Customer is driving me up the wall...

[trusim]

Hi all, well where do I start?

I have this young client who comes in and gets her nails done, (only once every 3 months) I did say she is young....

Anyhow, I prep / apply black tips (her request) I would of preferred to sculpt, then used ez flow glitter to add a touch of colour, then pink etc, they looked stunning.

Well I got a call the next morning to say "hi, they fell off in bed"........I said "oh come on", "you say this all the time", please come down and show me as soon as you can........well she hummed and no show.

I have never had this happen except with this young girl, she is a massive nail biter with or without enhancements, but always says they fall off in bed, now I usually just re-do them, and no problems, but this time I have had enough, I feel as though I should charge her, but she doesn't think she should pay.

I am at my wits end. Please explain to me, what can I say? I don't want to lose her Mum as a client, she comes in every 3 wks, but this young girl is driving me up the wall........ :cry::cry:

I would appreciate any feedback.

Kindest regards,

Trudy
Australia..........

 

[Zondrae]

maybe you should talk to her mum? She doesn't have the same problems with her enhancements, and if she is a regular client she would know that you do good work. And by talk to the mum I mean in conversation ask her how her daughter treats her nails. Tell her you are concerned about how much trouble she seems to have with them and want to know how to help her. That way you aren't accusing her daughter of anything (which might upset the mother) but are getting the message across that you are trying to sort out the problem.

We all know that nails don't just "fall off in bed".

Good luck!

Zondrae (in Australia too )

 

[Annebet]

Hi I would get her to come down with her mum, check the nails over if the tell tail signs are there then show her mother and say sorry you cannot do them for her anymore as she is causing damage to her nail plate, at least then the mother can see it is her daughters fault and not yours this way you won't lose her mother as a customer. It just isn't worth doing youngsters as they cannot look after them, well 90% cant and they will blame you to other people, friends then they tell their mums then you have lost prospective customers. Good Luck :0)

 

[Jolicatellas]

Hi trusim,
Wow, she expects her repairs/refills for FREE! That's not fair on you at all! If her mum comes in every 3wks and has no problem, then it is more than likely this client is the cause of her nails 'just falling off in bed' (highly unlikely in any case!).
I try to avoid repairing/refilling for free b/c once you start with one client they always expect it. From the get-go she should be made to pay, if not full price at least a portion of the price for her nail repairs.
It may be hard but I would be up front and explain (nicely) that you cannot do her nails for free and that since she is the only client who this is happening to it is something 'she' is doing - not you.
If she is made to pay for her nails she will more likely take better care of them.
As for her mum, if she is happy with your service she will still return. I've been in situations where clients know each other & one stops coming, but the loyal ones are still loyal b/c they have no complaints about the service.

That's my thoughts any way Good luck.

 

[Bagpuss]

The reason she does this is cos you let her...:hug:....with never having to pay for repairs she has no incentive to look after them. You must charge her and then she will realise that biting/pulling them off is only gonna cost her more money.

Nails don't fall off..and if hers do so in bed all the time then i would love to know what she is doing with them whilst in bed...or maybe not...:lol:

 

[Bev Rose]

Tell her to come in and bring all the enhancements with her that have 'fallen off'.
You will be able to see whether or not there is nail plate still attached to the ones that have 'fallen off' - this means that they were and still are attached to nail plate & so they have been removed by force.
Perhaps, if she's a bad biter, she's wearing the enhancements too long, it would be better to suggest to her she wears her nails shorter until her own have had time to grow underneath.
No way should you be redoing these for free if this only happens to her iykwim. But I'd love to see the ones that have come off - I'm guessing there's nail plate attached to the underside of them - which in my opinion, means that they are still attached to the nail, therefore they only would of come off by force.

 

[geeg]

You are letting this client drive you up the wall. It is not the client's fault. You are buying her the petrol mate. :hug:

You say you are worried to loose her mum as a client ... you are already loosing a tonne of money by enabling this person to manipulate you in this way.

Enough is enough .. of course you should be charging her; just tell her you can no longer support what she is doing to the nails and offer to remove them (for the normal price) as she is not getting on with them at all.

You have dug yourself into a hole and you will have to come out of it sharpish. But the good news is you will have learned a valuable lesson for the future in the process.

 

[trusim]

hi girls, thank you so much for your replies, and advice, you are all right, and yes I have dug a hole for myself. She was supposed to come in today, but again did not show up, I did ask her to bring in the nails, that have "fallen off in bed", that way I will be able to tell.
Yes, she does have a fair amount of nail bed, not as long as I would like, but still enough to apply tips, either to blend or not.

So hopefully all will be sorted out on Saturday......

Once again, thank you for your honesty. Much appreciated.

Hope you all have a safe and happy easter.

Trudy

 

[Elaine143a]

I would say not not to worry about what her mom thinks. Her mom is a regular client and so respects you and your work. I have had similar situations in my salon (not necessarily regarding nails but other services as well), and when I have mentioned it to the mums they state "I've told them time and time again, so you tell them and maybe they'll believe you!"

Time to stop the daughter taking the preverbial!

 

[fifitrix]

Hi all, well where do I start?

I have this young client who comes in and gets her nails done, (only once every 3 months) I did say she is young....

Anyhow, I prep / apply black tips (her request) I would of preferred to sculpt, then used ez flow glitter to add a touch of colour, then pink etc, they looked stunning.

Well I got a call the next morning to say "hi, they fell off in bed"........I said "oh come on", "you say this all the time", please come down and show me as soon as you can........well she hummed and no show.

I have never had this happen except with this young girl, she is a massive nail biter with or without enhancements, but always says they fall off in bed, now I usually just re-do them, and no problems, but this time I have had enough, I feel as though I should charge her, but she doesn't think she should pay.

I am at my wits end. Please explain to me, what can I say? I don't want to lose her Mum as a client, she comes in every 3 wks, but this young girl is driving me up the wall........ :cry::cry:

I would appreciate any feedback.

Kindest regards,

Trudy
Australia..........

Hey Trudy,

I agree with everyone else, if she is making you feel like this then it's time to get tough or get rid. Enhancements don't just fall off in bed as well you know, the next time she says this tell her I had cheese off the moon on my toast last night! These type of clients grip onto any wee thing that might blame you in any way, don't wear it at all, charge her for every single thing you have to fix.

You will not lose her mum as a client as obviously she loves her nails and doesn't have a problem with them.

Stay strong and believe in yourself and the weak excuses will wash over you. xxxxx:hug: