So upset

[HandSam Nails]

I know I shouldn't take this personally but I am really really hurt!

I have like all of us been bending over backwards to make sure my lovely clients have all their treatments done for xmas. I am a single mum and only usually work Mon, Thurs, Fri whilst my son in nursery. This last week i worked all day Sat and Sun to avoid disappointment, I understand that people have full time jobs and so its easer for them evening and weekends!

Anyway applied Shellac on a new client Sat AM, I did all my prep thoroughly and was just about to start painting when she says "we will be finished by 10.15" with the time being 10.10 I advised that i didn't think we would it would be more 10.30 would that be ok?? She said this was fine asked if she could get up and wash her hands with water, instead of my cleaning with my soapy water which i wipe over to remove cuticle away! I scrub freshed after she washed her hands with just water and started painting, concious of time at this point!

Anyway she has contacted me today saying her thumb has chipped can I replace 7am wed morning! I work from my mums house and so i was not prepared to get her up and out of her house to look after my son at that time in the morning, so i said unfortunately this was not convenient but I could fit her in 7pm this evening! She said this was the only time she had 7am and she is not happy! I am now getting txt message saying what a waste of money she will never come back to me what a terrible service and that my customer service is appalling!

I am confident with my shellac and all my other clients have not complained of chipping, but i wonder was I rushing, I was prepared to replace this nail but unfortunately she could not make any other time.

I am soo hurt by this and wondered what you would have done or do to rectify this??

:cry:

 

[yummy mummy]

Ah it is not invincible and can chip for various reasons! Whatever the reason you have immediately offered to rectify it. Asking for an apt at 7am is downright unreasonable!! If she went to a salon they would not open at that time so this is no different! Chin up xx

 

[alldrick]

Please don't worry , some ppl are just odd , I think u have done everything I would have , 7am !!! if u worked in a salon this would not have been asked , if she texts you again you need to tell her, sorry she feels that way give her a couple of app to put the work right , if they don't suit well there is not alot u can do ! Don't offer free treatments ect as ask yourself do u really need this lady in your books ?

 

[HandSam Nails]

Thank u so much lady's, yes I had put that I was sorry she felt that way, but im sure she is expecting a refund and I am not prepared to do this, but should I for the sake of my reputation??

 

[fozzyo]

You are no way at fault! You are under no obligation to offer her a repair, people wrongly assume Shellac is indestructible. And she is being completely unreasonable telling you you need to see her at 7am!

She has also risked service breakdown by insisting you alter your treatment to suit her, not the product and guidelines from the manufacturer.

The texts and everything are just her trying to guilt you into seeing her. To be honest if this is her attitude I would sack her as a client - too high maintenance. She will keep demanding repairs and you working the hours she wants, not the hours you do. Some clients just aren't worth the stress and hassle.

Hope you feel better and get back to what you are good at doing.

 

[HandSam Nails]

Thank you so much fozzyo you have all made me feel better

 

[Beccysnails]

This makes me feel better too as I'm prone to feeling worse than I should when things go wrong. I need to be more resilient and not beat myself up as much! Thanks girls xxx

 

[Nail Delights]

hugs hunni, what you did was entirely right, ignore her she's not worth you time or effort. if she is going to be like that u don't want her as a client anyway. you have given every bit of customer service you are required to do and if its not good enough for her don't worry as its good enough and surpassed everyone else's expectations we can make everyone happy even if we bend over backwards.xxx

 

[leannelily]

No way would i give one of my clients an appointment at 7am! She must realise this is totally unreasonable!

I had a lady (to put it politely) upset me recently & it put me down, what she was saying to me, but after telling a few close friends what she was accusing me of they reassured me that i was in the right & she was being rude!

So chin up! You done nothing wrong!

 

[befab]

You sound like you did everything you could have done, i would say if 95% of your clients are happy with your work and customer service then you are doing your job to a high standard! You should be proud of your self as the majority of your customers are happy and satisfied with your work, don't let this lady get you down at all. Xx

 

[geeg]

I feel ambivalent about this situation ... I agree that you have done nothing wrong and nothing to warrant harassment from this client BUT I will say, that as long as you are not running a full time business, you ARE going to get clients who are disappointed from time time when they cannot get treatment from you when they want it.

7am is early, but I have opened at that time for clients and stayed until 10 pm for clients if I needed to do that. I did whatever it took to grow my full time business, because to really be successful in business, that is what it takes ... Anything else is a hobby as far as I look at it because in a service business one needs to give service!

Now You may not be in a situation where you can give full service because of children etc but in my opinion, you can't be hurt when clients are downright disappointed when they don't get the service they want from you, even if you feel their demands are unreasonable.

 

[alldrick]

I think hobby is a bit hash , but understand how passionate you are.

 

['chelle]

I usually agree with most things you say Geeg, but I have to say I dont agree with you on this occasion. It's true that you need to put a lot of hours into running your business if you expect it to expand and become a success, but I dont think its fair to say that you should expect disappointment from clients if you dont work full time. Clearly the client is happy with her hours of business or she wouldnt have gone to her for the shellac doing in the first place. Ringing up and demanding 7am appointments and saying no other time will do is just rude and unreasonable and no tech should bend over backwards for rudeness like this, these types of clients will be rude and ungrateful even if you opened the salon in the middle of the night for them.

I would remain polite with this lady, if she is criticising your customer service skills just be extra nice with her so that she doesnt have a leg to stand on when it comes to criticising your after sales care, tell her what appointments you have available and ask "which of these appointments is best for you?" Dont give her any options that involve working outside your normal hours, to be honest I frequently open early or close late to help a client but would never do this for a rude client. As far as the chip is concerned well there could be dozens of reasons why it happened, why does she assume that the chip is your fault when she's been the one wearing the shellac?

Sorry if I sound inflexible, I'm really not, I bend over backwards to accommodate my clients, but my clients are pleasant people who recognise the efforts I make for them. If a client was rude to me and criticised my customer service skills for not opening at 7am when she demanded it I wouldnt budge an inch to help her. Some might say that's not good business sense but I disagree, a customer of that disposition is unlikely to be a lucrative one anyway, and besides, some things are more important than money

 

[yummy mummy]

The OP also explained that she is a single mum to a young child. So to turf her little guy out of bed at 6am to get to her salon at her mums, then disturbing her mum is a bit much. I love doing nails and I think I'm really flexible but I do my job to provide for my children and they must always come first xx

 

[HandSam Nails]

Hobby lol very expensive hobby!

I appreciate you work full time and how passionate you are for the business but please don't judge me!! I work all the hours I can to build up to full time when my son starts school next Sept!!! I pay for my son to go to private nursery 3 days a week, although most of my client's want appts at different times which is fine and I work when the client wants the appt!! I have worked past 10pm at night several times and would also work at silly o clock in the morning if I could arrange in advance for someone to watch my Son!

I work from my mums house who has been poorly and so it is unreasonable for me to ask her to be up and out of her house so early!!

It is not that I would not see the client at this time either it is the way that I was demanded to do so! I tried to meet her half way by giving her an appt after my working day when my Son should actually be in bed! If she wasn't so rude to me i would have suggested going to her house to rectify this! I do not believe I should be bullied into doing exactly as she wishes i'm afraid!

I have NOT had any other clients disappointed by my hrs as i have always arranged a time to suit them!! I always go out of my way to suit their needs, to grow my business and I am well aware of having to work all hrs to grow a new business! And I think it is very judgemental being told that I cannot give a full service as I have met every other of my clients needs.

I came on here for a bit of support and thank you to all the lovely people who gave it but don't appreciate being told that the hard work i put into my business day & night to provide for my son rather than sitting back on benefits to be just a Hobby!!

 

[geeg]

I think I acknowledged your circumstances but gave my opinion. I am entitled to it and think I gave a balanced opinion and I do not think I was judgemental.

Full time is full time ... Part time is part time. You do what you can do within that time frame but some will inevitably be disappointed especially as you start to do more clients. It is what it is.

 

[alldrick]

Geeg I still think you post is harsh to the point I thought wow I'm surprised at that , but like you said that's your opinion, it is what it is ,
To the op you don't need to justify your working hours to us , nor do you need to put up with unreasonable demands from a client,
If everything has been done to meet her in the middle then move on and have a merry Christmas.🎅🎄🎁

 

[Zoe lambourne]

You'll always get the odd difficult and unreasonable client but what they don't realise is once your business is built up and you're busy, they'll become a low priority or you'll get rid completely!
When will people understand that the more accommodating and kind you are, the more others will do for you.

 

[persianista]

I think clients behave like this to "test" you. I work incredibly long hours, but would not accomodate a 7 am request. I mean really, the ONLY time she is available? who is she? ceo of a footse 100 company?

I think she is just being mean and difficult. Sounds like a client you neither need nor want to me.
Before anyone says its "alright for me, as I have an enormous clientelle", and staff, I am working 9 till 8 every day in the salon, and am doing a home visit Friday night to highlight and cut a clients hair who has just come out of hospital and cannot get to the salon. I firmly believe in bending over backwards for clients.

As mental busy as I amthis week, I would NOT expect to force a personal service at 7am.

 

[Balance Andover]

I think a future lesson in all of this is to not let clients dictate to you how the service should be performed or for how long, maybe the aftercare (as a new client to you) should have had the explanation that the longevity of the treatment may not be as expected, as you were requested to adapt the treatment at the request of the client (and stated this on her client record card).

Unfortunately clients can't/won't/don't appreciate your personal circumstances, that's the nature of the business, try and keep a level head and your emotions in check, call the customer and try and resolve the issue. She may even turn into one of your best clients