Customers - what to say

[GEEKS_R_WE]

I had a customer yesterday. She came in for a nail repair and repolish. It was 2 weeks since her last visit. None of her nails lifted except for on 1 nail where a tiny bit of acrylic had lifted and chipped near the cuticle area. Her nails were obiously due for an infill as you can see the outgrowth.
I mentioned this to her and gave her the option of doing an infill rather than just fill in that one finger and she replied, "Is it? I usually come in every 3-4 weeks. You did these nails for me. That was only 2 weeks ago and that one has come off already"

Personally I think that she wanted to make the money that she spent on her last treatment stretch a litle bit further and she knew that my employer was not going to charge her for the nail repair and that she only wanted to pay for the polish change.


I always care for my customers and advise them without making them feel pushed into having another treatment, but every now and again there is the odd customer that refuses to listen to my professional opinion and states - "well I've never been told that before. I've been coming here doing my nails for years and I always get my nails infilled every 3-4 weeks!

What should I have said?
What would you have said?
I'm not a very confident person and tend to back down if another asserts themselves on me.
How can I assert myself in the professional way?

 

[kirsty_nails]

It cant be easy as the "customer is always right" or so they say, all you can do is give her your advise and advise her the best you can but at the end of the day the choice is surley hers as to when she gets her infills. x

 

[Lynne Baker]

I see that many salons charge different prices for infills depending upon the length of time between visits, e.g. £20 in 2 weeks, £25 in 3, £30 in 4, that kind of thing.
As long as your client is made aware of the price breaks then they have no argument!
As for assertiveness this is something you need to learn. It's very easy to slip from being assertive into being agressive, and it's very easy for those who are stronger than you to prey on your weakness and exploit it for their own ends. There are many evening/short courses on assertiveness and I would urge you to think about attending. This is a skill you will most definitely need if you go into business on your own. In fact you will need it if you wish to progress up the career ladder as a salon manager.

 

[akaza]

Hi,

I have had this problem before with a client...You just ask nicely "Did you want me to infill your nails today?" It may look obvious to you that she is in need of one, but if she goes on to say, no, I get them done every 3-4 wks, then just tell her that you recommend that she get one, and leave it at that. That way, at least you have given your professional advice. If she comes back to complain in 3-4wks time when half her nails have fallen off, then she's got no one else to blame but herself for going against your advice!!

 

[GEEKS_R_WE]

I see that many salons charge different prices for infills depending upon the length of time between visits, e.g. £20 in 2 weeks, £25 in 3, £30 in 4, that kind of thing.
As long as your client is made aware of the price breaks then they have no argument!
As for assertiveness this is something you need to learn. It's very easy to slip from being assertive into being agressive, and it's very easy for those who are stronger than you to prey on your weakness and exploit it for their own ends. There are many evening/short courses on assertiveness and I would urge you to think about attending. This is a skill you will most definitely need if you go into business on your own. In fact you will need it if you wish to progress up the career ladder as a salon manager.

Where I work, they charge one rate for infills regardless of how long the time between infills is. So if a customer comes in after 5 weeks and her nails are grown out more than half way and another came in within 2 weeks regardless of how much work there is to be done on the nail it is still the same price.

I will definitely take your advice and look into courses on assertiveness. I guess there is a difference between being Miss Nice and Miss walkover.

 

[geeg]

so much of this hassle could be avoided if people were just up front at the first appointment.

"Let's work on a 3 week maintenance schedule, but if you find you have breakages before that time then repairs will be charged at 5.00 for any appointments in between."

"If we are going to work on a 3 week maintenance schedule, then you need to know that you should reduce the length with a little filing at about the 2 week stage. If not, then you may have breakages which will need to be paid for."

Working out a maintenance schedule with each and every client is really important. One that works. If they suffer breakages in between then they have to pay like anyone else. JUST TELL THEM ALL THIS.

Having nails is a contract between the two of you.

If my hair grows faster one month and my roots show more, I can't turn around to the hairstylist and say I want my roots doing for nothing!! FGS just explain that nails grow at different rates and that if they are getting too long between appointments they should SHORTEN THEM or they will break them.

Nails that break are too long for the client .. end of story.

 

[VHunter]

Ditto what Geeg say!

I have this convo with every newby, explaining the why's and wherefor's why every 2 wks is best.. and how the apex moves, and risk of breakage, etc.
Most clients are more than happy to set their appmnt's on 'auto repeat' in my agenda for every 2wks in a given time slot so that it's easier to remember and mark on calendar ALSO gives them their preferred slot if they do it, otherwise, it's up to chance what's left when they call.

I see that you mentioned "she knew that my employer was not going to charge her for the nail repair and that she only wanted to pay for the polish change" So your employer decides the prices and rates? That being the case, not much you can do about that. BUT you could talk about it with your boss and tell them how they're losing money etc by working this way. Is your employer an actual tech?

 

[GEEKS_R_WE]

Ditto what Geeg say!

I have this convo with every newby, explaining the why's and wherefor's why every 2 wks is best.. and how the apex moves, and risk of breakage, etc.
Most clients are more than happy to set their appmnt's on 'auto repeat' in my agenda for every 2wks in a given time slot so that it's easier to remember and mark on calendar ALSO gives them their preferred slot if they do it, otherwise, it's up to chance what's left when they call.

I see that you mentioned "she knew that my employer was not going to charge her for the nail repair and that she only wanted to pay for the polish change" So your employer decides the prices and rates? That being the case, not much you can do about that. BUT you could talk about it with your boss and tell them how they're losing money etc by working this way. Is your employer an actual tech?

She is a newly trained tech.