Confidence!

[traciecheeky]

Sorry geeks this is long! So after 5 years of long various training I am now qualified in level 2 and 3 beauty therapy, reflexology, acrylic nails, gel polish and intimate waxing. I finally got the balls to get my first job breaking into the industry 8 months ago. I originally started as the Saturday girl, literally just working on the Saturday. However the past 2 months I gave up my other job to work just at the salon. My boss and manager are great and so understanding! But my biggest problem is confidence. I’ve had a few complaints about my services. They say I’m a lovely lady just the finish isn’t what they hoped. I know I can’t please everybody but it literally knocks my confidence as I just want to be a good therapist! How can I stop overthinking and worrying about every treatment I do thinking that they’re going to complain even though I’m qualified I’m still new to all this. Please help [emoji20]

 

[Scrubadub]

I find the more you worry about it the more I make mistakes, take a deep breath and just do the treatment as if you were doing it on a friend and it goes so much better

 

[RosieR]

Oh how we beat ourselves up over everything. However if it make you feel any better I still get odd times when my work I feel should have been better . To be honest I think most of us with a passion for the job always do.
However ;
What finish is the most bothersome to you , that clients are saying? Is there a little support from other therapists that can be given to help you to improve ? Could you get a litle more practise in the services you struggle with?
The fact that you are a lovely lady is very positive, so you are well worth the extra helping hand at the moment.
Hope to hear from you again.
RosieR

 

[traciecheeky]

Oh how we beat ourselves up over everything. However if it make you feel any better I still get odd times when my work I feel should have been better . To be honest I think most of us with a passion for the job always do.
However ;
What finish is the most bothersome to you , that clients are saying? Is there a little support from other therapists that can be given to help you to improve ? Could you get a litle more practise in the services you struggle with?
The fact that you are a lovely lady is very positive, so you are well worth the extra helping hand at the moment.
Hope to hear from you again.
RosieR

Aww thank you means a lot. It’s the nail paint. I’ve had 2 people so far comment on it. I’ve asked them if they’re happy with the finish. They say yes, then 10 mins later they send my boss a email saying it was terrible. That’s what I hate.. I would rather say they didn’t like it at the time so I could correct it. Drives me insane. I’ve done many treatments whilst I’ve been working here for the past 8 months. I’ve had 2 moans about the finish (they were happy when they left then changed their mind) and one moan about a eyebrow wax (she had said it was good at the time but came back another day to say I didn’t take enough off- in my defence I only took off what she had asked for ‍) those are the only complaints I’ve had whilst I’ve been here. Hope that helps x

 

[traciecheeky]

I find the more you worry about it the more I make mistakes, take a deep breath and just do the treatment as if you were doing it on a friend and it goes so much better

Very true! I came in today with a more positive mind and the treatments I’ve done have been a success! Think maybe I was having a bad day where I was overthinking too much x

 

[RosieR]

We all have bad days , it's the joys of being passionate about what we do !! I am glad today was better for you so thanks for the reply.

I always say to my clients that regarding eyebrows I would sooner take too few out than too many. Really get them to understand what you will remove based on a thorough consultation. Their expectations will never match up to what you can actually do , but you will hopefully meet somewhere in the middle ground.
I say too , if they haven't had enough removed please come back in a day or 2 for more out if that is their preferance. I also say there will be no further charge.( guess what ... they never come back for more out, because we have discussed it first and they have checked very closely with the mirror and my bright light)

Regarding nail paint, apply plenty on the loaded brush and let the brush create the beautiful curve at the cuticle line. Dead straight side walls too. You probably do that anyway! Perhaps the top coat drags some polish off as it is going on.?
I also put my glasses on now my eyesight is a bit crap at my old age! ha ha

Hope today's clients are all good for you x

 

[traciecheeky]

We all have bad days , it's the joys of being passionate about what we do !! I am glad today was better for you so thanks for the reply.

I always say to my clients that regarding eyebrows I would sooner take too few out than too many. Really get them to understand what you will remove based on a thorough consultation. Their expectations will never match up to what you can actually do , but you will hopefully meet somewhere in the middle ground.
I say too , if they haven't had enough removed please come back in a day or 2 for more out if that is their preferance. I also say there will be no further charge.( guess what ... they never come back for more out, because we have discussed it first and they have checked very closely with the mirror and my bright light)

Regarding nail paint, apply plenty on the loaded brush and let the brush create the beautiful curve at the cuticle line. Dead straight side walls too. You probably do that anyway! Perhaps the top coat drags some polish off as it is going on.?
I also put my glasses on now my eyesight is a bit crap at my old age! ha ha

Hope today's clients are all good for you x

Thank you for your advice, I do these already I think it’s just nit picking clients. It’s just a shame they have to report it to my manager because they feel they can’t tell me this. I would rather honesty as I’m patient and respect that some people are fussier than others. But honestly thank you xx

 

[nickysnails200]

Hey hun this might sound stupid but perhaps try and ask it as a more vague question eg how’s that for you? Etc rather than specifically asking about the finish I think if someone asked me about 1 specific part of a service I’d think they thought there was something wrong and probably examine it way too closely and maybe end up picking fault. Do you think their was a problem with the finish? Also if confidence is an issue take photos of your work provided you’re allowed to obviously and compare back to nails you did in training if you took pics and work you’ve done a couple of weeks ago etc and you’ll notice an improvement the more you do! Seeing how far you’ve come can really boost your confidence xx

 

[TheDuchess]

When you finish your mani. Sit back and then take each hand and check your work carefully. Look at the side walls of the nails, check the tips are capped, compare each hand with the other.

Then take a deep breathe and SMILE. Look up at your client and say "are you happy with your nails?" Wait a second or two for her to react and then say, "this is such a lovely colour on you, I think they look lovely".

Finish your mani with your aftercare advice, recommend home care tips plus the use of a product. This shows you care about the client.

That's it. Be confident with your work and your clients will love coming to you. In private you may reflect that you haven't got quite as close to the nail folds as you would like or that there is a slight wobble in the application, but this is your private learning point, it's not something that you discuss with the client.

You can always mark your work. Done an amateur job on all 10 nails? Mark = 50% (5/10 for each nail). Are each of your nails worth 7/10? Good job, 70%. 9 perfect nails and one bad one is 94%. For 10 almost perfect nails you'd get the same mark! It isn't realistic to expect to paint 10 nails perfectly. Most nail techs aim for 98% (2 barely perceptible imperfections).

Hope this helps.