The quicker the better,, lol

[katiebbaby]

Why is it that client's seem to think that if you can do nails in an hour you must be great? forget how they look, but how quick you are. Lately I have been getting lots of more new clients which is great although I am begining to get a sense for what type of clients I will have as regulars or themyou think, noooo dont't want you or you just know they wont re-book.

I find that i am very honest and upfront with all my clients I explain that I trained with cnd and am passionate about nail care and I am doing my masters with cnd etc,, but as soon as I mention I have only been doing it 1 year it's like ahhhhh you will get there??? hello im already there, alot better than some techs who have been in the business alot longer. But for some reason people seem to think you have to be doing nails for yonks and only take 1hr and you will be good.

I love natural looking enhancments and had a new client last week whom had really long thick enhancments on and i mean really long and thick, she had a natural nail bed of about 2cm in length (like dolls hands) they were awful. She asked me if she could book in with me and soak them off, I said yes ofcourse booked her in.

Got there to do her nails and her nail plates were soo red I informed her I would do them really short and thin, I wanted to sculpt on form using nautural powder for free edge and opaque pink and blush for 2 and 2 as she had really bad marks on nails. However client had other opinions she wanted P&w i tried to say that it would look better natural etc but no, so I done a beautiful set of thin strong enhancments but could tell she hated them. I asked her if she booking in in 1 week so I can see them as they were at risk, her reply,,, nooo il get new set in 4 weeks, I hate getting fills you can always see the line at the bottom she said???? what line I replied, I tried to explain that the more she removed nails either by acetone or pulling with teeth as they do, but she would not listen to me.

All I kept on getting was ohh the xxxx place (wont mention name) never take this long and ohh I never ever loose a nail there great dont need an appointment etc... I politely pointed out yes thats because they basically stick your nails on with concrete, and that's why your nails are the way they are,,,,, I could tell she was'nt the least bit intrested. Her daughters were booked in the next day for minx and both cancelled, which I knew they would as I knew she hated her nails. But I can honestly say there was nothing wrong with them they were short but had to be, apart from that nothing.

I get really frustrated as I do lovely nails which last and you get some whom seem to think because you only been doing nails a short time they know more than you because they have been having them done for years, it's like ahhh you will soon learn or get quicker. I feel like saying sometimes would you tell your dr or dentist how to do there job,,NO well dont tell me how to do mine then.. most dont even know difference between nail bed and nail plate let alone what the cuticle is lol xxx Rant over now

 

[shelleymclapo]

I get really frustrated as I do lovely nails which last and you get some whom seem to think because you only been doing nails a short time they know more than you because they have been having them done for years, it's like ahhh you will soon learn or get quicker. I feel like saying sometimes would you tell your dr or dentist how to do there job,,NO well dont tell me how to do mine then.. most dont even know difference between nail bed and nail plate let alone what the cuticle is lol xxx Rant over now

I feel the same.....Im soooooooooooooo new to nails, havnt even completed my L2 yet, finish in 6 weeks
I always feel like i take too long 1.5/2 hours, but good thing come to those who wait lol xxx
I had a girl who had really bad ridges in her nails, shes doing L2 beauty at the mo and had been practicing blending! Her tutor had advised her to leave her nails alone for a good few months as she had damaged them so badly.....SO she came to me! Lol x
I tried to advise her not to have an extention, but why not have a gel overlay on the natural nail, rather than start blending a tip! She got really annoyed and said she wanted loooooooooooooooooong nails, and i should just do them.....Again politely explained, by applying a tip i would be potentially damaging the nail further, i have full confidence in my work, however, they were really bad! She moaned and moaned and moaned, so i just said 'look sorry...but i cant apply a tip' and she said its cos im new and being a 'jobsworth'.
Cant win....New....you take too long......your a jobsworth lol xxx

 

[katiebbaby]

I take 1 hr 30 to 2 hrs depending on how much I talk lol,,, I am not botherd about my time as I know my end result is good. I think one hr thirty minutes is fine for a rebalance full set. As I said its not about how long one take's it is more about the end result and longivity of sets that matters. I will not let clients tell me what to do or how to do it, I refuse, I am the professional not them, obviously if they want certain colours etc that can be worked upon but when clients wants white tips or extreme length etc, then I will refuse. x

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Honestly I think one hour is a good goal for basic p&w salon nails. New sets and maintenance. I'm not there yet either, still take 1 hr 15, but I definately think it's possible. And to make money doing enhacements, compared to other beauty services, you have to get the basics, P&W or colored french, to an hour, IMO.

I agree that speed isn't more important than work, but your time is money. And most clients, unless they are your friends, don't care about making you a better tech, or helping you learn from your mistakes. They just want their nails done! You have to always be your worst critic.

 

[tigi]

Katiebaby, you are going to get clients who are not interested in anything other than how much it costs and can it be done in 45 minutes.

We get it a lot, people ring up and are shocked at the fact it will take 1 hour 30 mins. I personally do always explain why, but they dont care and so be it.

I'll be honest, i dont want clients like that, ones that wont respect their nails, wont respect my work and dont care. I have lots of clients who do (i know, am lucky). I hate having the ones that clearly couldnt care less. they whinge, moan and are often the ones that frankly are hard work.....

My other clients, who understand it takes time, takes work and they wont get decent nails for the price of a bag of chips are the ones ill bend over backwards for, stay late, come in early and generally do my 100% best for them.

As for the others, they are never loyal, they dont come back or they do and have trashed their nails and blame me for it...... I dont miss their business to be frank.

Am a bit of old bag eh?

tigi

 

[user 25446]

But as soon as I mention I have only been doing it 1 year it's like ahhhhh you will get there??? hello im already there, alot better than some techs who have been in the business alot longer. But for some reason people seem to think you have to be doing nails for yonks and only take 1hr and you will be good.

Why tell them then? It's none of their business and as you've discovered many customers can't tell a good nail from a chip on their finger. So why give them information that allows them to judge you?

 

[geeg]

Why tell them then? It's none of their business and as you've discovered many customers can't tell a good nail from a chip on their finger. So why give them information that allows them to judge you?

I agree with this ... way too much information. You are just giving them the bullets so they can fire the gun at you.

I do most services in an hour so it can be done.

I don't think any of us has the luxury of being able to say .. I don't need clients like THIS or THAT. We do need our clients ALL of them ... nice not so nice ... picky or not.

TIME is the most important commodity and most of us do not have enough of it. For clients who want 30-40 minute services I use PopIts on them ... They love it. For all others I use my GOD GIVEN TALENTS WITH A BRUSH.

In my opinion, IT WOULD BE VERY FOOLISH OF ANYONE IN BUSINESS TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT MANY CLIENTS WANT FAST SERVICE ... Why would they be queuing up to go to discount salons if they didn't do it MAINLY to get fast service? I'd rather have them queueing up to give me their money, and their nails would be in allot better shape for doing it too.

 

[glitz and glam]

i know how you feel i qualified last may. Last month i had a lady who phoned me up enquiring what i offered. The first thing sge asked was how much i charged. She then went on to tell me shes very picky likes her smile lines to smile ect and a good finish.
which i agreed should be the case, we have a tech in our area who cant do smiles, she then asked how long i had been doing nails when i told her she said hmm ill think about it.
At the end of the day its her loss,i know i do a good job or i wouldnt have regular clients one of which has been to two other techs with ten or more yrs of experiance but had awful problems with the nails.
The lady who wouldnt come to me has a bit of a rep for being a pain and i actually did her old tech nails last week so im no longer bothered lol
Concentrate on the clients you have and build on them x
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[tigi]

the problem that i find is that the client who wants a fast service ALSO wants a very cheap service....I dont know if that is because of where we are based. maybe others have this too?

I am also only been a tech for 18 months, and its taking me time to get my times down (grr).

I am still practising my pop its geeg i promise......... but to be honest I dont feel happy yet to put them on clients. I am a true perfectionist in every sense and I know I need the time to practise more (not enough hours in the day at the moment and I have arranged some time in June to do it). I hear what you say though about needing and wanting the business, but this is where I acknowledge that I am a bit of an old bag, I just dont want the aggro.

 

[Nataliya]

Just read this great article which you guys may also find extremely inspiring

http://www.salongeek.com/business/2640-faster-finer-nails.html

:lick:

 

[eskimonailtech]

I feel your pain katie!

I had a client yesterday morning who wanted a new set of sculpted french gels and I started late because she arrived late (of course), it was about 9:50 am and I had only been working for 40 minutes and I was about to begin applying my clear builder and she goes "do you know what time it is?" and I said "ten to ten" and she goes oh... now normally I am fairly reserved and quiet but I said do you have somewhere to be? (ever since I turned 20 I've gotten more ballsy :lick and she goes yeah I have to pick up my boyfriend in 10 minutes.

HA! I literally laughed out loud. I said well I normally do a full set of sculpted gellies in about an hour and a half and she was like oh... so I took my full hour and a half. Her boyfriend kept calling and I actually had to hold her iphone up to hear ear while her nails cured so she could tell him she'll be late.

the kinds of things we do for our clients! i hope i dont see her back. I told my mother the story and she almost yelled WHAT?!

I think the best thing we can do for these clients is not talk down about little chop shops and instead, show them how different we are by how fantastic our work is.

 

[geeg]

I feel your pain katie!

I had a client yesterday morning who wanted a new set of sculpted french gels and I started late because she arrived late (of course), it was about 9:50 am and I had only been working for 40 minutes and I was about to begin applying my clear builder and she goes "do you know what time it is?" and I said "ten to ten" and she goes oh... now normally I am fairly reserved and quiet but I said do you have somewhere to be? (ever since I turned 20 I've gotten more ballsy :lick and she goes yeah I have to pick up my boyfriend in 10 minutes.

HA! I literally laughed out loud. I said well I normally do a full set of sculpted gellies in about an hour and a half and she was like oh... so I took my full hour and a half. Her boyfriend kept calling and I actually had to hold her iphone up to hear ear while her nails cured so she could tell him she'll be late.

the kinds of things we do for our clients! i hope i dont see her back. I told my mother the story and she almost yelled WHAT?!

I think the best thing we can do for these clients is not talk down about little chop shops and instead, show them how different we are by how fantastic our work is.

I think the best thing we can do for these clients is to give them what they want .. and the tools are there to do it. PopIts ... Shellac .... both spring instantly to mind.

 

[eskimonailtech]

I think the best thing we can do for these clients is to give them what they want .. and the tools are there to do it. PopIts ... Shellac .... both spring instantly to mind.

Yes, I agree. When I was filing her arch, I went through the white on her pinky and she didn't even care if I fixed it.

I hate to sound picky, but frankly, that's not the kind of client I want.