I’ve been a beauty pro for 30+ years: here’s how I set boundaries with clients

Session nail stylist, salon owner & educator, Marie-Louise Coster, shares her experiences with boundary-pushing clients…

I imagine most of you went into the nail/beauty industry to make people happy. I also imagine that you expected clients to be grateful and courteous at all times. I don’t suppose you imagined that sometimes clients can push boundaries, expect too much of you and take you for granted.

Maybe you have bitten your lip and screamed internally when corresponding with clients, because without them, we have no business and the customer is always right, aren’t they? Actually, no.

We can be afraid of upsetting clients and conscious of losing them. But if they are taking advantage of you, what is there to lose? They are taking the space of another client – who isn’t taking advantage.

You must set clear boundaries in regards to your working hours and when you are available to reply to messages and take calls.

If a client contacts you outside of your working hours, they must wait until you reopen for a reply. They wouldn’t contact Marks & Spencer at 11pm and expect a reply, and Marks & Spencer isn’t worried because it is confident that its customers are loyal – and you should be too.

The hours you aren’t working are your time, and messages will still be there the next day. You could even state on your answerphone message and automatic email reply that ‘queries and messages will be responded to within the working hours of xx’.

I have worked in the beauty industry for 31 years. During that time, there have been four occasions when I have ‘sacked’ a client. On some of those occasions, I should have done it a lot sooner, but you learn with experience and time to stop taking nonsense from people.

Storytime

One of the clients I sacked always quibbled about the price of treatments. She had an operation, which meant she couldn’t drive for a period of time, so asked if I would do a home visit. I am not a mobile therapist, but wanted to accommodate her as best I could. However, she was still very awkward – even asking me to move other clients. She only lived ten minutes from me, but with setting up and packing away time, my one-hour manicure took almost two hours. Besides the travel cost, which I didn’t charge for, I lost the revenue I could have had from another treatment.

This went on for a couple of years, with the client expecting more at each appointment, such as help changing the bedding, unpacking boxes and even assembling a lamp! I then found out that she was driving to a salon not far from me for pedicures, so was taking advantage of my good nature. In the end, I told her that I had only started offering her mobile treatments due to her operation, but for years she still expected me to go out of my way. I suggested that it would be better for everyone involved if she found another salon. What I should have done – long before it got to this, is set firmer boundaries.

It is also very important to set boundaries over client relationships and money. While you will be fond of many of your clients, blurring the boundaries between clients and friends has a tendency to make things messy, and opens you up to the potential of people asking for discounts, special rates or even not paying at an appointment because they are ‘a bit short this week’.

Keep your boundaries clear and stick to them, and learn to say no. You are in charge, so never feel bad about doing what is best for you and your wellbeing. And be confident in the knowledge that the clients you build a successful business on will be respectful of this.

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