:~( about letting go of a client and worried about my income

[Amethyste]

Last night, I decided to let go of a client. She was the most difficult person to please and to "endure". When I think about it, I really do not know how I did "tough" her out for the last 7 years. I like a challenge, but her person and ways were really starting to actually hurt my feelings. She basically thought of herself and herself only. She knows that I work 2 jobs, and my husband works night. So the only time we can actually be together is on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. She is retired, but fills her life to the max so that she would requests to come late Saturday afternoons or would ask me if I'd make an exception and do her nails on Sundays. I put my foot down and told her that I cannot do that, I hope she'd understand that i work a lot and having 1 1/2 day off a week with my husband is REALLY important. She would say she does, but then a month later after many cancelled appointments she'd ask again for late Saturdays and Sundays.

She has a hard time to be alert at night and to atcually pay attention - but do rise up early - so to help her situation, I offered her at 6:45am apt before I'd go in my first job. She made the apts fine for a little while but then would forget and not come. She has other people in the home, so calling her when she is late wasn't an option not wanting to wake up other people. So I would just stay there, doing nothing other than wait for her. It was just a unpleasant situation to be stuck into cause I started to realise that if she couldn't make this early appointment, I was pretty much out of options for her, unfortunately. The thing is, she doesn't want to communicate on the phone - she does everything by email. When I'd send her message notifying her that she had missed her early appointment, she would reply " What can I say ?! - I was up and doing things here... time has just gone by! " How about you could have just kindly said " I am really sorry Amethyste, I was up and got caught up at home doing things and missed my appointment ".

Then, last night - i got this email from her ( that is how it was formatted and actually communicates through words -:

"Amethyste - see you on Wednesday 6:45am.

Since I worry about being able to keep the early hour apts, I talked with Stephanie at Salon (XXX). She charges $35, but will do my nails for $30. She said to allow a half hour to do the job (possibly she said a little longer). And she removes previous polish
by soaking my nails in remover.

So now I know how good I’ve got it with you...except for the time. No one I know touches your work.
Still, I have to do some thinking about my ability to get to you regularly. "

She already talked about going to the nail tech that works at the same place where she gets her hair done. She told her I charged $35, so to gain her business, she lowered her price to $30 for her. What bothers me the most if that she already secured another place to go while saying that she has it nice with me other than the time i am available. I know it's life and should get over it, but she almost displays some sort of passive agressiveness type of behavior that I do not appreciate.

My husband and I purchased a home and moved 4 miles away from my previous place - now making her commute 8 miles one way to my new location. After I moved, and she came 2 times to my new place, she wrote me a letter telling me I was now really far from her and is afraid that she will be not be able to come to me now. What I do not understand is that she is already traveling 7.5 miles to the other salon, and that doesn't seem to be an issue...What I think the real issue is, is that I live .65 miles down a dirt road, and doesn't want her range rover getting dirty (all the residents on this road pay $300 annually to have this road maintained and cleaned off in the winter. They really do a great job and there is no potholes - just smooth gravel and is pretty straight forward, no insane twist/turns nor up or down.)

I am also seeing a decline in clients over the last year - some have moved away, I have lost 2 ( they died ), and I let go of one because she never seemed to be able keep her appointments ( showing up at the wrong time or the wrong day! ). I do not live in a busy area - and never had to advertise to get clients in the last 7+ years. Most of mine have been referred to me from word of mouth. But now, with the purchase of my home, I sort of relied on this extra income to fund house projects...

I really do not know where to start when it comes to advertising. I do nails in my home and feel vulnerable to "new" people coming to me. I'd probably meet them on Saturdays when my hubby is home so I feel a little more at ease...

Boy... This sucks

 

[dragonfly411]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Amethyste - Think you are making the right choice. Unfortunately, many times, people try to take advantage of someone who offers them a service, even when they are doing a really good job. You could always put out flyers, or have some basic cards made up to put out/hand out to find new clients.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Are there any retirement communities in your area? I believe you mentioned in the past that you work frequently with the elderly and enjoy doing so. Maybe you could work something out where you would visit on Saturdays?

 

[yennyfire]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Amethyste, I'm really sorry that you've been treated in such a careless manner. I think that you've done the right thing. It sounds like you've been way too nice and that she's taken advantage of that. I totally hear what you're saying about taking on new clients...definitely sounds like a good idea to have hubby there when you meet new people.

I'm sorry and hope that you can figure things out so that you don't have to worry about your income...

 

[Amethyste]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

THank you all so so much for your replies... Your words all really confort me *hugs*

I just hope she will not show up at 6:45am tomorrow. I should have been more concise in my email and mention to not come to her early apt. Knowing what she is capable of, it wouldn't surprise me if she comes for her apt, act like she didn't get my email and will have to render the service. I guess I just will not get up early tomorrow. I decided that my sleep is worth far more than getting up in the little morning hours to render a service to a client that obviously does not appreciate me or my kindness... Maybe then she would know how it feels to get up for something and just stand there and wait for someone.

 

[Bunny007]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Is this the same woman that was giving you troubles earlier?? If so, good riddance. It's too bad that you're losing the extra income she's brought you, but frankly she doesn't sounds worth it anyway. Put her out of your mind and stop devoting anymore energy to her.

As for advertising, perhaps you could contact the supervisor at a few nursing/retirement homes? I don't know if your business is portable at all but it'd be really nice if you could line up several appointments at one time. You'd have the added bonus of not having to invite people to your home. Where I'm from, there are quite a few restaurants that are known for attracting an older crowd, perhaps you could put up fliers there?

 

[Nashville]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Amethyste, you sound like a lovely person. I know in the past you've had an issue with that older woman who complained that you couldn't accommodate older people (I don't recall if you ended up dropping her as a client), and then the woman who sent you the offensive e-mail, and now this woman who is being inconsiderate. All of these things are going to happen when you're in business for yourself. It sounds like what you may be missing right now is STRUCTURE. You sound like you want to please everyone, but then you get upset when they inevitably walk all over you.

Having a successful business means making your clients happy while not losing control of your life/business. This might require a total overhaul of what you've been doing. Think about it, would the salon at your local mall put up with these things from people? No, they wouldn't. Instead of dropping the people you don't want to work with, or getting upset when they are inconsiderate, or not showing up to answer the door (despite how bad one's behavior may be) you should sit down with a game plan of how you want YOUR business to be run and how you can do that while keeping every client you possibly can. Maybe that means charging less than competitors but having more hours of availability. Maybe it means writing down, even if only for yourself, the terms and conditions of your services. Maybe even adopting a "phone only" policy for awhile could help. People tend to be a lot less difficult when they are talking to a person, and not shooting off an e-mail.

You sound like a very talented person with a big heart, but the last thing you want to do when you're self employed is walk away from money! There will always be difficult people who come to your business, but at the end of the day putting up with them on your own terms gets you the income and quality of life you want. It will also grow and keep your client base.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

I'm sorry you are not being respected in your professional life by this woman. Was this the woman you were upset with a couple of months ago?

I have to say, I admire your dedication at giving someone a 6:45 AM apointment. It's too bad your flexibility isn't appreciated.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Aw, Ammy, I'm so sorry.

I think you've done MORE than enough to accommodate this lady, and it seems that nothing you do will please her. So, if I were you, I would send her a very cordial e-mail, thanking her for her business over the past howevermany years, expressing your regret that you can't seem to accommodate her schedule, and inviting her to go ahead and switch to what's-her-face who seems to have no problem with poaching another tech's client. (Note: Normally, I wouldn't advocate having this conversation via e-mail, but that seems to be her preferred method of communication, so . . .)

As far as advertising is concerned, I think Bunny's retirement home idea is a good one! Also, if there's a senior center near you, maybe you could post fliers there? Or at the local high school so you'd get the prom and homecoming business! Oh, and is there a Curves near you?

Good luck, Ammy, and let us know how it all works out for you!

 

[Kaleigh]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

I am so sorry Amethyste. I think you were very accomodating!! Way more so than most of us would be...

I like the idea of fliers to the High schools, nursing/ retirement homes and senior centers..

Putting up fliers at your local pharmacy is something I would do.. I know our local independant pharmacy has fliers like this...

And for that matter, put them up at the super markets as well.

 

[tyty333]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

This women sounds very manipulative! I say good riddance. You deserve to be treated better. I would try the
flyers around your local area. Hopefully once you get a few people locally word of mouth will get you more business.
Hang in there and dont waste anymore of your mental energy (or sleeping time) on this women.

 

[Porridge]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

She sounds disrespectful above all else, and I think you are right to not tolerate it any longer.

As for getting more business, maybe word of mouth might be an idea? For example, you could offer half price or one free session or something to a client that recommends you to a friend? That way you would at least have one person to vouch for the new clients, so strangers in your house would be less of an issue.

 

[kelpie]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

I think you've been more than accommodating to her and it's right to suggest she take up her hair salon's offer. Just say something like, "I can't compete with the price, location, and availability, you would be wise to switch since your schedule is unpredictable and are often not able to make appointments". Going through these fairly minor conflicts is painful for me too and I'll spend a lot of time fretting about an awkward interaction like this even though I know inside I'm making the right choice. I do like the idea of doing retirement communities (unless it's a demographic you've learned is difficult on the whole, hopefully this lady is the exception).

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Ammy,

Good riddance to the thorn in your early morning side! There's only so much one can do before soaking her nails in stink bomb fluid!

I worked at a retirement community in high school. It was a very high scale community with very posh women. Had they had the opportunity to have a manicure appointment in the community, they would take it in a heart beat. They had to take a communal van to the city center and be at the mercy of the driver. They had a salon that had hair dressers come in on the regular, but no nail people. I would definitely find a retirement community that fits the bill and speak with the management.

Good luck!

Or you could always offer nail advise online

 

[Imdanny]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

I think it's very rude of her to have put this is writing. After that many years to even be toying with the idea and putting this in writting is very unpleasant behavior. I say let her go and good riddance. It must have been draining to go out of your way to accommodate her, have her not show up, have her be blase about it, and have her write in effect (because she didn't have to write that down) that she's considering going to someone else. Forget about her. You're obviously good at what you do and a nice person. She seems like neither.

 

[Amethyste]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Thanks everyone for your replies... I believe things happen for a reason and now, eventhough it doesn't make too much sense
I know that later, something else will happen and will explain the "whys" of before...

I will hit some salon that I know do not offer nail services - and ask them if they would be kind enough to refer me...
Everything will be ok

Thank you all for your comments - I'll figure this one out, too

 

[StonieGrl]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

She is abusive to you and your good nature. At every juncture when she 'tested' you with escalating bad behavior, she got away with it and then ramped it up for the next time.

Give her the heave ho but do it in a very distant and unemotional manner or she'll just scroo with you some more (nothing worse you can do with women than let them know they have hurt you or gotten under your skin).

She made it clear she looked for another manicurist now let her take the next step in that process.

 

[iheartscience]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Amethyste, you sound like a lovely person. I know in the past you've had an issue with that older woman who complained that you couldn't accommodate older people (I don't recall if you ended up dropping her as a client), and then the woman who sent you the offensive e-mail, and now this woman who is being inconsiderate. All of these things are going to happen when you're in business for yourself. It sounds like what you may be missing right now is STRUCTURE. You sound like you want to please everyone, but then you get upset when they inevitably walk all over you.

Having a successful business means making your clients happy while not losing control of your life/business. This might require a total overhaul of what you've been doing. Think about it, would the salon at your local mall put up with these things from people? No, they wouldn't. Instead of dropping the people you don't want to work with, or getting upset when they are inconsiderate, or not showing up to answer the door (despite how bad one's behavior may be) you should sit down with a game plan of how you want YOUR business to be run and how you can do that while keeping every client you possibly can. Maybe that means charging less than competitors but having more hours of availability. Maybe it means writing down, even if only for yourself, the terms and conditions of your services. Maybe even adopting a "phone only" policy for awhile could help. People tend to be a lot less difficult when they are talking to a person, and not shooting off an e-mail.

You sound like a very talented person with a big heart, but the last thing you want to do when you're self employed is walk away from money! There will always be difficult people who come to your business, but at the end of the day putting up with them on your own terms gets you the income and quality of life you want. It will also grow and keep your client base.

I agree with Nashville. And honestly, I think it's strange that you feel so personally attacked/disrespected by these clients. You've posted similar things a few times. It's a business-they're not your friends. And you're not doing them favors-they are paying you for a service. I agree that they should treat you respectfully, but again-you're running a business, not a friendship.

I would set regular hours and stick to them. Either your clients will adapt or they won't, but either way you won't have to deal with crazy hours.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Re: :~( about letting go of a client and worried about my in

Are there any retirement communities in your area? I believe you mentioned in the past that you work frequently with the elderly and enjoy doing so. Maybe you could work something out where you would visit on Saturdays?

I think making yourself mobile would help if you did the above... I don't like the idea of adverting for poeple to come to your house, nor would I stand for some of the abuse you take from your clients.