Angry client!! Am i in the wrong??

[sharlz]

Hi peeps, i just need to know your guys opinion on this. Here goes...........

I had a customer come and have a full set of enhancements on Wednesday 10th December, she said that she was getting them done as she was going to a xmas party that Friday. She was happy with them when she left, and i told her about the aftercare and that she would need to come back for infills. Then 2 weeks later on xmas eve she comes back in with her mum complaining that 2 of the nails had fallen off after 2 days, so i apologised and asked why she didn't contact me sooner? She didn't answer, so i asked to look at her nails. She did't have any of them on, and you could blatently tell that she had ripped them off of her nails! so i then asked what happened to the other nails as it looked as though she had ripped them off, and sure enough she said she had. I then said she should have came back when the 2 had dropped off as i could have replaced them.

Her mum then went crazy and demanded all the money back, i told her that i do not give cash refunds, but would be willing to do another full set free of charge or give her gift vouchers for the full amount.

Her mum declined and demanded that i give her a full refund, and again when i refused she said that she is going to call trading standards and get me done!!
Am i in the wrong? My family and friends think i'm in the right as only 2 fell and she ripped the rest off, and so think i've done enough by offering her a full set or gift vouchers.

What do u guys think? What would u have done?

 

[shell28]

Oh poor you hun i feel for you. I dont think you have done anything wrong she shoudl have contacted you when these 2 apparently feel off and the problem would have been solved!!

IMO i think she had them done just for her party then took them off and thought she would try her luck for a refund!!!

 

[Carmen]

I would have done exactly what you did. You can easily tell when someone has ripped their nails off, hit them really hard, etc. I would have been persistent on asking why she didn't contact you right away. Did all her nails look like they had been ripped off? Or, were there 2 that looked ok?
I just can't see nails magically falling off. I've had people tell me that but then I persist and get the real story out of them. Maybe part of it chipped and then they ripped it off. But, they never just fall off.
Don't feel bad. You did what you could and dealt with it professionally. Just tell her, had she called you immediately when the problem occurred, you could have remedied the situation then. Chances are, 2 weeks later she needed a fill and decided she didn't want the cost of the maintenance so she ripped them off herself.
Who knows what some people do to their nails??!!

 

[VHunter]

NO REFUND!

If damage is evident, then they did NOT fall off.

"Falling Off" means they are not 'stuck'. If they are not stuck, they will not pull at the upper layers of the nail plate and that would mean NO DAMAGE.

Damage means that they WERE stuck, and when forcibly removed, the enhancements pulled at the nail plate and removed a few layers.

Fault is her own and not yours.

Stand firm and remember to point out tell-tale damage the next time someone tries to hoodwink you.

:hug:

PS: I wouldn't even repair for free NOR give gift certs for that. When there is 'damage', it's THEIR fault and not yours. When there's no damage evident, then they were never 'stuck' to begin with and THEN you can offer to redo.
OTHERWISE, don't let them sandbag you.

 

[Katykitten]

IMO i think she had them done just for her party then took them off and thought she would try her luck for a refund!!!

Exactly what I thought whilst reading the original post!

 

[sharlz]

Thanks ppl. Thats good to hear that you would have done the same! i offered to do her a new full set as it was xmas, but her mum was having non of it! she just went crazy and demanded her money back! Thanks for the support. X

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

If that was me, I would have said that I would do 2 nails for her for free, so she could either have 2 enhancements, or pay for the other 8 that she had ripped off.

Im gussing that her mum is one of those bullys who are all talk (regarding the 'having you done' bit) it all just sounds like a scare tactic to me... You were supposed to bow down and give her the refund. Good on you for not falling into that trap!!

 

[marioned]

Yep, she pulled them off, so no freebies. I'd guess she saw she needed a rebalance and decided to rip the rest off, as she guessed you would probably insist on a rebalance on the other 8 nails even if perhaps you were going to replace the 2 free. She wasn't willing to pay for this and so ripped them all off to chance for a refund. I doubt the two "fell" off anyway, they were either helped intentionally or not. xx

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

christmas or not, I certainly wouldn't offer her a free set !!!
If she comes telling you "she has had a think and will take the free set" (which she may well do as she will realise she stands no chance of getting anything else out of you)
I would tell her you are sorry, but you offered that as a christmas goodwill gesture as you had an appointment slot free which has now past..so you can no longer offer that....and then offer your insurance details if she would like to take the matter further..
(she may take them, but I bet they go right in the bin hun :wink2

I am still waiting to see one of these many nails that litrally "fall off" the nail plate..... the hand is just there doing nothing, when infront of their eyes this nail just falls off and drops to the floor .....
I wonder if I ever will........:lol:

 

[Carmen]

I am still waiting to see one of these many nails that litrally "fall off" the nail plate..... the hand is just there doing nothing, when infront of their eyes this nail just falls off and drops to the floor .....
I wonder if I ever will........:lol:

LOL I have actually asked my clients this when they say "it just fell off"!! That's when I get the real story. :irked:

 

[sknight]

NO REFUND!

If damage is evident, then they did NOT fall off.

"Falling Off" means they are not 'stuck'. If they are not stuck, they will not pull at the upper layers of the nail plate and that would mean NO DAMAGE.

Damage means that they WERE stuck, and when forcibly removed, the enhancements pulled at the nail plate and removed a few layers.

Fault is her own and not yours.

Stand firm and remember to point out tell-tale damage the next time someone tries to hoodwink you.

:hug:

PS: I wouldn't even repair for free NOR give gift certs for that. When there is 'damage', it's THEIR fault and not yours. When there's no damage evident, then they were never 'stuck' to begin with and THEN you can offer to redo.
OTHERWISE, don't let them sandbag you.

Totally agree, I would not have offered any vouchers either but you did the right thing babes by not refunding. I love how people throw words like "trading standards" around without actually knowing anything about it LOL!!

 

[hippy-chick]

you deffo did the right thing by refusing a refund, but you should have just offered to do the 2 nails that 'fell off' not the full set.

 

['chelle]

I think you were more than generous in offering her a new set. To be honest I wouldnt have offered that in case it was interpreted as an admission of fault on your part. If that had been my client, here's what I would have done:

1) I would have drawn her attention to the client record card that she signed where it says "nails are not guaranteed, are the clients sole responsibility once they leave the salon, and all repairs must be paid for".

2) I would have scrubfresh'd her nails and shown her the damage where her nails have been forcibly removed, thus proving that it's not poor workmanship that caused the nails to come off.

3) I would have drawn her attention to the aftercare leaflet where it says that a rebalance is required every 2 to 3 weeks, and told her that coming to the salon more than 2 weeks after her full set was applied is too late because her nails would have been in need of rebalancing at this point in any case.

All in all I would be offering no refunds, no free sets, and I would be asking her mother to remain civilised in her manner, there is absolutely no need for shouting or rudeness. If she wishes to approach trading standards then of course that is her perogative (well actually it's not since she's not the customer but anyhoo!!), but as long as you have a signed client record card you shouldnt have any worries. Look at it this way, 2 nails came off according to the customer, if it was a fault with the application I imagine it would be more than just two nails that she would have had problems with.

I dont often say this, but this sounds like a case of a client that you just dont need, but if you think she would be a good regular client and you would like to try and maintain a good relationship with her then perhaps you could offer her a complementary solar oil, make sure you tell her its a goodwill gesture, and explain about how using it extends the life of your enhancements etc.

 

[soriminah]

I woudn't have offered her vouchers or a free set. If she can't come back when she first lost them than tough luck. Considering she ripped the rest off. I would have said to the Mum that as she is not the client you will not be able to have the conversation with her and that it is between you and the client.

 

[Poshfloss]

Hi Hun,
No refund from me, and if she had come in more than one week after the initial set had been done, I would have told her she would have to pay for the 2 replacement nails.
Before I trained.......on the rare occassion I broke a nail....never had one fall off in 9 years of wearing enhancements.......I always expected to pay for the repair. Often my tech would do it for free, knowing that she had a client for life and it really was an accident if they broke.
Stand your ground with these bullies.......trading standards won't take them on. Nail enhancements are a temporary beauty aid......the only chance she would have had is if she went in when the 2 nails fell off...if they really did just fall off ????
Carry on as normal, don't let them spoil your New Year, they are just chancers.......I don't even think they will be back.......or you may just get the daughter on her own, probably appologising for her Mum's behaviour.
Best of luck
Lotsa luv x :hug: :hug: x

 

[Cat_Therien]

christmas or not, I certainly wouldn't offer her a free set !!!
If she comes telling you "she has had a think and will take the free set" (which she may well do as she will realise she stands no chance of getting anything else out of you)
I would tell her you are sorry, but you offered that as a christmas goodwill gesture as you had an appointment slot free which has now past..so you can no longer offer that....and then offer your insurance details if she would like to take the matter further..
(she may take them, but I bet they go right in the bin hun :wink2

Excellent answer!!

Cat

 

[RedAdmiral]

no way would I offer her a refund. if nails fell off then she should have picked them up and brought them in to show me!

 

[Tanley]

Hey don't worry about it. From working in retail management i can tell you i've had my fair share of huffy customers going to report me/the company to trading standards and not one of them have. They usually realise they are not going to get whatever they want and don't do anything more about it. Another thing is; why do so many people get someone else to complain?? Its so frustrating!

 

[beautyathome]

To avoid this in the near future, when they sign their consultation cards, above write a small paragraph stating that if nails do come off within the first week they should contact the salon there and then otherwise it will not be the salon's problem 'if you know what i mean' make the clients read this and make them sign it, so if they ever turn up causing problems like these pull the consulation card out and show them, that will soon shut them up, lol. :green: but i can assure you that once they have read this and signed it, you won't get problems like these, maybe not as many anyway, depends on how hard faced some people are.