Maggie Rants [and Raves]

Why Do They Keep Coming Back?

by Maggie Franklin | August 14, 2013 | Bookmark +

I’m sure we’ve all had a handful of those clients, right? The ones who just do not mesh with you? That first appointment is awkward and stressful. You ask them questions, they either give one word answers or are elusive with personal information.

And I’m not talking about, for instance, them not wanting to give you their social security number — of course that’s not a reasonable question to ask in the first place! — but they don’t want to tell you where they work. Or whether they grew up in this town. Or if they have a pet.

So then you just figure they don’t like you or that they are super private. *shrug* Right? Whatevs. But if you have a client who doesn’t want to have even the most basic of conversations with you, it’s kinda hard to prove to them that there are still old-fashioned nail techs out there who actually give a care about their clients.

Some people just don’t make a “love connection.” For whatever reason. Maybe they won’t talk to you. Maybe they spend all their time nitpicking your work. Maybe they keep comparing you to the last person who did their nails — and not in a warm, fuzzy way.

But after you’ve been in the business for a while, you get a pretty good feeling for predicting which people are likely to become long-term clients and which people will never be heard from again...and which ones you won’t miss anyway.

And then, at the end of the service, after an hour and a half of awkward silence feeling like the person on the other side of the table desperately wants to jump up and make a break for it because she regrets ever showing up for her appointment… just when you’ve made sure you’ve been paid and are ready for the easy let-down, “Ok, thanks, I’ll give you a call when I’m ready to rebook” speech and you just want this person to get out of your space so you can relax and breathe easy again...

She tells you how much she loves the nails and can she book her next appointment now?

Never fails to catch me off guard when it happens. I’ve had clients stay with me for years, even though I’m utterly convinced they don’t even like me — and sometimes that they don’t like my work

I can’t say they’re bad clients in any way, just not good personality fits with me. But they keep coming back and putting up with me. I guess I’m grateful...most of the time. I just wish I understood why they come back.

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