Is the client always right or how long is the extra mile?

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Alpenrose

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I'll try to be as short as possible, but it might be an essay :o

I had a client in a very-well known 5* hotel booked for a set of acrylic nails.

The task was to remove existing set and apply a new set.

The client was extremely suprised when I wrapped them in foils for soaking off - she said that normally when she goes to the salon back in Australia, "they take similar kind of thing (pointing to my pusher) and just pop it off". I did my best why it should not be done like this and why I am doing it by wrapping in the foils. Only to hear that "this is a waste of time and it is much quicker to pop 'em off. And I don't really care about my natural nails, as they are covered and no one can see them".

Needless to say that throughout the whole appointment she would tell me that I am not doing it "the way they do it in Australia", which I knew I was doing it the right way.

Then it came to new set application. She wanted white tips with extreme length for the size of her nail bed. I explained this. Then she asked my "to glue them as low as possible" I thought she wanted something like half moon design but, no, not that low :(.

Anyway, at some point I just gave up resisting and educating and the end result came out with the proportion of 3:1 (where white is 3). The client was mega happy and said that everyone in Australia has them like this and this is how French should be done.

The amount she paid for this was equivalent to a day in a 5* SPA. Well, she could get this kind of job somewhere in Brixton for a tenner...

I wonder what other Geeks think of this situation? Would you stand your ground or just did what the client wanted even if it went against your professionalism? Would you walk away just because it was not right even if it meant that the time was wasted and you are not getting paid?

I stood my ground when doing removal but not when it came to tip application. But I just could not resist even more...
 
Why couldn't you do maintenance on the old set ?

sounds like a bit of a case of the empress's new clothes to me .
 
Its a tough one because on the one hand it's their money and their treatment so I can see the pros of doing it their way.

On the other hand, it does sound like she was being a bit of a pain in the backside and asking you to do things in a way that didn't feel approapriate to you.

It's a tough one also because someone's nails are an advertisement of your work so you want them to look good but on the other hand you want to client to be happy.

Hmmmm..... dilemma much!
 
Why couldn't you do maintenance on the old set ?

sounds like a bit of a case of the empress's new clothes to me .

I offered but she did not want it. The original set had also white tips and they have grown to almost the right place, so I would either do it with clear or cover pink and white (which I love). But this is not how she normally does it and it didn't seem right to her.
 
Ugh... I've had clients like this before. As wrong as they are and as gaudy as they like their nails, it's best to stick to professionalism but still give them what they want. You did right by not popping her nails off. How I would've responded to her comment about not caring for her natural nails would've been something like "you SHOULD care about your natural nails because the weaker they are, the less likely enhancements will last on them. As for her white tips... Having them glued that far down her nails, I'll be surprised if they last. Sounds like majority of it is just glue and tips. I would've just used natural or clear tips, stick them where they're supposed to go, and sculpt the whites as far down as she wanted them. As ugly as it would've looked, at least it's on the right way. Clients like these you just have to take with a grain of salt. They think they know how your job better than you, and they'll try to tell you how to do your job, but at the end of the day, if the end result looks like how they want it to, they'll pay and leave. Just stick to how you were trained so it doesn't compromise the service :) well done for not losing your cool.
 
Well done for keeping your cool,I would have lost my rag and told her to go back and get them done in oz because this isn't the way we do things here in England xx
 
Well done for keeping your cool,I would have lost my rag and told her to go back and get them done in oz because this isn't the way we do things here in England xx

:lol: I'm sure some of our Oz geeks would beg to differ if she had said what she said to them.
 
Its a tough one because on the one hand it's their money and their treatment so I can see the pros of doing it their way.

On the other hand, it does sound like she was being a bit of a pain in the backside and asking you to do things in a way that didn't feel approapriate to you.

It's a tough one also because someone's nails are an advertisement of your work so you want them to look good but on the other hand you want to client to be happy.

Hmmmm..... dilemma much!

Yes, it is tough and I still feel bad about it, as it is not up to my standard and until this case I was always able to convert clients to the right ways.

The problem was, that I just cannot upset her and I cannot let her complain to the hotel - this is the quickest way out of their books. In this places the client has to be happy no matter what. But where does the fine line go?

As for reputation, I did not give my full name and contact details (I am allowed to do so, as I work on a freelance basis), so the nails will be associated with the hotel, not me. :green:
 
Well, I hardly ever use white tips - mainly cover pink (most on the time I need to extend the nail bed) and white powder.

That would not work with her. White tips - this is the only think she knows. I did warn about them not staying - she did not care: "I'll just do them again"!
 
I don't have white tips at all for that reason :lol: I don't want people asking me to put them so far down that it's mostly tip. It's not only tacky, but it doesn't wear as long.

Best thing you can do really is just make note of it... your professional opinion and what she requested after. After all, she's paying. But if she were to come back with an issue that has something to do with what you've said, at least you could recall to her that this has been discussed and you went ahead and proceeded with the service the way she wanted.
 
I'm in Australia and not 'everyone' has their French like that! Lol.
The NSS seem to be the biggest culprits for white tips placed so far down and for prising off old tips and acrylic with a new tip or a curette! I've seen it time and again.
Good on you for keeping calm and keeping the Client happy.
 
If you did them safely and she was happy and she paid you the equivalent of a day in a 5* spa, and she is Australian and going back there soon, and no one is ever going to know it was you, and it took an hour or whatever, I would say - haha, well done you.

xx
 
Thanks! You are so supportive!:Kissing:

I was thinking that she only goes to NSS, as a proper professional in their right mind would not create this c**p! :irked:
 
Having spent allot of time in Australia every year, I can tell you that not everyone has nails that look like the ones she wanted.

There are discerning people everywhere and there are those that have no eye for beauty whatsoever. And there are those who have more money than sense lol.
 
Having spent allot of time in Australia every year, I can tell you that not everyone has nails that look like the ones she wanted.

There are discerning people everywhere and there are those that have no eye for beauty whatsoever. And there are those who have more money than sense lol.


Would you have done as requested, Geeg?
 
Would you have done as requested, Geeg?

I would have done it and had a laugh about it with the client I would have said something like, "well it takes all sorts but if that is what you want ... ". :D

I have always used laughter as a persuasive technique .. it takes the sting out of confrontation ... clients do not like lectures and they do not like to be TOLD that their tastes and preferences are WRONG. In fact their tastes and preferences are not WRONG just different ... maybe we don't like them, but we are not the ones paying for them and wearing them.
 
Where I work we use acetone wrapped in foil to remove acrylics, the places that pop them off use mma as they can't soak them off. Only the cheap nail bars use mma. Also tip is not attached far down the nail as it won't stay on I've been told. Obviously she has her nails done at a sub standard place here in oz.
 
Hi I am from Australia and any good well respected nail tech would not pick them off, we soak off like yourself. We have a lot of discount salons opening up and they are spreading fungus and are constantly on the news for bad practises. The industry is not policed over here, and I am sick of it. Good for you, you did well!!
 
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Hi I am from Australia and any good well respected nail tech would not pick them off, we soak off like yourself. We have a lot of discount nail bars opening up and they are spreading fungus and are constantly on the news for bad practises. The industry is not policed over here, and I am sick of it. Good for you, you did well!!

Its discount nail bars for us in England ! No appointment needed! Cheap as chips!
But you get what you pay for :)

I think you did the right thing give them what they want, as long as you are not causing any damage so you can't get any come backs !
 
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