What do you do with awkward clients?

[Missy G]

Hi ya,Ive come on here tonight to have a moan about one of my clients this morning,her appointment was at 9.15,she texted me at 8.30 to say she was running late will be home at 9.30, I got to her house at 9.25 ,she turnt up at 9.45..half an hour late!!

She is an ex MMA client she is quite a new client to me , probly about 4 weeks ago she came to me to have infills that hadnt been done for 5 weeks since the MMA salon,and also a nail replacement on a Saturday.

After her treatment I said would you like to book in an appointment for two weeks time..TWO WEEKS ..she said I can go 4 weeks without infills,so we made it 3 weeks. The following Saturday she phones me,with a broken nail ,as I was in the area I dropped in and replaced it .Said to her see you in a couple of weeks...the following Saturday she phones me again ..one of the infills Id done had popped off of the MMA nails,one of the MMA nails had cracked, and also the nail that Id replaced on the ex MMA now trashed nail bed ,had come off.I apologised and said I couldnt make it,and anyhow her appointment was in two days time,so couldnt she wait?and so she decided to .

Today I goes to her,first she turns up late, repairs these three nails ,shes still not interested in getting infills till another 2 weeks time.She kept faffing on about this nail that had popped off,I explained the concequenses of having MMA nails and the fact we may have problems with my acrylic adhering to the MMA for a while.I then said to her about taking some of the length off,as the nail would of grown and be out of proportion,and she said ..oh no Ive always had my nails really long,and keeps on saying Ive worn acrylic for 18 months and had no problems...when truely shes worn MMA for the past 18 months ... she thinks she can have extra long nails with my acrylic,and expect to be able to grab her dog if need be ,without it doing any damage..I eventually took so much and ended up saying to her,well if you want to go back to the MMA nails because you want the extra strength,then carry on ,but just remember they will trash your natural nail..to that she said..oh no Im going to stay with you.:irked:

Anyhow like I said before shes now booked in for infills in another two weeks ,so thats going to be a good 5 weeks without infills,but I can guarantee shes going to be back on the phone again before then..but what do you do jump and go and repair ?tell her your fully booked?

Im mobile and I just dont like the idea of going to someones house to repair one nail, which Im sure nobody else would apreciate toh and she has six St Bernard dogs,which are so goergous,but I always come away from there minging of dog.!!:irked:

 

[lotus blossom]

right you have got to be firm!!!

either she stays with you or she doesnt, if she stays with you she abides by your rules!!!

you cannot compare mms nails to proper enhancements

i would not go round there at every whim she has, just to repair nails,
do you have a minimum call out charge???

i really think you have to stand your ground and say, look, mrs (xxxxx), im my professional opinion, you cannot compare mma nails to my nails beacuse ( blah blah blah) iwork this way and expect maintenece to be carried out at roughly every 2 to 3 weeks, if you insist on pushing these boundaries etc etc, im afraid i can no longer fit you in to my busy schedule


or something along those lines

stand your ground love and be firm,
some ppl will listen about mma nails and nns etc, and some just wont,
i find the ones who arent bothered etc, i ditch!!!

jmho xxx

good luck x

 

[Zo Zo]

I would say, MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY :lol:

She is going to continue to cause you stress, probably pretty much every few days, for the whole time she's your client. The more she ignores your advice, the more irked you will feel.

When you are more established you will not tolerate clients like her, I promise you :hug:

 

[Missy G]

right you have got to be firm!!!

either she stays with you or she doesnt, if she stays with you she abides by your rules!!!

you cannot compare mms nails to proper enhancements

i would not go round there at every whim she has, just to repair nails,
do you have a minimum call out charge???

i really think you have to stand your ground and say, look, mrs (xxxxx), im my professional opinion, you cannot compare mma nails to my nails beacuse ( blah blah blah) iwork this way and expect maintenece to be carried out at roughly every 2 to 3 weeks, if you insist on pushing these boundaries etc etc, im afraid i can no longer fit you in to my busy schedule


or something along those lines

stand your ground love and be firm,
some ppl will listen about mma nails and nns etc, and some just wont,
i find the ones who arent bothered etc, i ditch!!!

jmho xxx

good luck x

Thanks for your reply,I know Ive got to toughen up,people are always telling me that and I think thats why some people do walk all over me, and at the same time I do worry I may say the wrong thing and then they may put a bad word around about me.

What is the minimum call out charge fee btw?

 

[Missy G]

I would say, MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY :lol:

She is going to continue to cause you stress, probably pretty much every few days, for the whole time she's your client. The more she ignores your advice, the more irked you will feel.

When you are more established you will not tolerate clients like her, I promise you :hug:

My other problem is I started up mobile December 2007,its only just started kicking off,I had about four regulars within a few weeks about May time recently,then one texted me last week to say her mums passed away,...now I cant get hold of her to see if shes keeping her appointment this week,another ones phoned me today ,...cant afford the nails treatments no more so has cancelled,the other girls new last week,shes booked for infills,but Ill have to wait and see if she keeps to her appointment and the other ones this lady ,who I do and dont really want to loose as Im just scared of being back on a low again without any clients.!!

 

[Lynne Baker]

the minimum call out charge is exactly that: the minimum you charge to go to someone's house. Given the time it takes you to get there, and get home again (or to your next appointment), and the price of fuel, tyres, tax, etc, you need to charge a minimum amount to cover all of these expenses. What that is, in terms of pounds, shillings and pence is a moot point. I'm sure other mobile nail techs will be better able to advise on that!
Courage, ma brave!

 

[Missy G]

She only actually lives down the road from me,so its not far at all to travel,its just the faffing about getting all the gear out!

 

[Zo Zo]

I do understand :hug: I bent over backwards for clients when I started out and even now I'm busy I still let some of them get away with messing me around(the nice ones), but I would be pretty upset if a client was 30 mins late, and in my opinion 5 weeks is waaaay toooo long for a rebalance.

Do you have any pics you could email me? I might be able to send you some clients.

 

[lotus blossom]

aww bless ya hun,
take on the stance that has been suggested, be firm and be strong,
when ppl call make out that you are busier than you are,
if this lady rings for you to go for a repair say you have other clients to go to,

do you have room for a home salon area? she could come to you then instead if its just a repair she wants?

also ring the lady who has had a bereavement, explain your sorry to call when its a bad time, but ask if she still wants the appt as you have others waiting for that slot,
then at least you will know

it is dificult to be firm, when you arent like that as a person, but in this game sometimes you need to be,
and a few porky pies wont hurt if ppl thing you getting booked up then they are more likely to make an appt or stick with their appt , in case they wont get one in future


big hugs mate xx

 

[Missy G]

:lol:

aww bless ya hun,
take on the stance that has been suggested, be firm and be strong,
when ppl call make out that you are busier than you are,
if this lady rings for you to go for a repair say you have other clients to go to,

do you have room for a home salon area? she could come to you then instead if its just a repair she wants?

also ring the lady who has had a bereavement, explain your sorry to call when its a bad time, but ask if she still wants the appt as you have others waiting for that slot,
then at least you will know

it is dificult to be firm, when you arent like that as a person, but in this game sometimes you need to be,
and a few porky pies wont hurt if ppl thing you getting booked up then they are more likely to make an appt or stick with their appt , in case they wont get one in future


big hugs mate xx

Aw thanks thats sweet,I do lie to people and tell them Im actually busier than what I am ,sometimes people phone up on the off chance,and I say ooh Ive had a cancelation for tomorrow so I could fit you in ,when really Ive got no one at all,I usually tell people Ive been going mobile longer than what I have,and then they start bombarding me with questions..and I think eek their going to suss me out Im new to the biz.:lol:

But Im definatly gonna be firmer with this women,I should of lied to her this morning and told her I was going to be running half an hour late now today really.

No I cant work from home,Ive only got my front room to work from,and Im not sure I really like the idea of that,but I suppose if it was just for 1 nail it would hurt in the future.:hug:

 

[lotus blossom]

most of my career ive lied!!
as long as they dont suss you out, and you can talk the talk aswell as walk the walk,
wheres the harm
best of luck to you xxxxx

 

[Missy G]

most of my career ive lied!!
as long as they dont suss you out, and you can talk the talk aswell as walk the walk,
wheres the harm
best of luck to you xxxxx

Thanks hun.:hug:

 

[nailprincess]

hi,

i start school tomorrow - but i'll tell you about what my nail tech i go to told me.....

"if you aren't here every two weeks i will have to charge you an extra 5 dollars for every addition week you wait for a fill!!"

believe me i NEVER missed another two week fill.

nailprincess

 

[JANEY K]

pardon the pun lotus blossom & zozo & don't take it wrong way but ...girls after my own heart ..thats what i like to hear ...stand your ground and be firm...i'm re-training in nail enhancements & can't really offer a comment as both debbie & myself have been exchanging views on another thread ..i get various clients for a manicure they are offered treatments & aftercare advice ..it's up to them if they stick to it or not ..thankfully they do and are now regulars...they can't wait till i finish my training in enhancements to have a lovely set of nails.

 

[geeg]

Taking a slightly different view of things ... as usual ... the way I see it is this. SHE IS NOT MESSING YOU ABOUT.

She very thoughtfully rang you and informed you she would be late . Sometimes these things cannot be helped. At least she had the good manners to warn you which is more than most do. So that shows she is considerate. Not awkward.

I am sure she is not deliberately breaking her nails, so in that respect she is not deliberately messing you about either. These breakages are a consequence of having her nails coated previously with an exceptionally hard product, so she needs to be taught how to use her hands differently with a less hard product and to be taught by you what she can expect. She sounds willing to learn to me. She only knows what she has been used to up till now. That is not her fault.

Lastly if this were my client ... I would make sure I helped her by doing her nails a bit differently so she can get used to a new product. I would work a little thicker with my product or work a touch drier with my product so she has a bit more hardness like she is used to.

In these times of financial strain, I would not be saying, My way or the highway! I would be doing everything I could do to keep this client coming to ME!

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

Hi ya,Ive come on here tonight to have a moan about one of my clients this morning,her appointment was at 9.15,she texted me at 8.30 to say she was running late will be home at 9.30, I got to her house at 9.25 ,she turnt up at 9.45..half an hour late!!

She is an ex MMA client she is quite a new client to me , probly about 4 weeks ago she came to me to have infills that hadnt been done for 5 weeks since the MMA salon,and also a nail replacement on a Saturday.

After her treatment I said would you like to book in an appointment for two weeks time..TWO WEEKS ..she said I can go 4 weeks without infills,so we made it 3 weeks. The following Saturday she phones me,with a broken nail ,as I was in the area I dropped in and replaced it .Said to her see you in a couple of weeks...the following Saturday she phones me again ..one of the infills Id done had popped off of the MMA nails,one of the MMA nails had cracked, and also the nail that Id replaced on the ex MMA now trashed nail bed ,had come off.I apologised and said I couldnt make it,and anyhow her appointment was in two days time,so couldnt she wait?and so she decided to .

Today I goes to her,first she turns up late, repairs these three nails ,shes still not interested in getting infills till another 2 weeks time.She kept faffing on about this nail that had popped off,I explained the concequenses of having MMA nails and the fact we may have problems with my acrylic adhering to the MMA for a while.I then said to her about taking some of the length off,as the nail would of grown and be out of proportion,and she said ..oh no Ive always had my nails really long,and keeps on saying Ive worn acrylic for 18 months and had no problems...when truely shes worn MMA for the past 18 months ... she thinks she can have extra long nails with my acrylic,and expect to be able to grab her dog if need be ,without it doing any damage..I eventually took so much and ended up saying to her,well if you want to go back to the MMA nails because you want the extra strength,then carry on ,but just remember they will trash your natural nail..to that she said..oh no Im going to stay with you.:irked:

Anyhow like I said before shes now booked in for infills in another two weeks ,so thats going to be a good 5 weeks without infills,but I can guarantee shes going to be back on the phone again before then..but what do you do jump and go and repair ?tell her your fully booked?

Im mobile and I just dont like the idea of going to someones house to repair one nail, which Im sure nobody else would apreciate toh and she has six St Bernard dogs,which are so goergous,but I always come away from there minging of dog.!!:irked:

Perhaps you should set yourself some ground rules...for example...if someones nail comes off within 7 days youll replace it free of charge...after that there will be a charge for each nail that needs replacing? and have a call out charge for visiting clients...if you set YOURSELF some basic ground rules then it will be easy for you to state these to your clients from the beginning and they will know exactly what to expect from you etc....if a client is always late then I would probably say that i still have to finish the appointment at the original time as i have another appointment to go to....this might encourage them to make more effort to be on time as they wont want to keep paying for a shorter appointment.

As for the lady who had had a bereavment...i personally out of good will would just leave her appointment open incase she decides to come...perhaps if you can contact her without disturbing her..(i.e text/email/card?) you could just say how sorry you are for her loss etc, you have kept her appointment open for her incase she would like to come...otherwise youll see her soon...etc

 

['chelle]

I see it like this: If she wants to leave her rebalance four weeks and pay you for the many repairs in the meantime, that is her perogative! We can advise our clients, but if they decide to do something different, it's their call. The only thing I would say is to make sure it is worth your while. Set a minimum call out charge for these repairs. It's not worth your while to trek out for a broken nail for £3 or whatever it is you charge. Perhaps you should consider telling her that your minimum charge is £10 (or whatever figure makes it worth your while).


Also, and this is something I do in the salon, have a higher charge for rebalances that go beyond a certain time. I have an up to 3 weeks charge, and a plus 3 weeks charge (rebalances after 3 weeks are £5 more). Perhaps you could review your rebalance charges and do something similar?

I think you are lucky to have a regular client who wants to remain loyal to you, and like Geeg said, in these financially unstable times I think you have to hang on to these clients with a firm grip!!

 

[Missy G]

I see it like this: If she wants to leave her rebalance four weeks and pay you for the many repairs in the meantime, that is her perogative! We can advise our clients, but if they decide to do something different, it's their call. The only thing I would say is to make sure it is worth your while. Set a minimum call out charge for these repairs. It's not worth your while to trek out for a broken nail for £3 or whatever it is you charge. Perhaps you should consider telling her that your minimum charge is £10 (or whatever figure makes it worth your while).


Also, and this is something I do in the salon, have a higher charge for rebalances that go beyond a certain time. I have an up to 3 weeks charge, and a plus 3 weeks charge (rebalances after 3 weeks are £5 more). Perhaps you could review your rebalance charges and do something similar?

I think you are lucky to have a regular client who wants to remain loyal to you, and like Geeg said, in these financially unstable times I think you have to hang on to these clients with a firm grip!!

Hi,I did actually charge her £15 yesterday for the repair of three nails ,she was happy to pay that ,the first nail she broke I only popped in to repair it as I had to go past her house to get home from another client so I said I would pop in and charged her a fiver..she was happy to pay that,the trouble is she only lives down the road from me and if I say Im too busy she says can I come round to you then when its more convenient?:irked:

It just annoys me shes got these MMa nails on ,and she likes her nails really long ,to be honest if I cut them right back theyd be hardly any of the stuff left,and in the mean time she wants me to repair nails where my acrylic has come off ,because it hasnt adhered to the MMA or the MMA s cracked ,or my overlay hasnt stuck to her nail because her natural nail is trashed and I have to redo them!

But if Im charging her and shes happy with that then maybe just grin and bear it untill shes grown the MMA out and tell her once shes got a full set of my nails she will have to have 2 week infills , any longer than that, its an extra fiver on top,think Im also going to retype out my price list,and add a few extras on about things mentioned in this thread and give it to clients who are new ,along with their aftercare sheet ,so they know how I work.

And I will also do them thicker as well as mentioned till she gets used to MY nails.

Thanks for replies btw.

 

[Doorie]

sometimes you have NO convenient time...
I used to have pps knockin at my door for a repair or a set. THAT was annoying, but I wouldn't open if they were clients.
when they'd call, if ever I had a moment I would accept, but if it wasn't THE moment, then it's a no no. you deserve some resting time, time with your family, etc, which is worth more than 5 £, right?

after a while, the more (the quicker) you repair, the less they pay attention to their nails.

 

[Missy G]

Well guess what!Her appointment was at 9.45 this morning...but where was she...10.15 still no show ! I left a message on her answering machine to call me to reschedule ...she still hasnt phoned me back!!:irked: