Katherine, I feel your pain & I hate when that happens! It is so frustrating, but this is how I've learned to handle it after 25+ years in the business- it all boils down to psychology:
After I've tried to educate someone & they still aren't getting it, I stop trying. For me, I can recognize the feeling of being defensive when it comes on me & it serves no purpose. I have to reign in that emotion because ultimately I do not want to alienate the client (no matter how stupid they appear to be). My goal has to be focused on giving her the best possible service in the time that she's booked. If that means filling over someone else's crappy work, then I'll do my best to make it look right & create a stable nail (ultimately it will be her new nail techs problem when her acrylic starts to break down). Then I direct the conversation to something else more pleasant, the hour goes fast, and then she pays me. It's not easy, but I try to take my ego out of the equation. Think about it from the client's point of view......by YOU contradicting what she's telling you & pointing out her new nail techs flaws, the client is being made to feel like SHE made a poor choice in salons because she's ignorant. No one want's to feel that way, including ourselves. So then the client keeps talking about how beautiful & wonderful the new salon is & how great their services are, because that's HER way of trying to convince YOU that she DID make a good choice. She has a need for your approval, but she doesn't realize that it hurts your feelings & puts you on the defensive, so both of you get nowhere. It's frustrating on both sides because both peoples egos are involved. Obviously, the other salon is exciting to her because it's new. She was probably excited about your salon back when she became a new client, too. The new tech probably strokes her ego in ways that you don't anymore, because we all get familiar with long time clients & thus, the honeymoon phase goes out the window. It's only natural that it will eventually happen with this new salon, too. Then when you eventually see her she'll start to complain about them. I wouldn't turn her away or insist that she soak off for a new full set, but that's just me. I wouldn't want her to leave my salon with hard feelings because SHE won't understand why after all these years YOU are giving her the boot, plus she will tell everyone in town about how she was so rudely dismissed as a long time client by you. And what if she doesn't have the money in the budget to pay your prices for a full set? She'll be forced by YOU to take her business elsewhere then. We're in business to make money & HERS would be gone. What purpose would that serve? If she were my client, I'd mentally prepare myself for when she comes in (keeping my body language relaxed- not on the defensive) bragging about her new salon & then I'd just let her talk it out of her system. I'd keep my head down, fixing those crappy nails so they look good, & occasionally at the right points in the conversation, I'd interject the little words that will mean so much to her.... "uh-huh" & "is that right?" & "no way!" & "you go, girl!". I'd be taking my ego out of the conversation & using psychology to make the client feel validated. Eventually, she'll run out of steam & you can direct the conversation to other things that are important to HER. Aaaahhh, the honeymoon phase is returning! It's a challenge in acting & psychology, but for me it's also satisfying when it works because everyone leaves happy. One great thing about being in the South is that you learn how to sugar coat phrases which have underlying meanings. The best one to remember is "Well, bless your heart!", which sounds very nice on the surface, & you can interject it into your next conversation with her when she says what a great nail job her new tech did. But what you really mean by that phrase is "Well, you are dumb as a rock"! Jill Wright Event Coordinator & Nail Tech www.nailtechevent.com On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 1:55:18 PM UTC-6, Katherine Fahrig wrote: > > Hey Techies, > > I have a client who used to be a regular gel client until she moved to > Florida last year. She now comes to me 3 or 4 times a year. It wasn't a > problem until this visit. She showed up with NSS, substandard, horrible > acrylic nails that are yellowing and have fill lines. She went on and on > about how she found a new salon that is so beautiful and the guy she goes > to is so up to date on all the latest things and does such beautiful work. > I'm looking at horrible, yellow, fill lines and acrylic ( she was told that > it was the new powder gel that they were using ) and I want to scream! I > pointed out the yellowing and the fill lines, she acknowledged them and > then said something about "taking it all off" for her fill. I told her that > she would have to soak them off for about an hour and then I would do a > full set, for the price of a full set. She said that they just pulled them > off, no hour wasted soaking them off. I had to keep my head down so she > could not see the horror on my face. > > What do you say to someone when presented with this kind of mess? I did > not have the time to soak them off and do a full set, so, I did not push > her to do so. I told her that it was acrylic on her nails and she said that > it was powder gel, didn't I know about it? I explained that it was not > powder gel it was acrylic and she still insisted that they said it was gel > so it is gel. I stopped short of telling her that they are lying rat finks > because she went on and on about how much she liked the salon and the "guy" > who does her nails and the conversation was quickly turning into an > argument with my client defending her "guy's" flat out lies! > > I'm still trying to get my hormones in balance so I could use some advice > as to what to say and what not to say. In general I do not bad mouth anyone > else's work, but, what do I do when someone is lying their but off and the > client believes them over me? I have certificates on the wall that prove my > advanced education and she's heard me go on and on about all the > conventions, continuing education, this mailing list, industry web sites > and trade publications that I've gotten all my information from for 25 > years and she still believes that lying sack of *~#t!!!!! Sorry, I fell > into name calling.....not sorry he is a lying sack of _____. > > She was a good client for about a year before she moved to FL, I educated > her while she was in my chair and now she seems to have forgotten all of > it. On her way out she saw my old ProFinish two hand uv lamp and exclaimed, > "that's what they have, the new two hand lamp! What do you use it for?" I > told her that that lamp is a least 15 years old and useless except to get > regular polish clients to sit still for 4 minutes. She looked confused, > but, said nothing more. > > I thought about booking 2 hours for her next appointment and soaking the > ac off and putting on a new set of gels so she would be reminded of how > they should look, but, if I'm doing all that work, I'm getting paid for a > full set and she would not agree to that. Besides, she saw my nails and the > clients before and after her with beautiful, clear, non yellow, no fill > lines, gel nails. Maybe she listened and noticed more than she admitted to > and she will find a new salon in FL that actually does gels, not acrylic > (that turns yellow) with a gel overlay. > > So, Techies, I did a little venting, now, what do you all say to clients > who come in with NSS nails and tell you how beautiful that are? > > Katherine > Nails at Panache > St. Louis, MO > Sent from my iPad -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. 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