Suggestions needed to get times down with this client, please!

[glitz and glam]

Ok, i have a friend who has been very supportive since i said i was training in acrylics. I did her a full set almost 2 weeks ago and had only just finished my training course. she has long natural nails so i enhanced them and used forms to extend the natural nail on the shorter ones. although she went away happy with the result it took ages and i mean ages! we started at 1.15 and finished at 5.45!!!! this did include a coffee/ cig break for her, but it felt like a mamouth task.

I was verry warry of the time and at the begining i said to her that i wasnt going to chat much coz i needed to concentrate on timmimgs ect. so that was fine did the prep thoroughly and well and then she started going on about getting back for a parcel she was expecting! i told her it would take me a while as this was my 1st set at home,so why didnt she book her nails for another day?? then as well as complaining about tht she also kept saying about a cig. so in the end i talked just to stop her from moaning about her parcel, was going ok but then kids arrived home from school!! she also referred to the last time she had her nails done and how quick it was! aarrgghh, the whole thing was a nightmare!

well thats the background info, now for my questions...

How do i get the timimg down? does anyone know of a thread that they could point me in the direction of?? i have looked.what was your timings like when you 1st started?

She is coming round for them to be rebalanced on weds. i think it will be easier because there are no distractions but as its in the evening i dont want to be here till all hours! lol.

It really knocked my confidence last time, but i did do my last set in 3.5 hrs so not too bad,for a 7th set i guess.

any help or advise really appreciated im really worried about this.:cry:

thanks and sorry for the bable,. chauntelle

 

[Poshfloss]

Hi Hun,
I see from your profile that you have only just started in Nails. Give yourself a chance...........I trained too with NSI, so I know that you will not even done your exam yet.
I really think you are too hard on yourself.
But now I will try to be constructive.
Make sure you have everything you need set out in the order you will use them.
Make a list of each stage....that way if you keep a check on it, you won't miss a vital stage.......like primer........I did that on one of my early sets, put it on one hand forgot it on 2nd hand, nails fell off.......but I was only at the beginning like you practising on a friend.
You will get faster with practise and experience. :hug:
PM me if you need any help.
Best of luck and welcome to Salon Geek, they are all so friendly on this site. Also you will find such a wealth of knowledge on here.
Lotsa luv x :hug: x

 

[geeg]

First of all ... relax ... it is not unusual for a new technician to take hours and hours and it will take allot more than 7 set before you are doing nails in anything like the normal time for an experienced technician in the industry.

Experience is the key and you can't rush that, can you? Your friends will have to be understanding and not compare you to an expereinced technician and what they can do. Nor should you let it knock your confidence as it is normal and you are being unrealistic to expect anythng else at this stage.

Time wasters:
talking and having eye contact with clients (talk but don't look)
using way too many files and buffers (experience will show you need only one or 2)
constantly checking your work (experience will stop the need for this)
picking up duster brushes and constantly brushing dust away ( experience will eliminate dust as you will file much less than you are doing now)
over filing (see above)
lack of routine (with experience comes routine)

 

[salerosa]

I have almost the same problem with you...i want to make a great work so i m very late...so .... im gonna buy 2 plastic hands to make practice on them again and again to make myself more faster and make easier the painting too....

I think it will help you too....
What do you think about that? It will cost a little about the gel or your acrylics but it worths....

 

[geeg]

I have almost the same problem with you...i want to make a great work so i m very late...so .... im gonna buy 2 plastic hands to make practice on them again and again to make myself more faster and make easier the painting too....

I think it will help you too....
What do you think about that? It will cost a little about the gel or your acrylics but it worths....

That is a way (expensive) that could work but I think 'real' people is the way to go.

There is a 'law' that "if you have the time you will fill the time" ... I found that in the salon when I knew I only had an hour before the next client ... I did nails in an hour. :lol:

Pretend you have a new client coming in, in 'such and such' a time, and then go for it. Nothing like a bit of pressure to get your speed up. :green:

 

[VHunter]

ditto ditto ditto...

And something that was forgotten: GET GIGI'S BOOK:!:
"Nailclass"

That book has helped me improve techniques (which reminds me, now that I'm doing L&P, I'd best pop it out again and have a re-read) which saved me loads of time. Get it. That book will be your best friend.

If you perfect the application and use less product to achieve your goal, then there will be MUCH less filing at the end. I don't know how your work looks, and what errors you might be making so it's hard to say.
BUT my biggest error had been using way too much product and then leaving myself TONNES to file off :grr: (I still goof sometimes)
Focus on trying to make each nail 'perfect' as you build it, fixing as much as you can before it sets, in terms of it's 'shape'. This will leave you less work for later.

And yes, DON'T LOOK UP WHEN TALKING (another of my biggest sins).

hth's
:hug:

 

[Vetty]

Nothing like a bit of pressure to get your speed up. :green:

Definitely - one of my rebalances last week which normally take me 1hr 30 min (ish) took me 1 hour 10 mins because she told me when I arrived that she had a viewing of her house at 7:30pm and I got there at 6pm as arranged!!! I wanted to be finished and out of the way even if the person was early......

It is early days and there is no substitute for experience...... The first real person I did nails on after my course I had to do one hand per night because each had took me about 2 hours!!! I was working on advertising slogans to set myself up and my husband laughed when I came up with the line 'instantly beautiful nails'!!! But I had a couple of regular guinea pigs and doing regular nails gets your time down no end.....

I do still have sets that take me longer though, and I don't always know why......

hth's

 

[geeg]

I do still have sets that take me longer though, and I don't always know why......

We are human and not machines ... we're not always 'in the groove' so to speak. But when you are .. it's ACE.

 

[tracey louise]

i qualified in nails nearly 5 years ago but as i dont work in a salon the people i do are friends.one friend came to me after having acrylics done in an oriental salon,she had infills done every two weeks or so.she completely converted and had gels done and she was over the moon even though it took me more than twice as long as the salon,even though it took me much longer she was still happy to come to me and spend the extra time to have the results she wanted,she also new that by me taking longer i wasnt cutting corners and was doing a thorough job which showed as she only had to come back for infills every 4-5 weeks instead of 2! that put a smile on my face .
my timing is still very slow but ive learnt that the main thing is the results and that your client is happy,you cant rush perfection,lol.
we're get there in the end.x

 

[tonitigercharli]

We are human and not machines ... we're not always 'in the groove' so to speak. But when you are .. it's ACE.

Ha ha love it! Can I also say that I am always giving myself a hard time over the length of time it takes me when I see the "industry" standard we "should" be aiming for (we all need something to strive to) BUT I also know that the client is paying for my time. I would rather take the time to chat to the client (head down of course..:lol: ) and give them my undivided attention and the result they want than being satisfied that I did it in a really short space of time (I was going to say 30 mins or so but now pop-its are here that sentence means nothing!! ) and knowing deep down I rushed them & didnt really give any kind of customer service. Now I am just talking about me here & I know there are techs who can do all the above AND finish in a fab time!! This is my deal & something I strive for & have to concentrate on x P.s. Thanks VHunter-Im getting Nailclass for my birthday Cant wait!!!! xx

 

[doiamailbox]

I would do a video of the service, and go back to look for the commons mistake that Gigi, and other advices. You'll be surprise of what you can see as a third person.
Also concentrate on working on each step one at a time, like prep, application, filling technique...... Time yourself, you'll always do more when you keep score.
Speed vary from person to person, just like not all of us not going run in the Olympic, and then there is the standard of what is acceptable. So don't let what others time bother you, but just use it as a bench mark event if you don't reach it, you still sending out a product in your best time that you are happy with.

Hope that help, and hang in there

 

[glitz and glam]

I want to say thankyou to all of you!

All of your words were going through my head today, so i chilled out a little and reminded myself that im not trying to do a set in the best time possible but a great set, in both quality and apperance, and tried to keep the time in mind but not to panic or make it feel as though i failed because it took 'too' long!
I got out my course notes and dvd and went over again and again!

I did it!! a set that had improved ,

less product in the wrong places= less filing
Better product control
More unified smile lines
Oh and my pet hate of chunky thumbs, have finally started to look elegent!!

It took me about 1.5 hrs to do 1 hand (doing 2nd hand tomorrow because i wanted to start a fresh on this set after not being happy last time, but took ages to remove original ones - another search coming on i think :lol

And my clients/friends smile at the end of it said it all! she said the shape and overall apperance was just how she liked them, phew!
i took photos but not got the courage to post them yet, maybe one day lol

so now im buzzing,11.15 pm and i have loads of addrenalin and excitment i now cant sleep , but everyone else is in bed:zzz:
Never thought doing nails could make me feel this good. I love this.
Have so far to go and huge lessons to learn, but ive learnt something -one step at a time, and patients,so thankyou all for helping me through today

 

[Lorrainelola]

My 1st set of nails took about 2 and a half hrs. I can now do them in less than 2 and my aim is for an hr and a half eventually.

I also buzz after doing a set of nails. I just love it so much and for the client to be hapy with the end result is worth that extra time it takes.

I too must remember to keep head down when talking lol. I do enjoy a chat though.

 

[Jessicles]

I think everyone worries too much about time. Isn't it convenient how in the beginning, when you take the longest, you have the most time because you don't have a large client base? Don't rush yourself. In the beginning, you need to concentrate on technique, as previously stated. Once you find a routine that works for you, it will get easier. I have been doing this for 5 years, in a salon, and I still book 1.5 hrs for fills, 2 hrs for full sets. If I get done early, I'm glad - it's the only time I get to answer phone msgs, grab a snack, stretch or just be able to pee!