Am i a pushover??

[booti]

HI all ( this is very longwinded sorry )
I am new to this site so bear with me!!!
I have been qualified for 5 years now and have a very good client base i worked as a mobile technician but now i have a salon with my sister in law.
I have a client who has been coming to me for about 4 months and the only thing i can say is argh|!!!! She is an older lady who has gels i use nsi which i find is amazing and gives great results. The first time she came was with an old school friend who has her nails done (its her mum) She asked what i think would look best i simply said white tips and gel as she had never had anything done before during the consultation she informed me of her job carer to her disabled husband and they role reverse eg she does all the lifting gardening etc and that she has really oily skin.

I started the treatment the same way i do with everybody else and i used plenty of pure plus to dehydrate her nails. When the nails were done she seemed happy with the results and off she went.
I expalined that she would need to come back fortnightly so i could see how the nails were doing as she was a new customer - I didnt hear a peep and then she came back for her appointment and i noticed about 6 nails were missing she then took an envelope out of her bag with the nails in she had also written on a piece of paper when they fell off. I was really shocked by this i mean she could of made the dates up for all i know, i read through her notes and i felt quite patronised with how she was talking to me saying obviously i had done something wrong!!
As she was a new customer i said i would replace the nails that had fallen off for free only problem is now the same thing keeps happening she is always moaning about my prices which are very reasonable and moaning that her daughters last longer. I know now every 2 weeks she will turn up with this envelope with some nails in! I feel very uncomfortable now as i didnt charge her the first time and she makes me feel guilty now when she has to pay at the end. My husband says she knows she has to pay its her choice to come so dont feel guilty.
I had my first day off in a long time on friday only to be faced with a million missed calls from my lady she had been in weds for her appointment and she had snapped 2 nails and she wanted them fixed right away i reluctently went into the salon to do this on my day off! She was already there waiting for me even though i had given her a time. I could see from the damage to her nail she had snapped them she then said it was my fault cause i hadnt quite mastered her nails yet (with her oily skin) and she had also knocked another nail and cracked it which again was my fault i fixed the nails and she paid reluctently.
Am i being a pushover here cause i feel it i just dont know how to approach the situation i mean i am trying to run a business not a free for all. I am finding it increasingly frustrating because she is always blaming me and now i am convinced it is!:irked:

 

[shedunlop]

You have done very well so far by insisting she pays for her repairs. Your husband is correct, she has a choice whether to come back to you or not. You also have a choice though and although it would be hard to do, I would get rid of her. She obviously is on some sort of power trip, keeping the nails with the dates they came off, honestly!!

I either wouldn't have any appointments next time she calls or, and this is what I would really do, I would talk to her the next time she complains about anything and say that as she is so unhappy you don't want her to feel that she has to keep coming back to you and that she should feel free to haunt, sorry I mean find, another nail tech who would be more suited to her type of nails! I find clients like these either do one or shut up!

By the way, when you inspect these nails have they been picked off or are they coming off on their own. I generally find if a nail just pings off they don't know where it has gone. I do find it rather suspicious that she finds and keeps all of them!

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

What sort of length dose she have them?

Tell her they will have to be really short for the next few months until she/"you" get used to them ... She might then suddenly stop losing them

 

[user 35377]

How can you be convinced it is your fault, when she said she knocked them against something to crack or break them? She obviously--because of her admitted lifestyle--is using her nails like tools! My policy is: I will fix lifting and lost elements within 24 hours--after that there is a charge per nail. I give them a sheet on proper home care and if they are not following it-it is their problem!

 

[booti]

That is a good point how on earth does she find them all the time?
when looking at her nails they do look damadged as if they have been picked off and last time she came i have a feeling she didnt like the colour as it looked like the glitter she insisted on had been picked off and she of course told me they pinged off and there were only parts of nails in the envelope so whilst i soaked the rest off she sat and chewed the others off it took me 30 mins to soak off so i was pretty doubtful they had not just pinged off. So she had a new set out of me she actually said well whilst i am here i might as well have something new!!!

She has them quite long and i keep saying to her they need to be shorter and last time i did them shorter she came back and said they came off and she insisted that next time they need to be long. So i did them longer than i would have liked but she wanted them that way she then called me to say they had cracked probably due to a knock and she is always complaining of lifting which i can never see when she does come back she has said that coming to the salon is the only time she goes out so it puts me in a difficult situation and tugs on the heart strings:grr:

 

[The Beauty Shed]

She has admitted her lifestyle to you and her oily skin, therefore she should either be more careful or be prepared to pay for repairs. Only problem is, are her natural nails being damaged by the nails repeatedly 'coming off'?

If it was purely down to her oily skin then the nails should be coming off cleanly, are they? If they are then you need to make sure her nails are as dehydrated as possible when doing the application. Maybe some people purely cannot have enhancements, like with polish? I don't know.....

If they are not coming off cleanly then you need to make sure she realises that she will be charged for all repairs and she needs to learn to look after them properly. Bashing them while gardening is not looking after them!!!

Good luck with this client, I wouldn't let her get to you, a client is a client after all so no matter how annoying she is, she is helping your business. Only 'get rid' of a client if they are getting to the point of upsetting you, because then they are no longer worth it.

 

[The Beauty Shed]

Sorry was writing that as you posted. I would insist that she has them shorter until she learns to cope with them and then she will be able to manage longer ones. DON'T give her any more free ones, she's taking the mick!!!

 

[booti]

thanks for all taking the time to reply
Kerry her nail are always in pretty good condition when she comes sometimes the nails come off whole but other times they are in pieces although last time she came she chewed them off after i said i would soak them off i advised her not to do it but she did she was chewing them off and they were coming off whole i have found with her that i dehydrate at least 3 times before i put the gel on so they are a really chalky white i use nsi pure plus for this. I always explain to clients what i am doing and in her case i think she knows to much now about th process and i feel quite patronised by her comments sometimes. I am generally quite fiesty but i really struggle with her!!!

 

[shedunlop]

That is a good point how on earth does she find them all the time?
when looking at her nails they do look damadged as if they have been picked off and last time she came i have a feeling she didnt like the colour as it looked like the glitter she insisted on had been picked off and she of course told me they pinged off and there were only parts of nails in the envelope so whilst i soaked the rest off she sat and chewed the others off it took me 30 mins to soak off so i was pretty doubtful they had not just pinged off. So she had a new set out of me she actually said well whilst i am here i might as well have something new!!!

She has them quite long and i keep saying to her they need to be shorter and last time i did them shorter she came back and said they came off and she insisted that next time they need to be long. So i did them longer than i would have liked but she wanted them that way she then called me to say they had cracked probably due to a knock and she is always complaining of lifting which i can never see when she does come back she has said that coming to the salon is the only time she goes out so it puts me in a difficult situation and tugs on the heart strings:grr:

I don't have a heart so that wouldn't work with me!

 

[katiebbaby]

Just a thought are you uuing primer with this client? I use retention which is primer optional and will always use primer when client has oily nail beds or sweaty hands. I also double prep by using cnd's nail fresh.

I have a lady whom is also very similar to your lady I found I had to tell her her that because she seems to be having difficulty maintaining her enhancments it might be best that she has fortnightly appointments or take her length down, it seems to have worked so far I also charged her for her repairs which she seemed shocked about, I could tell from her nail plate that her enhancments had been pulled or somehow forced off and she was claiming it fell off and she didnt know how,I then went to show her how her natural nail was showing signs off stress and it looked like it had happend withing the last 24hrs,, she looked very sheepish and replied that that one had been caught in car boot.

I feel if we let clients tell us what to do then we set ourselves up for a fall and they will continue to walk all over us.

Hope you get on okay with her, dont let her dishearten you xxx

 

[angel fingers]

she is definately pushing her luck.
she may even have convinced herself that its not her fault and that it must be something you are doing incorrectly.
but this is the point where you need to take back control of the situation.

simply tell her that there are some people who just dont 'suit' nail extensions and it seems like she may be one of them.
tell her you will give it one more try but unless she does better with them then you fear that you wont be able to recomend that she carries on with her treatments.
this will give her the opportunity to think about the fact that she either has to 'put up', or 'shut up' and it puts you back in charge and the ball back in her court so to speak.

try not to let it grind you down, it sounds as if you have plenty of satisfied clients who do value your work.

 

[*jo*]

this is what i would do! next time she comes in with broken nails tell her that you are not happy because you feel her nails are getting damaged, so you will give them another infill and if she comes back in 2wks and the same thing has happened then you will suggest she takes them off as they are not suitible for her and you are really not happy to continue to do the treatment! i use this with people that i think are abusing there enhancements and the next time they tend to come back with no problems before she goes give her a client care leaflet and when she comes back if she has nails missing stick to your guns and soak them off.
she is a pain and will continue to be a pain uless you stand up to her and show her whos boss:wink2:

 

[booti]

this is all excellent advice and thankyou all for taking the time i feel ready to tackle this situation now!!!
When she does come back some of the nails have come off whole but the tip is always still on! am i doing something wrong??? i really dont know anymore i use nsi i always use pure plus twice somethimes 3 times with her and then balance bond primer the same as i do with other clients but i never get this grief from anyone else!!

thanks again i really appreciate your advice

 

[*jo*]

this is all excellent advice and thankyou all for taking the time i feel ready to tackle this situation now!!!
When she does come back some of the nails have come off whole but the tip is always still on! am i doing something wrong??? i really dont know anymore i use nsi i always use pure plus twice somethimes 3 times with her and then balance bond primer the same as i do with other clients but i never get this grief from anyone else!!

thanks again i really appreciate your advice

try super bond it works really well

 

[jules123]

Hi
I really feel for you, I had a very similar client who I used to service when I was working mobile, like your lady she constantly compared them with her daughters tech and was never happy, but kept coming back for at least 1 year, she was always reluctant to pay me as "I was the most expensive Tech around" I always charged her for any breakage and extra for polish etc. although I found her intimidating and dreaded asking for the money. I hated going out to her so In the end I told her to find another technician. She was fuming cos i wouldnt do her nails and she threatened me with everything you could think of but I found she was all wind in the end.
Some people just think they are more important than others so I wouldnt worry.