First client first complaint

[Cagney80]

I did a set of nails yesterday. I have only just finished college which she knew when I finished she said they were really nice and said she was really happy. Now...... lo and behold "they are a mess and she want to soak them off". I am giving up now. She want me to go round there before her holiday which I can't cos I am fully booked on my beauty side of things.

Just going to give up now feel like I just want to cry don't want to tell anyone cos I am so embarrassed. What do I do I just want to ignore it and curl away in the corner. Help!

 

[Nail Love]

Don't give up!! and don't take it too personally either. You will get better. We all started somewhere, and you have to make mistakes - it's natural!! It took me a good while of doing nails before I got to the stage where they wouldn't lift!!! that one thing alone made me want to scream!!! Other people's complaints never make you feel good about what you do, but then you will do a set and someone will be over the moon and it's times like that you just want to do more!!!
Just keep practicing..... You will get there in the end. Remember everything takes time, it doesnt happen over night and one day it will just "click".
Its a shame this lady was your first client, probably a knock you didnt need right now tbh, Just have faith and keep going. You will become addicted and then you will see it was all worth it in the end :hug:

 

[magsham]

I did a set of nails yesterday. I have only just finished college which she knew when I finished she said they were really nice and said she was really happy. Now...... lo and behold "they are a mess and she want to soak them off". I am giving up now. She want me to go round there before her holiday which I can't cos I am fully booked on my beauty side of things.

Just going to give up now feel like I just want to cry don't want to tell anyone cos I am so embarrassed. What do I do I just want to ignore it and curl away in the corner. Help!

Hun, we've all been there! Funny how they are all of a sudden a mess! Did she say why she feels this way? Maybe she's broken a couple and is after a freebie. Did you charge her anything?

You WILL, without a doubt, come across this kind of person - no matter what treatment you are carrying out. But what you MUST do is learn from the experience, not quit as soon as it gets a bit tough! :hug:

Find out what has gone wrong with these nails and then speak to your tutor to see if you can resolve what the problem is. Or contact the customer services dept for the brand you are using and explain what's happened. Even come on here and post after you've found out and you'll get loads of advice!

But don't give her another set until you've got to the bottom of the problem. Don't let her intimidate you - you gotta be tough and stick to your guns in this business!! :hug:

 

[Cagney80]

Thanks for the replies! She said that the acylic looks like it is coming off on the bottom I only did them 24 hours ago and I know that lifting occurs but I have never had it occurred this soon! She said that she doesn't think they will last for two weeks and wants me to go and infill. How can I do an infill when they don't even need it! I have just ignored her up until now cos so unsure what to say! I did charge her for them too shall I just give her a full refund cos I can't get round there??? xxxx

:cry::cry:

 

[Lorrainelola]

Oh hun I know how you feel. Few weeks ago I put tips on a nail biter, such a biter that there was no nail to put a blinky tip on! Anyway i did them and they looked lovely, she was pleased and then a couple of days later texts me to say two had 'fallen off'. I told her that I felt that tips wasn't the answer really. I did offer her a refund or another set when her nails had grown just a little bit. Perhaps I shouldn't have offered her the refund but as i haven't been doing nails that long I want to please the client. I haven't heard from her since, but she can't say i didn't show willing.

Don't give up because you will do a set that are so brilliant that it will give you the confidence that you need. I do my own nails and they can last me four to six weeks and i don't do anything different to mine that I don't do to a client's. Being nail techs we know how to look after our nails and far too often clients seem to think that their nails are indestructible. When I give out the after care leaflet I always draw their attention to the part that says they are not indestructible.

Keep going.
Lorraine :hug:

 

[xxtanyaxx]

i know who u feel, but dnt give up! After lots of practise it will just click and learn frm your mistakes/experience when i first started nails i had real trouble with applying the tip without air bubbles , that drove me mad and i wanted to throw my whole kit in the bin lol , you will get there!

 

[Susie H]

Hun, you must make the effort to actually see these nails for yourself. Did you buff to shine or use a clear polish. Quiet likely all you will need to do is either re-apply the polish (if used) or perhaps get your file out and thin down zone 3. The worst thing to do is ignore her, one its rude and two you will blow it all up out of proportion and convince yourself that you can't do this.
Call her, explain how full your book is for the next two weeks and ask her to come to you at either the end of your day or the beginning. End would be better so you have no time pressure on you.
No I wouldn't give a refund unless they were truly terrible and I would be the judge of that not her. Be patient, firm, and keep control.
Good luck:hug::hug:

 

[magsham]

Thanks for the replies! She said that the acylic looks like it is coming off on the bottom I only did them 24 hours ago and I know that lifting occurs but I have never had it occurred this soon! She said that she doesn't think they will last for two weeks and wants me to go and infill. How can I do an infill when they don't even need it! I have just ignored her up until now cos so unsure what to say! I did charge her for them too shall I just give her a full refund cos I can't get round there??? xxxx

:cry::cry:

Which system are you using hun?(ie NSI, Creative, Ezflow) To me it seems there is prob with you prep or application.

Have a look at these tutorials http://www.salongeek.com/nail-application/3007-perfect-preparation.html, http://www.salongeek.com/nail-application/9200-product-control-part-4-zone-3-making-disappear.html.

I think the issue can be easily solved and is deffo no reason to give it all up!

 

[selena]

hey!!
i am new to doing nails too, been at it a few months now! please do not give up, i have been tempted to give up aswell, iv cried over nails and clients. Keep going and you will do a set that u are so proud of and the client will love too! that one set will get u through tough times!
i agree that u should go and c them if u can as u will learn from it, dealing with clients is sometimes harder than the actual work
let me no how it goes hun, hope it works out ok for u :hug:

 

[fifitrix]

Bite the bullet, put your professional head on and go see them, I bet you will be amazed! A lot of complaints come on the back of knowing you are newly qualified. Act with dignity and if they are your fault fix them, no explanation necessary, she will think more of you.

Start as you mean to go on. :hug:

 

[fifitrix]

I did charge her for them too shall I just give her a full refund cos I can't get round there??? xxxx

:cry::cry:

If I was you hunny, I 'd make the time.:hug:

 

[sarahnailz]

I had a similar situation. I had my first client on Monday night this week and she asked for gel overlays on her natural nail with one tip on her index finger. I did the overlays and managed to upsell a full set of airbrush two tone pink and purple. She paid me and I went on my merry way. I got home that night and had a horrid feeling that one or more of her nails were going to chip or lift. I phoned her at 0900 on Tuesday as a sort of courtesy call. She said that her thumb had chipped. So I went back around to her house. She then said she didn't like the colour either. I had a feeling she had been picking at the side wall and caused the lifting herself!!!!! I had to file the colour off, apply another layer of gel and polish her nails with her own colour. I then set it with a layer of that intense sealer. Obviously, I didn't charge her. I phoned again this morning to check all was well. She complimented me on my customer service and has booked me again for her refills in two weeks.
I think that people who know you are newly qualified take a risk that a minor mishap may happen. This is why we don't charge as much as the experienced nail techs out there. I have a form that I use which basically says that I am newly qualified and if a nail chips, lifts etc ... in the first 24 hours, I will replace or repair the nail free of charge.

I hope this helps you. I have developed a fear of doing gel nails, but I have brought out Handy Andi my nail trainer and am having a go at at least one gel nail a night.

xxxxx

 

[mum]

Lifting this soon is definitely a problem with the application. I think you need to make the time and try to work out exactly what caused the problem so you can right it.

It's nearly always prep if there is immediate lifting in zone 3.

 

[geeg]

Running away from a problem will not help you learn to solve it and running away from a client is totally unprofessional and no way to deal with a complaint or to build your reputation .. how old are you? Sorry to have to say it but this is very immature behavior.

Go see her .. it won't be as bad a you think when you get there.