Smudged polish - unhappy client

[lady R]

Hi :irked:

I just did a luxury manicure for a retired lady and finished off with some nail polish. I put rapid dry drops on them and asked her to wait until they were touch dry and told her to be careful for at least an hour so they could fully dry.

Short time later she rang the salon complaining about her nail varnish smudging and how it must be a low quality polish (it was Revlon). I did warn her to be careful but what else could I do?

Obviously I hate that this has happened so any ideas on products that dry nail varnish better would be much appreciated!!

 

[deanosnana]

I use CND's Air Dry or Speedey as my top coat. I have really good luck with those and then I use CND's Dry & Shine as the polish 'dryer'. It works REALLY well!

 

[classyclaws]

I think that you will find pretty much all polish is not fully "cured" for a couple of hours, even the best ones, I always use Creative and follow up with Solar Speedspray, but I would always advise the client to be aware that it takes a couple of hours to be fully dry. Hth's

 

[DEBI-DEE]

"Serial Smudgers" :lol: my pet hate. SHE`S angry at YOU cos SHE smudged her nails. They just dont get it. You take your time perfectly polishing and perfecting their nails and then they say things like "i`ll be ok to go for a bath now, wont I" Grrr
I dont think it matters what polish you use (as long as its of a reasonable standard) some people just dont `get it`.:|

 

[Zo Zo]

It's a shame, but have you offered her something to smooth her ruffled feathers? I personally would have offered to re-paint the smudged ones, I know others will disagree with me because it was the clients own fault, but for the sake of the relationship, I would always try to put the situation right.

Also... and I hope you don't find this offensive but I'm sure I'm saying what others are thinking, and that is, Revlon is not a professional product. If you had used a professional product she would not have been able to accuse you of using cheap stuff. And incidentally, professional products often cost less than over the counter stuff.

Put it right for her, she's retired and she was treating herself. It's no skin off your nose to turn the situation around and make her happy.

 

[Gilly T]

I am a mobile tech and if I got this call I would be mortified if I had to drive back, set up and re-do a couple of smudged nails... what a malarky but I guess I'll have to do it if needs be.

I have a couple of revlon polishes myself (my own use, not for clients) and I do think they take quite a while to dry as they can be a little thick.

 

[joe90]

Clients do tend to think once they are touch dry that they are dry all the way through and then blame you if they smudge.

I would however offer to re-varnish those smudged ones.

For future customers I would remind them that once they leave the salon their nails are THEIR responsibility. I would also back this up with written aftercare advice with other bits of info ie; wear gloves when washing up, don't use nails as tools etc etc.

 

[DEBI-DEE]

"Serial Smudgers" :lol: my pet hate. SHE`S angry at YOU cos SHE smudged her nails. They just dont get it. You take your time perfectly polishing and perfecting their nails and then they say things like "i`ll be ok to go for a bath now, wont I" Grrr
I dont think it matters what polish you use (as long as its of a reasonable standard) some people just dont `get it`.:|

Im not saying i dont fix the nails with a big smile on my face saying "its ok" what i said above are just my personal thoughts.

 

[lotus blossom]

can you not retail these polishes so the client can buy them incase of situations like this??
personally i wouldnt stock or use otc polishes, use a pro brand, they are designed to be used by pros for professional results

hthx

 

[JARK]

customer are always like this.eventhough u keep remind them to be careful.i ve one customer that i finished paint her nails and put them under the dryer and she smudge it and i re paint it.later on she smudge it again. so,i have to re done it again.they jus have no patient to wait till it dry.have no idea about it!!:cry:

 

[Bagpuss]

Its a pain isn't it...if they had a car sprayed and then scratched it on the way home would the paint shop re-spray it for nothing....??

I would re-paint them for her....but i would charge a little something, just so maybe she is more careful the next time.

 

[ValencianNails]

any ideas on products that dry nail varnish better would be much appreciated!!

A spritz of Solar Speed Spray and/or a drop of Solar Oil onto each nail, I'm currently favouring Solar Oil but love both products. They both inhibit oxygen and help the enamel to dry quicker.

 

[sknight]

Im not saying i dont fix the nails with a big smile on my face saying "its ok" what i said above are just my personal thoughts.

Haha, I do this all the time when a client smudges my lovely nails. I also have a little Fake Giggle that I do sometimes. god I feel like such a phoney

 

[ladybgemini]

I always offer the client (long standing ones) the use of the nail polish for a couple of days in case they smudge nails. All clients so far in 4 years have returned the polish within a few days or at latest on their next appointment.

So far I've never had to re-paint any smudges :green:

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I always say to clients - no matter how many times they have been - it's touch dry now, be careful for the next hour at least, if you were to "dig deep" then you would smudge them .... however a polish actually takes 24 hours to dry before it is totally smudge proof. This makes them realise just how important it is to be careful.

Get yourself a Pro brand, not only does it look more professional but you are missing out on a great retail opportunity too ... and as already said they are often waaay cheaper than some of the designer brands and better IMO.

In this situation I would probably have offered to redo it, but on the strict understanding that it is a gesture of goodwill and that any more mishaps would have to be paid for! Clients do often think that a salon applied polish somehow magically completely dries quicker than when applied by themselves! I wish we had that magic wand!

 

[pure]

The last thing I do before a client leaves the salon is to apply Avoplex oil (or any cuticle oil) all over the nail as this will not only help to dry the varnish but can help against smudging.

Other than that I echo what everyone else has said, especially about getting yourself some professional varnishes. There are lot to choose from out there and none of them are as expensive as it would be to buy a polish in Boots.

 

[tram1967]

This is my experience with my clients who are in hurry or not patient with nail dryer.

I would have them put their hands in the dryer between polish coat. That really helps to dry from layer to layer.

I would use quick dry top coat rather than regular topcoat. It works better than rapid drops for me.

Finally, I would rub cuticle oil all over the nails and cuticle.

Also, choosing the right professional products would really make your job easier. I am always looking for products that would work well for me. Top coat is very important.

I hope it helps. Good luck to you all.

Tram

www.healthy-natural-nails.com/blog

 

[Milliecat]

How frustrating! I have an old lady who lives in an old peoples home and the first time I done her nails she told me she smudged them after I had left, she needed to use the loo. She told me this a month later on my next visit, otherwise I would have returned to do the smudged nails. I always do her nails first when I do her monthly visit now, so her nails have time to dry while I am tinting and shaping her eyebrows. I hope not to offend, however, I have some Revlon products and I only use them on myself. For my clients I use Jessica and Zoya nail varnishes, they glide on like silk and seem to dry really quickly. The quick dry I use is Jessica 60 second quick dry, however, I always warn my clients that although the nails will be touch dry within a few minutes, please allow a couple of hours for them to dry totally, avoid baths, fiddling with buttons and zips, washing up, peeling spuds etc. Hope this is of help

 

[blossom]

I wish I had a pound for every smudged finger I've re-polished and that's before the client even gets out the chair They scratch themselves, adjust their hair, try to blow their nose Lordy have they no brains?

I would use a pro polish as well, for the retail opps, also because it looks very professional and comments such as the one your lady made about a poor quality polish would then be redundant . . . but that said, there's nowt the matter with Revlon. I've used top quality polish, followed by drops or sprays (Creatives Solar Spray is my fave but tbh thats mainly cos everyone loves the smell, it helps dry but its not magic, none of them are)

In this situation I would (unless she was rude) have invited her back for a repolish on the house this time but made it clear that there would normally be a charge and if it happened again it would have to be paid.

Hth

 

[pinktnb]

Dont worry yourself too much over this.
Make sure the nail has no oil on it before you apply the polish & apply 2 thin layers.
I'm sure you know all that, i would do the same as sassy hassy and offer to redo them, ask her to sit for 10 minutes and reiterate the fact that she has to be careful for a good few hours after.
Most clients are grateful for them being redone and will be more careful the second time around.
xx