First complaint has knocked my confidence

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bybrookebeauty

New Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2019
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
England
Hi everyone!

I have been doing eyebrow wax and tint for around 6 months now and I’m really confident in what I do. I am also very proud of my work and the before and after pictures always come out great.

Today I had a girl who had a dip in her brows from a previous threading appointment where the therapist took too much off of the tail of the brow. The client even informed me of this herself. I did what I could with the brow and tinted in the gap to match it as best I could however I did leave the gap untouched to be able to grow out instead of taking more of the brow off to match and she agreed that would be best. By the end the left Brow was obviously a tiny bit skinnier than the right but she said she loved them and was really happy.

When she got home I received a message to say she was really unhappy and they were very different and “looked really odd”. Instantly my stomach dropped because I really don’t want to leave people unhappy however I talked her through why I left that part alone and she agreed so I was very confused.

I replied explaining that I did explain to her why I had left it and that they weren’t going to match exactly as there was already a chunk of Brow missing when she came, I offered her a refund and she didn’t take it she ignored the message about the refund and continued to say they looked “really odd” even though I had explained several times now. It felt like I was getting no where, eventually she just messaged saying thanks. But I still can’t help but feel rubbish, this is a massive confidence knock! I’ve spent my evening zooming in and out on the photos I took of the brows and I just can’t see what she meant. I’m not sure of how to take this, I’m not sure if I am being too hard on myself :(

Can someone help with how to pick yourself up after a complaint...

Thankyou!!
 
Sounds like you have done all the right things but yes these incidents do leave you feeling incompetent- which of course you are not.
You were very professional and discussed the options and outcomes. The client made her choice and agreed it was all ok before leaving her appointment.
Try not to think about it (difficult I know) but focus on all your happy returning clients.
Might be an idea to block the client from your Facebook page so she can't leave a negative review.
 
Don't beat yourself up about one complaining whiner. If it wasn't for you being able to sort the issue out then where would she be in the future? You at least have the brains to sort them out.
You have done all you can and if she is so thick and cannot understand what you have so diligently explained to her , then it really is her that is the problem.
Call it "work in progress" Undoing another eyebrow techs cock up can take a couple of months.
If they do need a re- balance of the symmetry you could tell her to come back and change them to suit her wishes.
I had a client with very wonky symmetry!!! what I did was to try my very best to give them a symmetrical appearance....was I successful ? not really , because what she needed was one brow completely removing and having a brow transplant . They were that bad.
Not twins darling...not even sisters... probably cousins of the brow world.
Basically you cannot perform a flipping miracle when you are really thinking " what do I do with these horrendously, unsymmetrical disastrous brows..???
Book her back in for say a 2-3 week spacing and take it from there.
Good luck x
 
You’re going to have to develop a thicker skin.
Working on a self employed basis requires you to develop your confidence and suitable strategies when dealing with awkward clients. There will be plenty more like her over time as that’s the nature of this business, so buckle up.

Some clients don’t actually like themselves very much and want their therapist to magically transform them into a different person. When they get home and realise that they’re still the same flawed person, rather than accept that, they complain that the therapist/hairdresser etc. has made a mistake. :rolleyes:

Only offer a refund when you know you’ve made an error otherwise, you’re going to gain a reputation as a soft touch. Offer to review and maybe tweak your work but not a refund or a full redo. If you start to doubt yourself, they will pick up on that.

Be super confident and repeat lots of positive phrases during the appointment so the client leaves feeling great.
 
Hi everyone!

I have been doing eyebrow wax and tint for around 6 months now and I’m really confident in what I do. I am also very proud of my work and the before and after pictures always come out great.

Today I had a girl who had a dip in her brows from a previous threading appointment where the therapist took too much off of the tail of the brow. The client even informed me of this herself. I did what I could with the brow and tinted in the gap to match it as best I could however I did leave the gap untouched to be able to grow out instead of taking more of the brow off to match and she agreed that would be best. By the end the left Brow was obviously a tiny bit skinnier than the right but she said she loved them and was really happy.

When she got home I received a message to say she was really unhappy and they were very different and “looked really odd”. Instantly my stomach dropped because I really don’t want to leave people unhappy however I talked her through why I left that part alone and she agreed so I was very confused.

I replied explaining that I did explain to her why I had left it and that they weren’t going to match exactly as there was already a chunk of Brow missing when she came, I offered her a refund and she didn’t take it she ignored the message about the refund and continued to say they looked “really odd” even though I had explained several times now. It felt like I was getting no where, eventually she just messaged saying thanks. But I still can’t help but feel rubbish, this is a massive confidence knock! I’ve spent my evening zooming in and out on the photos I took of the brows and I just can’t see what she meant. I’m not sure of how to take this, I’m not sure if I am being too hard on myself :(

Can someone help with how to pick yourself up after a complaint...

Thankyou!!

She explained...they were already ruined...you did the right thing and left that bit...she said she was happy. Then she’s pulled a 180 a is still miserable the other person messed them up. Not your problem :) Some people just like a whinge. I wouldn’t have even offered a refund but as she didn’t accept it then you are doing fine.

An assertiveness course taught me to say the same thing over and over until it sinks in. ‘as you explained during your consult you were unhappy with this missing area so I left it. You left happy.’ No changes to wording just rinse and repeat til she leaves you alone. That or just don’t reply at all as she’s verging on harassment by continuing to message you about a non-issue.

Just forget about her and don’t have her back. Or say you will be recording the consults you do if she does haha
 
I wouldn't worry about her. You have done a great job. Never refund as she might think you have done something wrong x
 

Latest posts

Back
Top