign a disclaimer re the length etc
4.. KEEP your chin up, some people find it easier to attack you personally

Cathy

 

[angel fingers]

the nails were only just over her finger tips.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hi Angel, oh I have so been in your shoes and it's not a nice place. You eat yourself up thinking it's all your fault and you just want to get it right.

In my experience most breakages are down to the client not being able to cope with the extra length like you say, and you need to have the confidence to explain this to your client. Just advise her to let you take the length down a little, and then as they grow out she can get used to the extra length in a more natural way. You may also want to build her apex a little thicker than usual. By the way, is she a nail biter / picker?

When I finish a new set I always say that you may get problems in the early days as you get used to them, and sometimes it may be a case of tweaking them a little (ie length, apex etc, I work as thin as I can get away with and sometimes it is too thin for the more heavy handed client). Wording it this way makes it easier for the client to feel comfortable about returning to you with problems (which thankfully rarely happens) and stops them from bad mouthing you and going elsewhere.

Oh and don't let them fool you about their lifestyle either. I have a client who I had probs with for a while, only to find out that she has a cleaning job & doesn't use rubber gloves, so the water was breaking down the tip adhesive and causing breakdown at the point where the tip and free edge join. For ages I thought it was me, couldn't believe it when she suddenly said it may be the cleaning job that's doing it ...... CLEANING JOB, too right that's what it is!!! (by the way I do ask if they work in my consultation and she said NO!)

Which gel do you use? I see you do l&p so would she be better with this?

And of course she will say bad things behind your back, so much easier than saying it your face, I just hope the member of staff she spoke to backed you up and say you don't normally get probs.

Anyway, big hugs and let us know if you need more help.

 

[geeg]

I do hope you give each new client an aftercare leaflet.

This leaflet should explain how to care for and to wear nail enhancements successfully. If you have given the client this item then she ought to know to be careful for the first 24 hours while she learns how to manage her new length.

Unless you have made them too thin, Nails do not break unless they are hit against something ... hard!!!

 

[asquith]

hi i know how you are feeling i have done quite a few peoples nails some family and friends and some total strangers. I am a perfectionist who likes everything to look perfect so i take my time and make sure they are as good as i can get them. anyway out of everyones nails i have done there has onle been one person whose nails have either cracked or lifted repeatedly i stressed when doing this persons nails about all the after care and also left her with a leaflet but she continued to have problems!!! after her third repair we got talking and she suddenly announced that the only thing she hadn't been doing as an aftercare was wearing gloves...ARGH!!!! i explained that this was probably the reason why her nails were needing repairing as much as they do and she accepted this and began wearing them which finally sorted out the problem...
but now she is wanting to try the gel and i have not really worked with it before so am unsure whether this will be any better for her as she is wearing l&p at the moment. and ofcourse me being a newbie to it will have its problems to start im sure. i hope you manage to sort this client out hun and don't worry too much about it remember we are the proffessionals and the customers DON'T always know best!!!!! xxxxx

 

[angel fingers]

UPDATE
thanks for all your help, i feel a bit more confident now, i know i've done everything by the book and that includes the aftercare leaflet. yesterday, she went in to the place where i work to complain to the shop manager[who she wrongly assumed was my superior]the manager stuck up for me and told her that there had never been any other problems with my work and that she would certainly not recomend that i give a refund. the manager called me to ask me how i wanted her to deal with this lady and i told her i would do 3 free repairs or would convert them to an acrylic set for the price of an infill. i have decided that i am going to get the client to sign a disclaimer saying that she understands that the repairs are a gesture of good will and not an addmitance of fault on my part, and also that there will be no guarantee on this or any other of her nails. i will also tell her that as she obviously has no confidence in my ability that it is pointless continuing our client/tech relationship beyond this point. my managers sugesstion was to tell her to'' f### right off ! '' thanks for all your support, i'll keep you informed.

 

[cuticles]

Good luck, only do what YOU are happy with. Cathy

 

[AngieLHN]

UPDATE
thanks for all your help, i feel a bit more confident now, i know i've done everything by the book and that includes the aftercare leaflet. yesterday, she went in to the place where i work to complain to the shop manager[who she wrongly assumed was my superior]the manager stuck up for me and told her that there had never been any other problems with my work and that she would certainly not recomend that i give a refund. the manager called me to ask me how i wanted her to deal with this lady and i told her i would do 3 free repairs or would convert them to an acrylic set for the price of an infill. i have decided that i am going to get the client to sign a disclaimer saying that she understands that the repairs are a gesture of good will and not an addmitance of fault on my part, and also that there will be no guarantee on this or any other of her nails. i will also tell her that as she obviously has no confidence in my ability that it is pointless continuing our client/tech relationship beyond this point. my managers sugesstion was to tell her to'' f### right off ! '' thanks for all your support, i'll keep you informed.

Hi, you go girl!! you've grown some balls!! ( as my hubby would say!) :biggrin: xx