New nightmare client

[Beauty75]

Hi Everyone .. Im new to this forum and 18 years in the beauty industry.

Ok, my problem is and i do not wish to moan about clients, bread and butter right.. A new lady called to book in for gel overlays. I am not a busy salon for this treatment but would take her on. When she arrived she ommited to tell me that she already has gels on and needed to be filed and buffed and explained how she normally likes them. Problem started, I was under the impression that they were fresh nails and not a refill and rebalance (her other lady has finished up and not working anymore) this takes so much longer and I explained this to her and a face was pulled! I offered to book her in another day to complete and when all complete, I charged her for the removal.
When she came in for the gel over lay, the passive agressive vibe started , everytime i did anything, "oh you do it this way", "oh thats not deep enough(smileline)" "oh you use this shade of white"
THe whole procedure was so stressful that I was feeling I was not good enough and need to be retrained!! Everytime I did the smile line, which can be hard, she'd stop talking and watched!! ahhhh! She also arrived 10 mins late and ten mins late for a replacement yesterday, when she called to book the replacement the other day, she wanted to taken even tho I was booked solid and offered her another day and it was like "no tomorrow" she expected to not be charged for the replacedment and I could see the clenching jaw when she handed over the money. ( the overlays i did on another day, I didn't charge as new client, misunderstanding etc) it took me longer to do them cos she had me nervous.
Bottom line is I can't work with someone who thinks she owns me after two visits and makes me feel like I am not good enough....
What is the nicest way I can go about letting her go, I have both her numbers saved on my phone so itll show if she ever rings. She is a nice lady yo talk to , its just the passive- agressiveness I cannot abide!

 

[Knucks]

Oh no you poor thing! If you are certain you don't want to do her nails you could let her know that you are not providing this service anymore, however, you don't want to lose business if she tells anyone else that. But you did say you're not that busy for this treatment...

Or, you could persevere, it sounds like she is so used to one person that she is scrutinising your work and comparing. Maybe explain to her that you will work differently and that you need to build up a relationship. Ask her to tell you what she actually wants rather than making these comments which are not helpful and make you feel rubbish!

Hth, hugs x

 

[Dolly6410]

Hi Everyone .. Im new to this forum and 18 years in the beauty industry.

Ok, my problem is and i do not wish to moan about clients, bread and butter right.. A new lady called to book in for gel overlays. I am not a busy salon for this treatment but would take her on. When she arrived she ommited to tell me that she already has gels on and needed to be filed and buffed and explained how she normally likes them. Problem started, I was under the impression that they were fresh nails and not a refill and rebalance (her other lady has finished up and not working anymore) this takes so much longer and I explained this to her and a face was pulled! I offered to book her in another day to complete and when all complete, I charged her for the removal.
When she came in for the gel over lay, the passive agressive vibe started , everytime i did anything, "oh you do it this way", "oh thats not deep enough(smileline)" "oh you use this shade of white"
THe whole procedure was so stressful that I was feeling I was not good enough and need to be retrained!! Everytime I did the smile line, which can be hard, she'd stop talking and watched!! ahhhh! She also arrived 10 mins late and ten mins late for a replacement yesterday, when she called to book the replacement the other day, she wanted to taken even tho I was booked solid and offered her another day and it was like "no tomorrow" she expected to not be charged for the replacedment and I could see the clenching jaw when she handed over the money. ( the overlays i did on another day, I didn't charge as new client, misunderstanding etc) it took me longer to do them cos she had me nervous.
Bottom line is I can't work with someone who thinks she owns me after two visits and makes me feel like I am not good enough....
What is the nicest way I can go about letting her go, I have both her numbers saved on my phone so itll show if she ever rings. She is a nice lady yo talk to , its just the passive- agressiveness I cannot abide!

Could you not just try her one more time with a 'my way or the highway' attitude, if she starts commenting on your work then say sternly 'i've been in the industry 18 years so i think i know what i am doing', and if she badgers for an appointment the next day just say 'sorry but like all my other regulars you will need to book in advance if you would like a certain time and day'. I find clients like this need to be spoken to how they speak to others, and if you say it with a smile you can usually get away with anything. Obviously if it is getting you down that much then just ask her to find another nail technician as you are unable to do her services anymore, and if she asks why just tell her the truth, in a polite as possible way ofcourse! :lol: good luck, it's never nice when you have a client that makes you feel awkward :hug:

 

[Lynne Baker]

"I'm saddened that you're not happy with the way I carry out this service for you; would you like to discuss with me how we can work together so that you're happy and I'm not worrying that you're not?"

 

[BeautyPrincessH]

Dont let her make you feel unconfident in your skills.

She may just be one of these clients that need to question your actions rather than skills as she has probably had another nail technician that did things a certain way and is therefore wondering why you do things your way.

I wouldnt read into that part too much.

When she calls for an appointment keep it breezy and above all professional - if your fully booked - your fully booked! She's just like everyone else no preferencial treatment - no one else would get it - why should she? She's a paying customer yes - but just like everyone else.

Dont let her get to you. x

 

[shedunlop]

With the few that I have had like this when they try to rebook I just say that I am not sure that it is such a good idea as they just don't seem happy with the way I work. I say that I can't change the way I work and that I have many clients who are totally happy. I say that it would be better for both of us if she found someone who works the way she is used to. All but one of them has back peddled immediately, said they didn't mean it to sound like they were criticising and have been perfectly happy for years now.

You have to be firm but polite and if she takes offence after that they you are well shut of her!:wink2:

 

[PaulineM-Mobile]

I'm wondering why she has started to use another therapist. Did her last one ditch her for being so critical, or damn right obnoxious?

I'd go one of two ways-

1. Perceiver - you may eventually break this woman's attitude by remaining professional. She sounds like a bit of a control freak and given time she may soften as she begins to realise she can trust you.

2. Phone her and cancel her, tell her you are not willing to put up with her awful attitude, suggest shes go elsewhere.

P x

 

[LoveBeauty1]

Oh i feel for you, I've had a situation where a new client has taken the file off me and said, 'This is how i like my nails done, I did a day course in this you know!'.

She then preceeded to tell me that anyone can do this job and that it only took her a day to be fully trained and if she wanted to she could start up tomorrow.In fact the list goes on the amount she 'jelly fished me' that day.

I know its unprofessional but i think i sulked abit and tried to say i left my diary at home when she tried to re-book..but she text me and i booked her in again...and she didnt show!!

 

[louiser]

Its one of those situations where if a client had displayed one of these 'traits' you would not have even noticed but when there are several issues it seems to get too much.

You have to be confident in a situation like this. If you have no appointments for the day a client asks, basically you have no appointments!

Client "I need to come in on Saturday"
Us "I have no appointments on Saturday, I can do Friday or Monday?" (Like a two option close)
Client "Well I need it doing on Saturday"
Us "I have no appointments free on Saturday, I can do a late night on Tuesday though?"

Its sort of objection handling if you like. You almost need to have an answer lined up for everything they may say. Some people will just look for the hole in your armor and they will go for it unfortunately, if you are soft on people the 'powerful' person will just try to overpower you in order to get what they want.

Also why not try and 'kill her with kindness'? When someone is really trying to rattle your cage just make out as if you don't even notice it. They can be as nasty to you as you like and you're still smiling along oblivious to what's happening.

Client "Oh you do it like that do you"
Us "yeah, it works really well for me"
Client "Is that how you were trained to do it?"
Us "Yes, we all got on very well with it this way, looks very natural"

 

[louiser]

.In fact the list goes on the amount she 'jelly fished me' that day.

:

Jelly fished! Love that!

 

[ChelseaNails]

Oh i feel for you, I've had a situation where a new client has taken the file off me and said, 'This is how i like my nails done, I did a day course in this you know!'.

She then preceeded to tell me that anyone can do this job and that it only took her a day to be fully trained and if she wanted to she could start up tomorrow.In fact the list goes on the amount she 'jelly fished me' that day.

I know its unprofessional but i think i sulked abit and tried to say i left my diary at home when she tried to re-book..but she text me and i booked her in again...and she didnt show!!

I love this, it's usually followed with, but "there's no money in nails!" ....oh okay, that's £50 please. Lol

 

[Beauty75]

Hey all ... aw thank you all so much for taking the time to give me all this fab advice. I think the direct and professional approach would be the best, instead of hiding behind, "no sorry booked out".. I will give her another go but on a time that suits me as I do feel I can't flow with the treatment with her (gosh- thats a good one- flow lol)
I have a splitting headache, had a girl in ths morning, wanted 2 week lashes on and had them before, popped them on and woah, she reacted like hell, I cannot believe how calm i remained, we just kept flushing her eyes and removed the lashes, and straight away she came back to normal. lol then my 2pm came in at 2.30 thinking it was for then and my 2.30 came in at the same time as her..you days like this .. my 2pm got seen to at 3.30, this is not a typical day here thank you god! I am so glad I have found this site as I work alone and when things happen like this you need somewhere to turn that understand the trade.. and how dealing with the public can be so tough......big glass of wine this evening is called for!!!