Client from hell, what to do?

[essentia]

Hi there Just a reply to Geeg - I certainly do not think that you have suggested hanging on to seriously offensive /violent customers - I did say that it was a rare occurence. My point was that I never felt comfortable doing her - and perhaps that is the crux of it. If someone feels that it is causing them stress dealing with difficult clients they should way up whether it is worth it overall. I also said that I can see other points of view and yes there is a feeling of triumph if you can turn an awkward customer around I am all for it, you just have to decide what level you can deal with.

 

[Mrs Geek]

On the other hand my father in law is a little bit crackers at times but his view on really annoying, aggravating and irritating people is 'kill them with kindness'. Be over the top nice with them, and take their money at the end of the treatment - who's laughing then eh!!! All the way to the bank i'd say :green:.

THIS IS ME TO A T. Carl sweetie heart petal face... the best way is to bite down and say nothing. Call her under the pretence of 'doing her nails on X,YZ date' and if she says anything at all... just say 'no problem at all Sheila. I'll just await your call.' she'll be so annoyed that you havent begged her to come back or lure her with discounts... that the intrigue will get the better of her and she will be back - I absolutely guarentee. Chin up love! :hug: :hug: :hug:

 

[VHunter]

Usually, I will tolerate all sorts of things... and yes, we are in the 'service' business, and are paid to sit there and bite our tongues. Just like hairdressers/shrinks/doctors/bartenders....
We're not exactly perfect peaches ourselves, I'm sure that we all annoy someone in our daily lives.
Give the service with a quiet smile, collect our pay and move on.
And I have quite a few that are 'pitas' (pains in the arse) that I tolerate as best as I can and when they leave, I reach for a ciggy and chill for a couple of moments.

BUT clients that make me 'miserable' and doubtful of myself, that are incessantly unpleasant and complaining, that are disrespectful... NOPE you couldn't pay me enough to let someone else make me miserable.

I left the investment industry due to the stresses and the unpleasantness of it (because where money is involved.......... need I go on??) and being made to feel like a verbal punching bag when a stock dropped and clients or brokers flipped out.

I have had enough stress in my life, enough upsets... no more.
When I first started out, I tolerated it all.
Now... I wouldn't say I pick and choose. I wouldn't go that far. I'm not so full of myself that I think I can pick and choose. But I have let a couple go due to their unpleasantness and lack of respect.

As for not charging the late cancel fee... I say CHARGE it. Her error, not yours. She knew. Why should you be out? THEN she added insult to injury by going to a chop-shop WHICH you would have known anyway the next time you saw her nails.
And if she really is that unpleasant and drives you to distraction and every appointment has you wondering....... well... I think you know my thoughts on this.
Life is unpleasant enough sometimes... why let anyone rain on your parade?

Hang in there and enjoy your valium LOL

 

[mdskora]

Hi Carl,
I have not read this thread thru as i am off to work but i just had to have a quick peek at it.... wow... in one way it is nice to see that even the best have these "clients"...
Geeg is right.. we provide a service but i think it is more personal when you get to know your client and you are trying something new on them ( new powders etc) and then they go and stuff it up with the butcher shops.... not fair..

My advice... when she calls... and she will...... tell her straight... " yes I can fit you in but we will have to remove the chop shop nails i saw you having done before you can have your beautiful pink and whites back on...."...
Ask her why she would even go there in the first place and what was wrong with waiting 50 mins for you?.... just goes to show that even the clients with the one of the best tech's in australia would rather save an hour than wait.... what has this world come to....

Hope it isn;t eating away at you.. i know it would me.. i struggle with my self confidence and stress about my clients all the time.. I am getting better but some days i wonder...

X Mel

 

[Brandywine]

I can put up with rude, offensive, whinging people because I realize its not personal to me at all, its just a flaw on their part. As someone else said I just feel sorry for them and their negative out look on life.

But last week I had a client who has come a few times and is very intolerant and whingy. Well he asked if he could use my bathroom and proceeded to make an unpleasant "mess" of my toilet and obviously didn't wash his hands all of which I discovered after he'd left.

Anyway back to you Carl. If I was you I would act like usual. But when she comes back I'm not sure I'd try any new stuff out on her, save that for someone else more worthy.

 

[renee parr]

What we do with clients like that is never book them again. They can ruin your whole day and sometimes those of other clients in your office with their attitude. Kind of like teaching children..they want to see how far they get away with something. Your client has now lied to you about her not being able to reschedule. There is no respect there. Also they probably have friends just like themselves and you do not want them to refer anyways.

 

[geeg]

What we do with clients like that is never book them again. They can ruin your whole day and sometimes those of other clients in your office with their attitude. Kind of like teaching children..they want to see how far they get away with something. Your client has now lied to you about her not being able to reschedule. There is no respect there. Also they probably have friends just like themselves and you do not want them to refer anyways.

I want every client and referral I can get in my business and these days who can afford to pick and choose?

 

[Nails By Lorena]

Most people reflect back the attitude that you show them.

All I'm saying is that sacking a client (if it is absolutely necessary) should be a last resort, not the first solution that comes to mind. every time there is a thread where someone has been hacked off by a client the first solution most say is ... ban the bitch! Ridiculous attitude.

This is so true, geeg. We are the professionals, so we must act in that manner to ensure we do not lower our standards and begin to act like these "intolerable" clients. Customer service has to be a priority in our industry.

 

[Debbies Gellies]

This is a long one...

Carl, did you say you had a 'spot check by the council' do you think she phoned them????? Bitch!

Whatever you decide to do, please let us all know wont you!

If you decide to say nothing and see if she returns and then you cant fit her in, say,
you could suggest she try for an appt. at the chop shop and wink at her lol.

You might not know how you feel about it all until she turns up, if she turns up. I think you missed your chance when you saw her in the nss, now you will have to play the professional card.

Good luck,

 

[Prionace]

You can make your client consultation card work for you in this matter too, i always write down if a client gets late, cancels last minute or misses an appointment, if these "offenses" repeat often, depending on the case i might text them the day before reminding them they have an appointment at xxh, or i might call reminding of the appointment. This way they won't have an excuse they didn't remember, and there in only so many time that they can use "something came up" before becoming embarassed.
So i think it a matter of "taming" the beast, lol.
If a client doesn't come back because of a mix up (mine or hers) i don't take too much time thinking about it, we're only humam, and everyone can make mistakes.
I once lost a regular client that could cope with the fact that i was getting busier and was almost impossible to get the "appointment" at the last minute, for the same day... Some times there is just no compatibility... We shouldn't make a fuss out of it.

Carl, if the client does come back, i wouldn't say a thing, not even "oh, i see you had your nails done somewhere else", i would just get a very warm felling inside of that sweet little revenge, do a new set and charge accordingly.

 

[geeg]

You might not know how you feel about it all until she turns up, if she turns up. I think you missed your chance when you saw her in the nss, now you will have to play the professional card.

I think that is exactly what Carl did and what I would have expected him to do. He acted like the professional he is!

God, everyone is making this woman into a monster. I don't think for one second she rang the council! what an assumption :lol:

She got the time wrong and didn't want to admit it ... that's all she did .... she saw another salon open and went in to get her nails done .... she phoned Carl and told him (many wouldn't have done that) she did tell a little lie (who of us hasn't done THAT in our time) .... she hasn't done anything SO terrible for goodness sakes. OK she hasn't shown particular respect to our Carl, but damn it she wanted her nails doing and she wanted them doing NOW. Most clients would be the same (selfish) and IT WASN'T PERSONAL. Now she'll have to grovel a bit to get back in with Sydney's finest ... but if I know Carl he will not make it too hard on her. :hug:

 

[lysa]

i dont work in a high quality nail shop or salon, and thank god i dont! simply put, if she stresses you out, or you don't want her as a client no more then dont do nothing its not your fault she got her appt time wrong. its her loss, but if you feel shes worth it then text and apologize and leave it open to where she can answer you back.

 

[1999judy]

Phew...have just made my way through this thread.
I would say this client completely over reacted and after having her nails done "there" is probably full of regret....especially as she covets you so much Carl.
It seems a shame when she's been a regular for a year to lose her business.
Could you put it down to "she was having a bad day" and maybe just text her and ask if she needs an appointment to let you know...... so there's no confusion?
Think of the leccy bill mate:hug:
Otherwise if you feel she's pushed her luck I can understand...it's a tough one really.

 

[caz-agnetha]

oh please just thank god someone else has this woman!! you dont need the negative energy!!

 

[Janiwanidoodaa]

..... some people sure do be weird when it comes to their nails:!: I'm late in the discussion but thought I'd share an experience anyway.

I had a client who came to me every fortnight without fail. We chatted about everything - I was the best nail technician she'd EVER had and as used to have her nails done in London she knew what she was talking about(?) No one had ever taken so much care of her nails as I did and they lasted well and the nail art was lovely, blah blah blah.

Last Easter I got a chest infection. :sad: I struggled through a couple of days before I had to bite the bullet and take a couple of days off. I was away with the fairies on steriods, antibiotics and painkillers and frankly scaring people. I phoned all my clients for the next day and was greeted with lots of sympathy and thanks for letting them know and loads of "for goodness sake get yourself off to bed, you sound awful - don't worry about my nails they can wait till you return", etc. :irked:

This particular client said "What am I going to do about my nails now? Can't you do mine before you go tonight?" To which I replied that I was dead on my feet and probably contagious into the bargain. I said again how sorry I was for the inconvenience but there was nothing I could do as I was really quite sick. [Also during said conversation I was hacking up and breathing like an 80-a-day smoker]. She huffed and hung up and I've never seen her since.

These clients are fortunately few and far between but they are out there - we exist to serve and they think we go away into a box until they need their nails done next.

I am forever grateful that - like most of you out there - 99.9% of my clients would not dream of going anywhere else. In fact one waited two years without having her nails done by anyone else until I returned following a long illness. That's loyalty. It cancels out any selfish clients I may come across in the future.

We have to let it go, not take it personally, not react and smile sweetly if they decide to come back. Nothing needs to be said or done - we're better than that.

 

[frangipanni]

Hi Carl,
Well firstly try not to take it so personally, next don't let her treat you like **** either. I have had many clients like this over the years and often they turn out to be the most faithful in the end but you have to be firm and kind with this type. I would ring her if you have to with the nicest, happiest voice and say " Hi it's Carl. I'm just seeing how your nails are going since you missed your appointment or were you able to get in elsewhere?" She'll have her way out and make some weakish excuse why she had them done elsewhere but probably still lay the blame with you, " so still happy say" I'm glad you could get them seen to in a time appropriate for you and if you would like another appointment when you are ready, just call and we'll try and book you in." Blah blah blah all nice , bye! Hang up ! At least you can acknowledge each other down the street, she can't slag you off to her friends for being rude and if she decides to come back you will both know silently she wants YOU to do her nails! Good Luck

 

[CarlaC]

I know this thead is ages old but still worth a reply

As you know her nails have been done by someone else & she doesn't know you know.
I personally would feel I have the upper hand & when she comes in for her next appointment look at her nails & say this is a different inferior product to what you use & unfortunatly it needs to come off as it would really affect the products you will be using, (throw in a line like: It would be like gold plateing tin)

Then soak the nails off & start from scratch.

Thus you end up with more money (as you charge more for removal & a full set)
She has learnt her lesson (cost her more) & you haven't had to say anything to her directly.

(Also she won't go back to the other salon as you have noticed the quality is poorer without being told she has gone elsewhere) (You haven't directly said anything about the other salon so no harm there either!)

 

[tonyv]

I agree with GEEG obnoxious clients are a pain but it is our job/role to give our clients all of them a professional service, i wish i had a penny for every client who has gone to the local chop shop just because we could not book them for the time they wanted, but guess what they always come back, we even recomend the other professional salons in our area if we cannot fit clients in what we never do is bad mouth any salon, or tech

we regulary get clients arriving early or late, we do our best to accomodate that in our bookings obviously it doesnt always work and sometimes it is our fault, a treatment set of nails whatever for one reason or another has been dificult and ran over

That said we have barred clients from our premises when they have been either abusive to other customers or staff, stolen, or damaged our property, i can think of no other reason for refusing a client,

i would just ask her how it went at the other salon when she returns as she definatley will, then you will be the winner both ways:lol:

 

[blossom]

Come on Carl, we're all dying to know if you've seen her yet . . . . :lol:

Put us out of our misery.

(Better than the soaps, don't you think?)

 

[Lynne Baker]

Professionalism and customer service is of paramount importance. Clients can choose where they go, for whatever reason. Of course you're going to feel bent out of shape, a bit! But treating her with absolute respect, and possibly a bit of love bombing, will keep her as a client. And keeping clients is what keeps your business afloat!