Advice needed urgently on bride from hell!!!

[nixnewcastle]

anyone who could help me out and give me some advice here would be greatly appreciated.

I had a bride come to me and had a trial (just herself £25) and booked for her wedding day for herself and 4 others as well as eyelash inserts for herself (£125)
She also came in for her eyebrows at the beginning of the week of her wedding. She came in quite ill coughing and splutterring up phlem and said she'd been being sick and also had an upset stomach. 2 days later I was also ill with the same symptoms and as time progressed towards her wedding i got worse until the point the day before her wedding my symptoms were unbearable so i rang the NHS and was diagnosed with swine flu. I was told i had to stay in isolation for 5 days which meant i obviously had to cancel her wedding make ups which i had already taken payment for.

I contacted her straight away and got her voicemail and left a message-no response so i also text her and said if u send me your addres i shall pop a cheque in the post to refund you for the wedding make up i haven't done on the day and no response.
This was on the 21st of october which was 19 days and today i heard from her for the 1st time via a voicemail

She left a message saying she would like a refund for the make up i did not do but also for the make up advice and trial which i did do. But not only that she also is saying because she had to go elsewhere for her eyelashes and they were more expensive somewhere else she would like me to pay for those for her as well. IS SHE HAVING A LAUGH???? I agree i should pay her back for the work i have not done but certainly not for her having her eyelashes done elsewhere and for her trial make up which she went out on the drink with so she got her use out of as well as me advising her on all her colours

she also had a fake bake tan from me and i had included in with the package a free facial which she has not yet taken

She also paid cash for everything and i did not provide reciepts for anything

What would you to resolve this issue? am i right in thinking to only refund for the work i did not do?

 

[loubilicious]

IMO absolutely!! Only refund her for the services she has not recieved. xx
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[kimi1101]

Its a tough one because from her point of view, what was the point In paying for the trial when u didn't do the make up, but In your favour, it took up your time etc and also...its not like u just did a runner! Offer to refund the money for the work you did not do. I would be inclined to say offer a voucher for money off a treatment with you but if there is hostility there i don't know if you would wanna?sounds like she's been thinking of what she can ask you for! But its not your fault what she paid for her eyelashes. If she got her make up done for £20 elsewhere would she be telling you to keep the fiver? Don't think so. X
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[LADY STARDUST]

If she has paid for the trial and had the trial that's it. Dont forget she's paying for your time aswell as the treatment itself.
As far as refunding her for the work not yet done, then yes refund her for that, but to pay anything else, no! You agreed a payment for the wedding day itself, you were unable to carry it out and so you ought to refund her (as you said you would do), anything after that you dont need to pay her any extra.
Would she still be demanding payment if she was unhappy with the trial and went elsewhere but then asked for you to pay the difference because she preferred the other salon's work??
I would also seriously recommend giving out receipts in future also...xXx

 

[Bonkers]

i would also be asking her, was she ill? it sound to me like she gave you the swine flu if we were in america you would be seeking monies for loss of earnings due to her, anyway as you prob wouldnt get anywhere with that agument i would tell her yes you will refund what you have not done but what you have done she will be charged for accordingly! x

 

[angelina221]

Well i too can see both sides.
From the brides point of view, her appointment was cancelled the day before her wedding. I'd be pretty ticked off myself. She would have had to make last minute arrangements and would probably have had to pay for whatever she could get.
As for her not contacting you for 19 days, well she was probably busy getting married and going on her honeymoon!
If it was my client i would have felt awful and would probably have offered her some sort of recompense.
I realise it's not your fault you were ill and if the boot was on the other foot (say she had cancelled) then i doubt she would have compensated you for loss of earnings.
I do think you should offer an apology though as well as a free treatment. From her point her view, she will have seen it as a disaster on the biggest day of her life. You really don't want her bad mouthing you as it will not be good for your reputation.

 

[jotommo]

Well i too can see both sides.
From the brides point of view, her appointment was cancelled the day before her wedding. I'd be pretty ticked off myself. She would have had to make last minute arrangements and would probably have had to pay for whatever she could get.
As for her not contacting you for 19 days, well she was probably busy getting married and going on her honeymoon!
If it was my client i would have felt awful and would probably have offered her some sort of recompense.
I realise it's not your fault you were ill and if the boot was on the other foot (say she had cancelled) then i doubt she would have compensated you for loss of earnings.
I do think you should offer an apology though as well as a free treatment. From her point her view, she will have seen it as a disaster on the biggest day of her life. You really don't want her bad mouthing you as it will not be good for your reputation.

i agree, its worth your reputation, maybe she will cme back to you in the future??
it must of been a nightmare and very stressful for her( i know swine flu can't be helped)
maybe meet her in the middle somewhere??
good luck!! x

 

[nixnewcastle]

i have not been able to speak to her as today is the first day she has made contact with me after me attempting to contact her not being able to so i haven't been able to discuss any form of free treatments but i did give her freebies in with the wedding package that she did have and im not charging her for.

Under normal circumstances i'd be bending over backwards but i dont think it will make any difference what i do i am still going to have my name slated by her as she had already slated her hairdresser and dress maker to me quite viciously so i generally think it wont make much difference what i offer her or if i refund everything and even pay for her eyelashes done elsewhere i am still going to be the girl who didn't turn up for her wedding.

This has never happened to me before as i've never ever had to cancel any of my treatments and have worked through various illnesses but this one i was not able to due to it being highly contagious. Im sure if i hadn't actually caught swine flu from her (which im 95% sure i have) and gave it to her for her honeymoon (which she would not have been able to go on as they are now checking the temperatures of people before they board to stop swine flu spreading) she'd have been even more furious with me

It very much has been a lose lose situation for me

 

[~cHeRiSh~]

Well i too can see both sides.
From the brides point of view, her appointment was cancelled the day before her wedding. I'd be pretty ticked off myself. She would have had to make last minute arrangements and would probably have had to pay for whatever she could get.
As for her not contacting you for 19 days, well she was probably busy getting married and going on her honeymoon!
If it was my client i would have felt awful and would probably have offered her some sort of recompense.
I realise it's not your fault you were ill and if the boot was on the other foot (say she had cancelled) then i doubt she would have compensated you for loss of earnings.
I do think you should offer an apology though as well as a free treatment. From her point her view, she will have seen it as a disaster on the biggest day of her life. You really don't want her bad mouthing you as it will not be good for your reputation.

I agree with this advice. As unfortunate as it was, and totally not your fault, it caused the bride a real problem and a goodwill gesture would go a long way. Personally I would refund the trial (as is was no use as she didnt have the wedding make up with you - whether she went out after you had done it doesn't matter as it was solely done in preperation for the wedding day which you were unable to do) and give her a facial or something as way of apology. I wouldn't refund the money she is asking for from the other salon though. I don't think that is necessary :hug:

 

[VHunter]

IMO........ refund only for what you didn't do AND do not offer the bonus services that were included as a freebie for the package deal SINCE she's not taking the package deal anymore.

No more than that.
Why? SHE'S the one that made you sick. She really should NOT have shown up as ill as she was AND as you said, she went out that night and had benefit of the makeup you did AND benefits from your advice.

You could offer a discount on a future service as consolation.
But as I said, SHE made you sick which inconvenienced all of your other clients as well and has cost you revenue due to time off.

She SHOULD HAVE STAYED HOME!

Hence my notice to clients asking them to reschedule if they are ill, and my reserving the right to refuse service to clients that arrive ill since I don't want to inconvenience other clients if I fall ill. (not to mention, not wanting to make my family ill)

Just my 2cents on the issue.

 

[Susie H]

I agree with Victoria, I would send her an itemized bill with what she had free listed, what she had done paid for and what you are refunding and at the bottom I would also add the bit Victoria said about clients who are ill rescheduling so as to not inconvenience your other clients. If it's just put as a general comment then she won't feel you are having a go at her but it might make her think (probably not) Oh and don't forget the cheque:lol:
Try not to worry about it too much hun, people who are in the habit of slagging everyone of, as she has already done to you about her hairdresser etc don't tend to be believed so I don't think she'll do you much harm:hug:

 

[tigi]

Gosh what a situation to be in. I would send her a cheque refund for the services she paid for but did not use and an itemised explanation. I would also state that she is accepting the cheque as full and final payment.

I personally would offer a freebie to her as a gesture of goodwill and an apology that due to illness , you were not able to be there on her wedding day. I wouldnt refund the trial or anything else. But, if it was me, I would offer something like a facial or a pedicure.

Its up to you in the end. If you were in her place, how would you like it resolved? Its a tough situation, I have made contacts with several make up artists in the local area for this reason, If we cant make it (fingers corssed, its never happened!) , then hopefully we can find someone else to be there and vice versa!

tigi

 

[tinkywinky]

She's having a laugh and trying to take the p**s you of you. I'd get some legal advice and throw it back in her face, together with the cash you owe her. x

 

[bombini]

Difficult situation really

I would imagine its pretty likely that you caught the flu off her and I would be inclined to point this out to her when contacting her about the refund. She should of contacted you to advise that she was ill and re-arrange her trial not turned up ill.

I can also see why the bride would be cross and don't really think its fair to describe her as the bride from hell, after all I know if I was the bride in question I would hit the roof if my treatments got cancelled the day before the wedding.

I guess I to would refund for the treatments I haven't done and possibly refund the trial as a gesture of goodwill depending on the mood I was in !

Going back to when she came in for the trial as a therapist I will not treat clients if they obviously ill. I can tolerate sniffles and a mild cough, but you have described her as being quite ill and I would have told her there and then that she was to ill to have the treatment and that I wasn't willing to compromise my health and the rest of my clients. That is why im really not to sure about keeping the money for the trial as I would never have treated her in the first place if she was ill.......

 

[shedunlop]

I, personally, would refund for the trial as it was you who had to cancel. The trial was connected to the wedding and she did book you from the trial. I would not offer anything extra, free or otherwise as this will indicate that you feel responsible and could lead to further claims.

List what she has paid for and what you have refunded and state that the cashing of the cheque means that she is satisfied and is in full and final settlement and that the refund of the trial is a gesture of goodwill.

I have been in this business for a very long time and a wedding is the most important thing to a client, you had to let her down, through no fault of your own, but you must take responsibility. I am surprised by some of the replies here that make this bride sound like the enemy. She is just a bride who feels she was let down on the biggest day of her life so far, she may be stretching it asking for the Lashes to be paid for but as yet she is probably worried that she may not get her money back from you. The sooner you deal with this the better for both her and you.

 

[nixnewcastle]

After sitting thinking about it all day i have decided to refund her for the trial as well and in future have decided that i will be turning clients away in future when they are unwell. Not quite sure how i would state this without them getting annoyed or insulted but definately think i should be doing this to prevent these problems.

As for the title saying bride from hell the reason i put this is for a number of reasons i didn't mention as it was irrelivant to people making a decision on what to do. This is what else i had to deal with:

*phone calls at 11 at night (stating she had to ring while she remembered on)
* Hearing her slagging off (viciously) a hair dresser who was doing her hair and the dress maker
* the first appointment she showed up to 30 mins late and didn't apologise for or even inform me she was running late
* the 2nd appointment she was 45 mins late for (appointment at 6 at night and had a text from her at 20 past 6 saying she was on her way) again no apology
* When she was in for all of her treatments she kept sneaking outside for cigarette breaks coming back in stinking of smoke and making me have to rush the remaining time of her treatment even though i explained about having set treatment times
* Insisting on a sunday appointment for some treatments after i had informed her it was the only day i was closed

 

[shedunlop]

I do sympathise! I gave up doing brides for this reason, they are ultra stressed with an even more stressed mother behind them! The money is usually good but you age 5 years every time you treat one. Of course every now and then you get a lovely one who is mellow and easy but these are few and far between. As time goes on this will just be a dim and distant memory which made you wiser. As for clients who are ill. It is entirely up to you if you want to turn away anyone who is ill. Explain now to your regulars and always ring them if you are under the weather to allow them to decide if they want to see you. This works well for me and I keep colds and flu to a minimum although some money is lost in the winter months.

 

[nixnewcastle]

The new situation is now this. I have agreed to refund her for the make up I haven't done (which i would have obviously done regardless) I am also refunding for the trial make up as a good will gesture but not for the eyelashes.

So far so good right?
Wrong, I made a cheque out to her and sent it in the post and she is stating that she needs the cheque made out in her mothers name. Now this spells to me that something fishy is going on as the money is her money not her mothers. She was adament that she would not be cashing the cheque as she couldn't.

Whats everyones thoughts on this? Why do you think she is needing the cheque in her mums name and sent to her mums address? the money is definately for her and even if it was meant for her mum you could cash it and withdraw the money and give it to her

 

[Joanna W]

You said she paid cash for everything, maybe she doesn't have a bank account (some people don't) or her Mother paid for everything and she has to refund her, so asking you to make the Q payble to her ?

 

[~cHeRiSh~]

Maybe she hasn't got a bank account? Insist on receiving the original cheque back before issuing another. Minor hassle to get this situation over and done with :hug: