Maggie Rants [and Raves]

Laying It on Too Thick

by Maggie Franklin | October 22, 2014 | Bookmark +

I love it when clients love me. I’m sure we all love clients who love us, right?

I love it when a client comes in and tells me how all her friends and coworkers and people she meets on the street always want to see her nails. I love hearing how she tells them all who does them and why they should come to me and why they should pay what I charge.

It’s great for the ego, sure, but it’s also great word-of-mouth advertising for me and it’s nice to hear that my clients’ nails are getting attention.

But sometimes, a client can just be too much on my side…

“OMG Maggie! No, seriously, no one else does that!” Referring to anything and everything from having them wash their hands before we begin, to using a new file, to the little hand massage at the end.

Yeah, yeah, that’s great. I know, a lot of other nail techs don’t do that.

“OMG Maggie! I’ve never seen those before! No one else does it that way.” When I sculpt on forms.

“OMG Maggie! How did you do that? No one else can do that! No seriously, nobody anywhere does that!” This time it’s some nail art thing.

Every motion I make, every tool I use, every technique, every picture from my portfolio that scrolls across the digital frame, everything warrants an astonished exclamation of surprise from her lips. And a comparison to my competition.

*sigh*

I get it. I get it. I’m better than any other nail tech you’ve ever been to. Yay me. (yawn)

I work hard at being better than every other nail tech my clients have been to. I appreciate it when those efforts are rewarded with enthusiastic and loyal clients.

But...

I happen to know a significant number of other perfectly competent and equally skilled and imaginative nail techs right here in my hometown. I love it when my clients think I’m the best ever, but there’s a point where I get defensive for the other great techs available in the area. It’s one thing to say great things about me, but that doesn’t require saying negative things about other techs or discounting the possibility that there might be someone else who takes her craft just as seriously as I do.

No really. There actually are some pretty talented techs in these parts. I’m good, but I’m not the only good. And all that gushing stops being complimentary after a point and starts sounding more like someone who hasn’t really been very selective about who does her nails. You didn’t wise up and seek out a good nail tech, you lucked into it.

That’s not because I’m great. That’s because you haven’t been paying attention. And that diminishes the praise a tad.

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