Avoiding returning to a new client.

[Missy G]

Hi ,Ive had a new client tonight,I am mobile by the way,I turnt up at the door and I could hear this young lad shouting and sreaming,when I went in I was introduced to their son who was obviously autistick.I dont mean to sound mean but I had to put up with him screaming and shouting for 2 hours,as well as the tele blaring out ,soap after soap,argue ,argue ,argue,:irked:,the lady was hard work,the husband moaning about the smell,and the time it was taking,and I obviously walked away with a stonking head ache,and have come home and taken it out on everyone else.

What do you do with clients like this?Is it just one of the down sides of working mobile ?Do you just not book them in for infills?..I have but its the first time shes had extensions,so Im just praying she doesnt get on with them and cancels her next appointment.I was also frustrated too as I done a set of sculpts which I havent done for a while as I still want to get my time down slightly,and it still took me the same amount of time as doing tips.

Oh and she can only make evening appointments.btw.

 

[1999judy]

Maybe next time invite her alone to your home?

 

[Missy G]

I dont have an area where I can work fom home,otherwise I would.

 

[loubylou]

Could you phone her and explain that due to the disruptions going on around you this made the service longer and not a relaxing one for your client,
and ask if on your next visit would it be possible for you and her to sit in a separate room from everyone else so that you can fully concentrate on your job, give the client a fab set of nails and do it in a quicker time,
if she said no and you don't want to go back, i would explain that i am sorry but i am not prepared to work under those circumstances and advise that she find another nail technician hth

 

[JANEY K]

debbie hun you don't half get them!... going by ur previous posts but thats part and parcel of life hun

 

[luv2getnailed]

This situation can be tricky. What I would do, is continue to do her if she should happen to call again. From what you posted, it doesn't seem she has a lot of "her" time and if she can mange to get her nails done for that short time you do them, then why not bring her a little pleasure in her life? You never know....she may be a great client and refer you more people. If you happen to drop her, she'll tell ten people what a horrible person you are. You know how finicky people can be. On on the brighter side, maybe you happen to be there on a bad day. Maybe her son isn't always that way. Well, I am not going to say anything about her husband, because we all know how they are! :lol: Oh well. Good luck!!!

 

[nailzoo]

You sure do pick em ....... BUT...

Clients with kids like this appreciate "respite" .... and her short respite may be having her nails done ... walk a mile in her shoes and give her another go, I'm sure she appreciates your visit/visits.

My godson is autistic and often when I visit he screams and carries on, and at other times he is completely quiet (to the point where I have to see what he's doing), only to find him absorbed in very simplistic things which I often overlook the simplistic joys of, it's often a learning curve to see him appreciate the joys of digging a hole in the dirt or meticulously lining up his trains and cars.

From your previous posts you seem to have problem after problem.....(some of them more simple than others) ....granted , ........
but life ain't plain sailing........ be thankful for what you have and the burden others do have.

Give it at least one more go before you decide to abandon this client, TBH, every problem you have, the solution you deem to be correct is (get me the hell out of here), try persistence and understanding for a change.

Heaven forbid, you may well find yourself on the other end of these scenarios one day.

 

[Missy G]

Thanks guys for your replies,I will persevere,I did say I will ring her the day before her infills are due to see how shes getting on ,Im just hoping she couldnt get used to them but like said we should appreciate what clients we get at this moment in time,if I had all nice clients my job would be perfect...and no ones job is perfect ah..

Any how Im off to see my lady who lost her mum last week today,I look forward to seeing her shes so lovely and always gives me a tip,so their not all too bad,..apart shes an ex MMA client,cant keep Bio on ,and today we are going to attempt to put acrylic on her damaged nails ...by her choice of course,so wish me luck as I would hate to loose her.

 

[Katelisa]

everyday i think the words "count your blessings" to myself.

We should be grateful for what we have, in every aspect of life.

x

 

[Marlise]

Debbie,

I agree with Carl. I know it's sometimes easier just to wan to "run away" from difficult clients, but with most of them, there are ways around the situation to make it easier for you.

Granted, in some cases, the best thing to do is to walk away, but at least try to get a resolution before you do that.

You do seem to be getting all the difficult ones at the moment, but hopefully it's just a phase and things will get better.

As suggested previously, try and ask her if there is another room that you can use that doesn't have that many distractions etc. If there isn't another room, perhaps you can explain in a nice way that you need some sort of "calm" in order to give her your best possible service and if she can help in some way with this.

At the end of the day, it's your business and your choices, but I wouldn't necessarily throw business away like this if I can prevent it.

M.

 

[Missy G]

Hi yes Ive realised now I think you have to be grateful for what clients you can get at this moment in time,pain in the butt or not..a few weeks ago I was on a high ,I thought I had gained two new clients,now both of them have canceled due to money problems,so back to where I was,but it always seems bad for me at the beginning of the week,come the end of the week Im doing quite a few one offs and to be honest Ive done quite well out of them over the past two weeks.

I will persavere with this lady if she becomes a regular ,I dont think there was anywhere else in the house where we could work from what I saw,tbh I dont like being mobile,Id much rather be working over a proper nail desk as sometimes it does my back in , if I could work from home tomorrow I would,I hope to get something sorted in the near future.I have been offered a place in a salon ,rent free from a friend,but there not open some of the hours when I want to work,may be if I worked from there I may not attract clients like this.Not sure yet ,will have to decide.

 

[Marlise]

maybe if I worked from there I may not attract clients like this.Not sure yet ,will have to decide.

Not all mobile clients are like this ! I have some really nice mobile clients and the only reason why the choose to have a mobile therapist is because they like the convenience of it (and of course they think I'm wonderful :lol.

Having said that, not all Salon clients are nice. Having read some of the stories on here, a lot of salon clients sound like right nightmares

It's the name of the game. With ANY public service that you offer, you will have the good ones and the bad ones... no matter if you are mobile or salon based.

What's key is learning how to deal with these situations and making the appropriate decisions.

Being mobile is HARD work. Anyone who thinks it's easy needs to think again.

Not only is it more difficult to get the clients because you don't have the "high street" exposure, but physically having to lug everything around, setting up, packing away... it all takes it's toll.

Naturally, we have two basic instincts - fight or flight. A lot of the time "running away" seems like the easy option, less hassle, no confrontation etc.

But if you are just starting up, you need all the business you can get, and a lot of the time, some of these "bad" clients can be turned around by coaching them or setting some ground rules (in a nice way of course !).

Hope things get better for you :hug:

Marlise

 

[Missy G]

Well Ive just phoned this lady,hopying in a way she didnt get on with her nails...but... she has just mad me feel so good...

Shes never worn extensions before...and when I rang she sounded all chuffed to hear from me,and said that she wanted to keep her appointment for infills tomorrow night,and...the thing that chuffed me the most was ...shes managed to keep them all on...and the fact I done her a set of sculpts,something I havent done in ages, and she hasnt lost any of them :lol:...ooh I feel like I could give her a hug now!

Ive also got a mobile table now so hopefully we may be able to venture to another area in the house to work !!:lol:

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

Glad you're feeling better.

Working for myself now, you come to realise that time is money. If it's taking you a lot longer to do a set of nails and there is a possibility that you're losing out on money elsewhere, you'll definitely need to bring it up.

I think the problem with being mobile is that you can't set down your own rules. You can't always work with your own table, own lighting, own space etc. And you can't work in your own comfortable environment. If it's causing a problem it makes you annoyed (which is why I gave up doing it a while ago!)

If you don't mind doing it, fine.
If you don't mind taking longer, fine.
But if you do mind possibly losing a bit of money or taking longer etc, then something 'in the nicest possible way' needs to be mentioned.

 

[JANEY K]

Glad to hear you are feeling better regards your recent episodes debbie but as L-J says the problem with being mobile is that you can't set down your own rules especially in someone elses home,glad you have your own table to work with , own lighting, even though you can't work in your own comfortable environment.Marilise also made a good point by saying it is the name of the game being mobile with any public service that you offer, you do have the good ones and the bad ones doesn't matter if you are mobile or salon based or homesalon based,being mobile has it's up and downs...keep at it you don't want to throw business away especially now you are getting on so well.:hug: