How Would You Handle this Client Situation?

Last Tuesday I'm at home getting caught up on paperwork and the phone rings. It's the gal that works at the salon below my Center. There's a client there waiting for me. Hmmm....there was no one on the books. There was someone scheduled but she had canceled the week before. It was a new client from an AmazonLocal deal I ran for the Esty that recently started working for me.

I got on the phone with this client and very politely apologized that she made the trip but that we had taken her off the books last week when she called. In a very stern voice she stated that she did not cancel and that I had better stop wasting time, get off the phone and get down there.

I can feel ya'll getting hot...I certainly was!! I hung up the phone and started throwing some clothes on to run down there. But then I stopped and went over to the phone to call back and tell her...well, you probably have an idea where I wanted to tell her to go. I stopped myself, took a deep breathe and decided I would go kill her with kindness.

I got down there pretty quickly, politely introduced myself, had her fill out the consent form (definitely had her do that. I already don't trust her!) and proceeded to give the best facial treatment she has ever experienced. When she looked in the mirror afterwards, here exact words were "Just like magic".

I thanked her for her business and said have a lovely day but I did not ask her back.

There are many ways this could have been handled. I have my reasons for why I did it this way and will share them later...but I want to know how you would have handled this situation?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tiffany Montalbano on May 13, 2013 at 11:29am

Shelley I would have done the same thing if I was able to (It takes me 6 minutes to get to work), if I was able to do so. Clients are always easy to deal with, but we are a client based business so we do sign up for some of those less than disirable people. I agree that giving her an amazing treatment was a great way to go about it, but not asking her back was also a nice way to "prepave" the way of not seeing her again!

I do think however the way Nicole Bennett handled her screaming client was in the best interest of your spa. If one client gives you a poor review and someone else takes the angry clients word, you won't want that client anyway. I am also not a fan of the way people are reviewed but it is a very large part of our business now. When I go onto a review sight to read others opinions I always read the poor reviews first because that is how I decide if that person just wanted to complain about something or they had a logical complaint.

I don't think there really is a right or wrong way to deal with this situation, we have all been in it!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dana White on May 23, 2013 at 1:24pm

I would have done exactly what you did. When you work in a client-based service industry like ours the customer is ALWAYS right, even if they are a miserable person. It's better to just bite your tongue and smile then to risk hurting your business because some woman was nasty to you.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amy Sherman on January 12, 2014 at 7:17pm

I most definitely would have worked on this client, rebooked her, sold her skincare, and held an umbrella over her to her car. It takes very little from us to be kind to others. Obviously, this lady needed the treatment. We do not know what road our clients are on and some days are better than others. It takes very little to have compassion for others.