It’s really important to ensure that, as a nail technician, you maintain a high level of professionalism, even when a situation is challenging.

First impressions count and how you behave from the first point of contact with a client will set the tone for the relationship. If they have contacted you on email or via social media for an appointment, make sure you politely reply. If it’s out of office hours, set up an automated response to say when you will reply. It doesn’t have to be complex; consider something simple, such as:

Hi. Thank you for your enquiry. We will respond to your message between the hours of xxxx.

In the meantime, you can find my full price list or pre-book your appointment online by visiting www.beautyloungedoncaster.co.uk

Many thanks,

Michelle, Beauty Lounge 

If a client phones to book an appointment or enquires about a service, always speak clearly and professionally and avoid any slang. Finish the call with: “we will look forward to seeing you soon,” so your future client feels special and appreciated.

Setting boundaries

It’s important to set boundaries from the start of a client/nail pro relationship, so reply to clients within working hours and ensure that they know and understand your cancellation policy, making it easier if they cancel or are a no-show and you need to enforce it. If your client is a friend, politely explain that they are still a client and you need to have a policy in place to protect your livelihood.

Set up a business page for your salon or services and post all communications on this page, encouraging your clients to only message you via the page. I find that if clients message my personal Facebook page, which some like to, I can forget to action the requests as they mix with my personal messages. Also, if you have shared your personal Facebook account with clients and advertise or comment on threads or groups, they may see it – and this disrupts the professional/personal persona. One personal comment can be taken the wrong way, which can affect your business and profile.

It’s easy to get friendly with clients, but always ensure you set professional boundaries from the start and keep to them. 

As well as considering how you behave and interact, follow the industry codes of conduct and the British values, which are:

• Democracy: Respect every client’s opinion, even if you don’t agree with it. If a client starts a conversation about politics, I try to change the conversation so that debates don’t happen within the salon environment.
• The rule of law: Follow laws and rules with the industry. An example of this would be to have adequate insurance and only offer treatments that you are qualified to.
• Individual liberty: Respect the client’s freedom of speech. Remember: everyone has the right to make their own choices, but if you feel that the client is a safeguarding risk, you may need to refer them to organisations that offer professional help.
• Mutual respect & tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs: We need to treat clients the same, regardless of age, race or gender. All clients deserve the same level of care and professionalism.

Following these will ensure your business runs as smoothly as possible, and you will have piece of mind that you are setting a good standard of behaviour as a nail technician.