Difficult Clients

[tamh]

Have any of you ever had a client you wish wouldn't come back? All of my clients are great and I love my job usually but recently I have had a new client come to me and she is really difficult. She is very rude to me(speaks really badly to me), rushes me through a set of nails(i.e. I do Bio gel which needs to cure for 2min under the lamp etc. but she removes her hand before 2min insisting I carry on to the next step!). She then calls me less than a week later saying I have to come straight away and redo as she's not happy when I get there the nails are perfectly fine - don't really even need a fill yet? She is so aggressive though that I end up re-doing free as she makes me feel so bad. I am at the point where I get knots in my stomach at the thought of going there again. I am mobile and rushing over to her constantly(at her request of 8pm) isn't ideal either. What would you do in such a situation? I really don't want to go back there as she is a real bully but how do I go about saying so? As I said, I've never had this situation before as all my other regular clients are brillient! :cry:

 

[Bagpuss]

Ohh dear...not good. Thing is she treats you this way because you are allowing her too. You need to set the rules...you are the one in charge of your business.

Next time she rings with her demands play a little harder to get...always be polite and professional but be firm.

"Ohh Hi Mrs Smith, its lovely to hear from you again, sorry but i am fully booked for that day and I no longer do call outs after 7pm...but i do have weds at 4pm...would you like me to book that for you....?"

If she gets shirty just repeat what you have said....

"sorry that that appointment time isn't suitable for you, would you like to suggest a day and time between mon-fri, 9am to 7pm that is suitable for you and i will check my diary to see if i have a space..."

Just keep repeating what you CAN do....if she doesn't like what you have to offer then she will either sod off elsewhere or learn to realise that you are not her beck and call maid.

ohhh and no more freebies....:lol:.....next time just say before you start how much the repair is going to cost....if she says anything just say...."I have made a few changes in the way that repairs are charged....and now my clients can have 1 free repair at the time of infills/rebalances and all other repairs and those needed outside of your infill appointment will be charged at £4 per nail"

 

[jarvis0808]

aaaawwww bless you.:hug:

I had one or two of these in my time. There are a few things you can do:-
1. Tell her that obviously you are trying to do a professional treatment but you are not getting the results you would both like because she is rushing you etc.

2. You cannot/do a 8pm appointment anymore

3. When she calls for her appointment again, you cannot fit her in your too busy (but your not)

Its not worth it you ending up with knots in your stomach after all you have got loads of satisfied lovely clients, concentrate on them and let her go to someone else

Hope this helps let me know how you get on

 

[DEBI-DEE]

I know what i would do (but its not very professional):lol:. You really dont have to put up with this, but its hard when you dont like confrontation. You could say that you dont feel shes happy with your work and could maybe try elsewhere. With regards to taking her hands out the lamp to early, you must explain that the product is not fully cured and as well as it resulting in service breakdown it could lead to overexposure.

 

[the nail fairy]

:hug: Hi, I totally agree with Angie on this one!!
I work out of my home and this one client of mine, used to phone at all hours!!! My hours are 11:00 am to 7:00 pm every day except Thursdays ( which I am closed)..

The last straw was when she phoned on a Thursday morning at 8:00am, and wanted to come in right away.. ( she was aware of my hours).. But the problem was........... I had let her come in for a nail repair "One time" on my day off, so she figured she could make nail appts. any time !!

Needless to say.. I got firm with her and she is no longer coming to me.. she told me that she would find someone who could acccomodate her and her schedule.. I wished her all the best ..

You know what Dr Phil says....

" We teach people how to treat us"

 

[Tantrum]

i agree with everyone
she is totally bullying you, because she can!
stand firm, sometimes its easier if you imagine your speaking on someone elses behalf.

(Myself and my sister often take each others dreaded calls, we sound the same and can handle each others situations better.)

but if your not feeling confident, just act.. it will become second nature.
i used to be so weak and ran about like a fool for people for nothing, but im a lot stronger now.

stay polite at all times, she will either change her behaviour or go elsewhere. To be honest she cant be that unhappy with your work or she would have gone already:hug:

 

[tamh]

Thanks all for the replies. Yes, eventhough I hate confrontation I think I better bite the bullet and try to be firm with her next time. I really like that Dr Phil quote - it's exactly what is happening. Thanks, gals.x

 

[uniq12u]

I had to let a client go this year (first one in 10 years) because she was demanding, never happy, we had nothing to talk about or if we did we did not agree on thigns and she would argue with me about what I charge. Now mind you I am very reasonable on my prices. What surprised me the most was she used to be a nail tech and she acted this way???? I would greet her in the a.m. with a positive "HI" or "Hiya" and I would get a grumpy grunt. But when my next client would come in she would be all smiles and greet her warmly, etc. Really upset me and made me feel less than because I didn't understand why she treated me the way she did. Like you, it got so that I dreaded her coming and was hoping she just wouldn't come back. I finally decided that it just wasn't worth my being stressed and miserable to keep doing her and deal with her attitude. I wrote her a letter. Here is what I said in it....

"I feel it might be in your best interest if you find someone else who can do your nails. This was not an easy decision for me, but I want you to be happy when you get your nails done and I don‘t feel I have been able to achieve that for you. I wish you all the best."

No blame was made and it was very polite. Might be time to let this client go, but only you will know when that times comes! I have to say that I have not regretted letting her go one bit! :hug:

 

[tamh]

Thanks Unique12u - I decided it just wasn't worth having her as a client if it meant her making me feel this way/treating me like this so I sent her a polite message and offered to recommend other nail techs in her area etc. Being the kind of person she is I didn't even get an acknowledgement/reply of my message but in a way guesse that is better than a mean/angry reply. What a weight off of my shoulders. It feels good to stand up for myself and not have to worry about her bullying me again.

 

[Jaxtaylor]

Good for you!! This job should be thoroughly enjoyable, people like that don't deserve the common courtesy they don't give you.

 

[uniq12u]

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (jumping up and down). Good for you!! And yes, you really don't want to hear back from her because as you said, it will probably be negative anyway. Just let it be, let it go and focus on what great clients you do have. I am glad you made the best decision for you!