Awkward customers

[nails26]

Hi,

Had an experience today - a weird and kinda irritating one!
Lady comes in and asks for infills and for one of her nails to be repaired because its broken. (she is a new client and never been to the salon i work at before)

When i looked at the broken nail it had cracked horizontally accross her nail plate and was barely hanging on. I gently moved the nail and she yelped out in pain. I said that I couldn't promise that I would be able to do that nail for her but... if she would let me soak that nail off(it was acrylic) I could have a look at the condition of her nail underneath and see what could be done. She agreed and was as pleasant as ever.

I soaked off the nail as much as i could and saw that the nail underneath was broken very far back (hence the pain) I couldn't file off the remaining acrylic without taking off her nail. I explained this and she was fine. I said I could seal off the nail with acrylic but couldn't make it long like her others as a tip can only be put on the natural nail. Again she was fine.

I carried on doing her nails and it was obvious the longer i spent on her nails the more agitated she became. Then she started to ask me (in a wingy tone) 'can't you make this one longer so that it blends in with the others?' I explained this could usually be done by sculpting the acrylic on - however the damage to her nail was extensive and i would not do it for her. She started to settle down again. Then she randomly changed and started pointing out problems that weren't there. I asked her what she wanted me to do and she told me to fix it - the problem was apparently that there were gaps in the acrylic, which there really wasn't. I put acrylic on the reas she pointed to anyway to keep her happy then it came to paintng them. She said 'don't bother I've got to go.'

She got up and opened her purse and my boss said to her 'that will be ££ please.' The woman replied 'I still have to pay when they ain't even finished?' the obvious heated discussion arose of how them would be finished if she would let me do them. After a long while she said 'I ain't paying for them!' and walked out of the door. She is now barred from our salon - and so are her family and friends....... all because she didn't get a service from a salon who only cared about the money in her purse - instead she got advice and a full explanation about how risky it would be to carry out the treatment her way, polite staff and nails that were coming along really nicely... until she had a tantrum because she couldn't have her own way.

Why do people behave so childishly? We even said to her at the beginning that if she really wanted to she could go to another salon to have that one nail done - but that she could potentially lose her whole nail because of it.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience......?
What are you supposed to do?

Sorry for the long thread....... i suppose i was more venting than anything... thanks for listening!

 

[Han88]

Sorry for your rubbish client people are such pain In the a***S sometimes! Never really had a client that bad and hopefully won't come across one! At least you can come home knowing you did the right thing! I'm sure she would have been worse If you had done the extension on the damaged nail and then her natural nail came off!! ♡♡

Sent from my SM-G900F using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[blondevondoll]

Bless your little heart darling. My best friend is a nail tech & has had a similar experience.
You did everything correctly. You gave advice. And you spotted a contra indication.
In experience, from what I can tell, the woman clearly was expecting a set of full, beautiful nails. Regardless of how much damage was done to her finger.
Some client expect us to perform miracles. Which we simply can not do.
You told her the circumstances, and she may have acted fine to begin with, but the moment she realised that the last salon she went to had done a bad job, she took the blame on you guys.

Now I'd never bash another business. And it's very difficult when you see a client who's had some "rushed" work done, and you find yourself having to fix the problem, without bad naming those who were involved in the problem to begin with.
If you ever are in doubt, excuse yourself and let your manager know your concerns. That's what a manager is there for. Just state to the client you'd like a second opinion. That way, in future, instead of your word, you have the backup of another instead.
So for example today, I would have given her the advice you did. But then also stated, if you excuse me, I can get a second opinion from my manager, incase there is a way we can help you achieve what you're looking for.
Your manager could have then stated the same advice as yourself. And explained, today, the nails would not all be the same length due to unknown damage.
However in future, and with correct home care advice, on her next appointment, she could reach her desired look.

Don't beat yourself hun. She's not worth it. You did everything correctly. She clearly was looking for a freebie and a vent.
But seeing my friend in the exact same position. And I having similar experiences myself, it does knack your confidence. But please!! Don't let it! We all get bad ones every now & again.
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