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The Problem with the Clients in Our Industry

— Posted inBuild, Grow

If you’ve ever had a rude, outrageous, insane, high maintenance or difficult client, then this post is for you! f 

However, I’m going to talk about taking responsibility for your results in your business. None of this “empowered women empower women” attitude while in the same breath also tearing a woman down for doing something wrong in your eyes as a business owner. 

If you’ve only had one or two problematic clients over a few years, that’s pretty normal. Sometimes we just don’t take to a client’s personality, despite our efforts, it’s just not a good fit.

With that being said, most lash artists do not do the work to look at their part in an unhealthy artist/client relationship. 

How to tell if you struggle with problematic clients 

Here are some of the key indicators: 

  • Consistently late
  • Consistently cancels or reschedules last minute 
  • No shows you
  • Text you at all hours
  • Comes in for you to just add a couple more extensions to a gap after 4 days
  • Leaves a bad review or threatens to leave a bad review
  • Doesn’t show up with payment
  • Comes in for a fill when it should be a full set
  • Demands a refund
  • Is on her phone during the appointment or is taking calls during the appointment 
  • Wants more lashes or more drama than their lash health can handle
  • Gets upset when you’re sick and you reschedule her appointment 

These issues are SO SO common when you’re first starting out. It’s easy to think; that’s just the way it is. That just comes with the territory of running a business and working with the public.

WRONG!

Consistent problematic clients are NOT part of running a business. And while we’re at it – neither are problematic employees!


There are very SPECIFIC behaviors that YOU the business owner are doing to get these problem clients. So let’s dive into WHY these problems happen

{If you want to listen to the podcast episode on this topic, click on the player at the top of the post. Or read on…}

Clients not respecting your time 

Policies and booking fees are going to be your saving grace. 

When you communicate your policies upfront and the client agrees to them prior to any service being performed,  then you are two consenting adults entering into a relationship. Which means – you promise to provide X and they promise to follow Y.

 IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH CLIENT’S RESPECTING YOUR TIME – it’s because you allow for it. You teach people how to treat you, and if you allow your clients to dictate how your business is run, what they should pay,  and when they should and shouldn’t be charged, you are going to have problematic. You will likely start to resent your business and your clientele.

 That’s not a fun way to run a business!

 Clients who leave a bad review or threaten to leave a bad review  

Crazy right? But it happens WAY more than you think. This happens when a client is SO frustrated that they feel they have no other outlet to express their frustration. So they vent to anyone who will listen. AKA Yelp. 

With that being said, who is responsible for them feeling like they can’t communicate their unhappiness? YOU ARE! You are the leader in this client-artist relationship and you set the example of how things go down in YOUR business.

DO you give them the opportunity to give you feedback – good or bad? If not, they’ll go online and share their experience to get your attention. 9 times out of 10 – a bad review is a result of something YOU caused in your business and it’s likely a lack of communication with the client.

The good news is that if you’re the cause, you can also be the fix! Bad reviews are not all that common when you have healthy business boundaries in place and communicate clearly the expectations of both you and the client.

TO SUMMARIZE – The problem with clients in our industry is that they don’t necessarily see their lash artist or beauty service provider as a business owner. Take ownership over your business and your results by looking at how you might be the cause of problematic clients in your business.

POLICIES

If you have no idea where to even begin with the ideal policies in your business, I am sharing the policies from my business as an example of what you might want to include in your business. These policies are what I used to be able to avoid any uncomfortable conflict and to set healthy expectations for me and my client. You can download my sample policies for free at www.thelashpreneur.com/policies

Have a Good One!

Tara Walsh

The Lashpreneur

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