Grumble grumble ... cursing under my breath ... grumble grumble ... grrrrrrr.

Don't pretend you've never had a client like this — the one who ought to be a great client. Takes excellent care of herself, into fashion, wants to be trendy, would absolutely die if her nails looked bad. Right?

And when you first meet her, you love her. Aside from fitting that ideal demographic you're looking for, she's also sweet. You get along. She's nice to you.

But soon the relationship goes sour. It takes exactly three appointments for you to fall out of love with her. Sure, she's still sweet and you still enjoy her company ... but as a client — what a headache!

First, no matter how meticulously you follow her instructions for how she wants her nails, she's never satisfied. Maybe that's because her personal life is a mess, so she's overcompensating for her lack of control in other areas by being absolutely unreasonable about the nails.

*Shrug* Whatever, I can handle picky.

But then there's the whole, "I love going to a 'real' nail lady. I love that you take appointments." And she does always book her next appointment before she leaves the salon... and then she calls a week later to reschedule it: "I forgot about my son's parent/teacher conference ..." "I forgot I have a meeting at work that day ..." "I have to go shopping with my sister ..." "I have a doctor's appointment that same time ..."

Always something, and not always something that seems like it's more important than her nails. But you reschedule her.

And then she calls the day before that appointment: "I forgot ... I can't do it then."

*Sigh*

I might still like this person, but it becomes readily apparent that this person is not a great client. And that's where I start losing my patience.

I can't accommodate constant rescheduling. If you want your services, then keep your appointment. And don't call me up and whine when you can't get back on the schedule for another week or more. And save your condescending tones when I return your call and you accuse me of "being so hard to get ahold of." Maybe it's because you texted me seven times on a Sunday and every text said, "Are you getting my texts?"

I totally understand that people need to reschedule sometimes— but rescheduling the same appointment four times — every time — and then complaining because I'm not available at your beck and call 24/7 to accommodate you is a fast ticket to another nail tech.