Advice or Reassurance Needed!

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natalie day

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2004
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Location
Hertfordshire - Hemel Hempstead
Hi everyone,

I did a set of gel nails on a client last Wednesday. On the Saturday she phoned to say that she had a 'disagreement' with one of them and the thumb nail (enhancement) had comepletly come off and on the Sunday she said that the one on her little finger had come off. I had her back round on the Monday and part of the gel had chipped off on the thumb and a bit off the little finger. She had filed them right down so I replaced both of them. The rest of the nails looked as though they had been buffed over the surface, they were really thin, there was hardly any gel on them! I asked her if she had buffed them at all and she said no, but it was obvious as they were so smooth that it couldn't have happened accidently. I did another layer of gel over the rest of the enhancements to strengthen them and they looked really good. Today she has called again to say that her index finger enhancement 'fell off'!

I just don't know what to do now. The thing is I know she is a picker anyway, as when she was waiting on Monday to see me she was sitting there picking right in front of me! When I said something to her about it (in subtle, jokey way) she said she wasn't picking! She also had her fingers in her mouth, which looked as though she was chewing them, she said she was just 'sucking' on them.

Why do people have nail enhancements, if they don't want to look after them? I feel like it is my fault, I do my own nails all the time and mine never just 'fall off'. She had lovely long nail beds and her nails were not bitten. Unfortunately I do have a lot of clients who bite there nails (they are not severely bitten) but they do like to have a chew now and again even after I have put the enhancement on! My confidence is taking such a knock now, that I just feel like giving up!

Fortunately for me, nails is not my only forte, I do have the beauty side of the business, but I like doing nails so much but can I put up with this any longer?!

Sorry for the long thread, but I am feeling really down about this...
 
don't lose faith natalie, when i first started one of my very first clients had gel nails, that she buffed down to how she wanted them to look (flat) she would not leave them alone no matter how many times she broke them because of over filing them, in the end she had done so much filing that she created her own little 'rings o fire' on three nails! i explained what she had done and she graciously said "oh"
anyway after that i asked her to not touch them at all, and what do you know - not a single problem!!

these sort of clients will eventually give up but you have to be persistent and also make sure she signs your client record card to cover yourself.

maybe you could take a photo when you have finished a set and keep it in her file so you can compare when she comes for an infill.

good luck,
it obviously isn't your fault, so don't blame yourself.
beck
 
Ooh people do annoy me!!!

It's so frustrating, isn't it? Especially when they sit there and bare-faced lie!!! ("It wasn't me..." :lol: hohoho - must've been the midnight nail-filing gremlin then... :rolleyes: )

Incidentally, you should tell her off for sucking her nails too - that'll weaken the enhancement, even if she isn't chewing (which she probably is :D ).

Sometimes it makes you wonder whether some clients aren't more trouble than they're worth... :lol:

Keep you're chin up! :D
 
Hi
Just thought I share my experience with gel. I use NSI balance gel and find it great I only do toe nail both acrylic and gel - Last month I put gel on one of my customers both big toe nails with pink flowers sealed in - and she just came back to be today approx 4 weeks later to have them shortened and rebalanced and apart from them being slightly long they still look great - So I would'nt take what you customer says to heart. keep going with the gel

Catherine
 
Hi Natalie!

Some techs get along fabulously with Gels and produce some amazing nails (Anna Lajourdie! http://www.polished.ca) but me, I tried and tried and simply could not get them to work for me, it wasn't the gel of course as it was working fine for other techs just not me, I gave up in the end and trained in L&P and have never looked back, one day I think I'll go back and try to master it! J xx
 
Thanks for all your replies! I will keep at it, but it is not very good for my confidence when I have clients like these! No one wants to be made out that they are doing something wrong... I know I am not the worlds best nail tech, I am learning every day, new techniques and ideas and I'm always updating my training with new courses or one-2-ones. Do you really experienced techs out there get these problem clients as well or are you all just so experienced that you do not let it knock your confidence and you know how to deal with them?
 
natalie day said:
Thanks for all your replies! I will keep at it, but it is not very good for my confidence when I have clients like these! No one wants to be made out that they are doing something wrong... I know I am not the worlds best nail tech, I am learning every day, new techniques and ideas and I'm always updating my training with new courses or one-2-ones. Do you really experienced techs out there get these problem clients as well or are you all just so experienced that you do not let it knock your confidence and you know how to deal with them?


Chick I used to go home crying many times! it wasn't until I gained confidence in the product I was using that I got confidence in myself! I'm still not 100% as I've only been 'qualified' for just over a year and there are so many more exerienced nail techs out there but I don't get as flustered as I used to, I really used to tie myself up in knots about it! J xx
 
These customers are the pits - I have one called "Picker Sue"! I HATE doing her nails as she just doesn't look after them. Once, after prepping one hand for infills she fiddled about with them so much that she actually picked 2 tips off (Yep right in front of me!) and so 2 that just needed scuplted repairs ended up being replacements! and so she had to pay extra. Boy did I tell her off . I am now very firm with her and when I have prepped one hand I make her place it on the desk and tell her not to move it!! It works!! But she still wonders why her nails never look as good as her friend's nails that I also do. Try and tell her that it's because she picks and fiddles with them and she won't have it !! But I have seen it with my own eyes. Just focus on your good clients and keep the faith!! You might want to read the thread "how to fire ............ a client" Biters and Pickers are too ashamed to admit that they are a B&P, or they just don't know that they do it - it's such a habit!
natalie day said:
Thanks for all your replies! I will keep at it, but it is not very good for my confidence when I have clients like these! No one wants to be made out that they are doing something wrong... I know I am not the worlds best nail tech, I am learning every day, new techniques and ideas and I'm always updating my training with new courses or one-2-ones. Do you really experienced techs out there get these problem clients as well or are you all just so experienced that you do not let it knock your confidence and you know how to deal with them?
 

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