Mobile client had Covid symptoms

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Hlovesbeauty

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Oct 6, 2017
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Location
Staffordshire
Need to get this off my chest, but I had one of my regular mobile clients in for her massage yesterday. She's an elderly lady so she talks alot throughout her treatment, and she told me yesterday that she developed all the known Covid symptoms which she had 3 weeks ago. I did her last massage 3 weeks ago. I didn't see she had symptoms when I did her last massage otherwise I would of refused to do her treatment. I'm annoyed at the fact she didn't even tell me! Or rearrange her appointment. I did say to her if you do have symptoms you need to let me know but her excuse was I wasn't sure if I definitely had it and with her nerve pain she couldn't tell. I feel like she's not thinking about me by passing it on if she have it. It really annoyed me when she only mentioned this yesterday!
 
That is worrying.
Do you ask your clients to fill in a form before their appointment with a covid questionnaire at all?
I ask mine to fill this out online before I visit them & also say to them, if they are unwell for any reason not normal to them to cancel & rebook for when they are better otherwise I will refuse to treat them.
I have had clients cancel who have only had colds or generally unwell because I have told them this so I think it does work to protect yourself.
There are some clients that will carry on regardless & not worry about your safety. Unfortunately if they are not showing any symptoms of illness it makes it more difficult.
 
That is worrying.
Do you ask your clients to fill in a form before their appointment with a covid questionnaire at all?
I ask mine to fill this out online before I visit them & also say to them, if they are unwell for any reason not normal to them to cancel & rebook for when they are better otherwise I will refuse to treat them.
I have had clients cancel who have only had colds or generally unwell because I have told them this so I think it does work to protect yourself.
There are some clients that will carry on regardless & not worry about your safety. Unfortunately if they are not showing any symptoms of illness it makes it more difficult.
 
I have made a Covid form to fill in and it's linked to my email. When I have sent a link of the form to my elderly ladies they don't know how to do it. I have just had to copy and paste the questions for them to answer back.
 
I have made a Covid form to fill in and it's linked to my email. When I have sent a link of the form to my elderly ladies they don't know how to do it. I have just had to copy and paste the questions for them to answer back.
It is difficult with older clients or those who aren’t internet savvy. I think it is just important for us to reiterate before every appointment that if they feel unwell for any reason they should cancel.
It is more difficult being a mobile therapist as a client is less likely to cancel if they are unwell because they don’t have to leave the house. Clients are also worried they might be charged if they cancel at short notice so might be worth saying there is no charge for late cancellations if you don’t mention it already.
She definitely should have mentioned she was unwell at the time (especially as she could have felt worse by having massage), but fortunately she didn’t pass any illness on. I have had a couple of clients cancel as they have all the symptoms of covid, they have had a test & are negative so it’s highly likely she just had a flu bug.
 
I have a covid precautions factsheet that I send to all clients prior. For those who don't have whatsapp I give them the gist over the phone. It basically explains the PPE I'm wearing, the surcharge for PPE/sterilising, etc. It also has on there:
If they or anyone in their household develops covid symptoms (list symptoms, explain that a continous cough can be 3 or more coughing episodes of over an hour in 24 hours), (note SYMPTOMS, not a positive case) 2 weeks before or after their appointment they should contact me immediately.
I've also put a bit about how my cancellation policy of 50% charge for appointments cancelled unnecessarily within 24 hrs does not count for covid symptoms, health issues are a necessary reason.

However despite your best efforts it does come down to being shrewd and cautious. Last weekend I rang one of my elderly clients to double check she was ok for her appointment on Monday. She said yes then whilst being chatty told me 'she had gone to hospital for a scan a couple of days ago and has had an awful cold ever since' 😨 I gently tried to ask if she had had the covid test but she was adamant that it was just a cold. So I said 'well how about we rearrange your colour for (2 weeks from then, thinking if by any chance she has it she won't be contagious by then) as it's a longer job and I don't want to tire you out, especially as you're not feeling well' etc etc. She was absolutely fine with that and even thought it was a good idea! 😷😓 I think it will be fine as she has carers anyway so I'm sure if they thought it was covid they'd make her get a test, but it never hurts to be safe than sorry.

Finally something my long-suffering Mum would say when things have happened to me: Don't stress out, YOU DIDN'T KNOW SO DON'T FEEL GUILTY, it's in the past, and learn from the experience.
....'Yikes I really am turning into my Mum...' 😂
 
What a worry!

Unfortunately, besides the dotty, there is also a minority of clients who don’t care full stop and want to carry on living their lives as normal. They will deliberately lie to ensure they get what they want and refuse to consider their moral responsibilities towards others in not passing the virus on.

All you can do is wear your PPE and operate with all the precautions in place.

Try not to let your anxieties overtake you but if you feel uncomfortable with any of your clients, don’t hesitate to refuse them treatment.
 
I text the day b4 with a reminder if any covid symptoms, then please call/text to re-schedule. Maybe with your older clients, if they have nit returned your form, even call them the day b4, to check they have no symptoms?
 
Like in the 80's, we assumed everyone was HIV positive (treatments available now I know) but assume everyone has it you may have seen 10 clients with it, with no symptoms whatsoever, protect yourself is all you can do. :)
 
Need to get this off my chest, but I had one of my regular mobile clients in for her massage yesterday. She's an elderly lady so she talks alot throughout her treatment, and she told me yesterday that she developed all the known Covid symptoms which she had 3 weeks ago. I did her last massage 3 weeks ago. I didn't see she had symptoms when I did her last massage otherwise I would of refused to do her treatment. I'm annoyed at the fact she didn't even tell me! Or rearrange her appointment. I did say to her if you do have symptoms you need to let me know but her excuse was I wasn't sure if I definitely had it and with her nerve pain she couldn't tell. I feel like she's not thinking about me by passing it on if she have it. It really annoyed me when she only mentioned this yesterday!

That’s disgusting. Personally I’d report her. People like that are why people are dying!
 
Older clients are rarely computer savvy although there's some that will be.
I would take this lady as an example.
Her even saying that she wasnt sure she had covid or not is a red light to me.
If this was me I would be quite concerned. I would call her the day before her next treatment and ask specific questions relating to covid, over the phone. It would then be up to you as to whether you want to proceed with the appointment.
I know this could be time consuming, esp if you have a few clients like this but in the long run it would be better than the potential risk to you and/or others.
We are all having to go that extra mile thanks to covid and this could be one way around the issues with these types of clients.
 
We’re all learning as we go. Turning away a client or refusing to do a treatment is really hard to do. I’ve had a client cough and then say “oh it’s only a cough” and I thought “well how would you know?”.

I just reflect on these experiences (especially the lad that came in wearing lots of layers, who was quite warm and sweating...) and try and put together a “policy” which I feel covers these situations for the future. It’s about mental preparation, we can’t foresee every situation, but we can learn and adapt as we go.

I do sometimes call clients after their appointment as customer care, especially if they haven’t been able to check in with my QR code.
 

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