Ask the Manicurist: Client's Awkward Questions by Someone Who Knows!

Client: I am a young mother of two, and the highlight of my week is having a manicure for which I must sacrifice other things to be able to afford. I cannot afford to pay for a babysitter for my 2- and 4-year-old and still pay for my manicure. Don’t you think my nail tech is being selfish and unreasonable to frown on my bringing them in? We’re only there for an hour or so. I always bring lots of their toys and they are very well behaved.

Miss Manicurist:  Why sure they are, like all 2- and 4-year-olds. Since you stated that you are young, I am going to be kind. It is customary to be clueless when you are young, as well as selfish, and I ain’t talkin’ about your nail tech. It is completely selfish, unkind, and unreasonable for a mother to expect a 2- and a 4-year-old to be well behaved for an hour or so in a nail salon. Grow up! I’m also too kind to say that your nail tech and everyone else in that salon hates you and your children, but please be assured that they are relieved when your hour is up. A lot of your nail tech’s other patrons did get a babysitter and for what? To listen to how well-behaved your children are? I don’t think so. Aside from being inconsiderate of others, there are many other reasons to not bring toddlers to a nail salon. Many of the products used in a nail salon are simply not kid-safe. I find it hard to believe that your toddlers are being watched every second of your visit.

The lowdown: For your nail tech to be selfish and unreasonable, she would have to chase all three of you out of the salon, screaming, with a large stick in her hand, and even then it would still be a matter of opinion.

Client: Recently when I’ve had to rearrange my schedule a few times with my nail tech, she has seemed uncooperative. I’ve given her my business for years, and in the past, she’s always seemed reasonable about my summer and fall vacations (I have a vacation home on the coast). Once, trying not to upset her routine, I gave my time to my daughter for a month and she even seemed irked about that. Sometimes I have to ask myself, who in the world does she think she is? I truly love my nail tech, as a professional and a friend, and I do not want to lose her. What do you think?

Miss Manicurist:  I think that if you truly love your nail tech as a professional and a friend, then you need to look at things from her perspective. You say that you’ve given her your business for years almost as if she hasn’t given you anything. She’s given you years of her time, expertise, and from the sound of things, her patience. Gave your time to your daughter? Good grief! I know that men and women can come from different planets, but what planet of entitlement did you come from? If you need to reschedule appointments for a month or more at a time, then you need to relinquish that time to someone else. Your so-called appointment time belongs to your nail tech, and she graciously holds it in good faith, especially for you, until you pay her a fee for either her services or your absence. It’s that simple. Shucks, has it ever occurred to you that your nail tech may not even like your daughter? I mean, I know she’s probably precious to you, but come on. The day it is no longer my prerogative as to who sits in my chair, I quit.

The lowdown: I’m sorry, but some questions always remind me of the book, “All I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.”

About The Manicurist: The Manicurist — aka Rebecca Seals — is a licensed cosmetologist, esthetician, and salon owner with 18 years experience in the beauty industry. She has traveled many roads in the U.S. preaching and teaching the gospel as she sees it.