The Joy of Working With Customers

We meet a lot of people in the course of our business. Not only do we meet our customers face-to-face, but we spend time with them, literally holding their hands, chitchatting about whatever is on their minds.

It comes as no surprise that with this many personality types running through your life, not every client is a good match for your own personality.

I can get along with a wide range of personalities and my clientele reflects this, which is awesome because I love having an eclectic clientele.

But if there is one sure-fire way to ensure that you get weeded out of the bunch, it's got to be to act like you're better than me.

How people define "better" is as diverse as the people themselves, but ultimately, if you feel it necessary to talk down to me, act like I'm beneath you, or feel sorry for me because I apparently can't get a "real" job, you'll be in the market for a new nail lady in very short order.

I don't care if you went to medical school. I don't care if your husband is the mayor. I don't care what car you drive, how much money you have, or what the label on your purse says. I didn't go to medical school because I didn't want to be a physician, I don't drive a Mercedes because I don't want one, you don't even know how much money I have, and I have yet to find a really high-dollar designer bag that I even like.

By "you" of course, I don't mean you — you probably already know exactly what I'm talking about! People who look down on us because we do nails. People who feel sorry for us because we couldn't do better than nails for a living, or they treat us like "the help" because they mistakenly think we're working in some sort of class system where they are superior to us because they're paying us for a service.

I especially love it when someone haughtily explains to me that I'm supposed to lick their butts in gratitude to them for gracing me with their business — particularly when I've just spent half an hour trying to fit them into the schedule sometime within the next month.

"Hello? Has it occurred to you that I obviously don't have a problem finding enough clients to keep me in business? Why would I need to bend over backwards and let you treat me like dog poop when there are 12 other people who want your spot in my appointment book who are nice to me?"

At the very least, somebody should explain to these people that if they really need to build their own self-esteem by treating the people they do business with like dirt, for crying out loud, show me how freakin’ rich and powerful you are by leaving a fat tip.