There are so many benefits to being a lash artist.  From working with incredible clients, to making a great income to using your lash business as a tool to build the life of your dreams. The possibilities are endless.

But there are also times where being a lash artist is hard, lonely and emotionally draining.

For the most part, we do a great job of putting on a smiling face for our clients.  But there are some clients that you wish would just disappear.  And those clients sometimes do things that are extremely hurtful and damaging to us and our business. Things like threatening you with a negative review.

In this article, I’m going to share my thoughts on how to handle the threat of negative reviews as well as what to do if you receive one.

IS THE CLIENT BEING REASONABLE?

Years ago, I had a client whom I’d worked with for several years.  As wacky as she was, I looked forward to our appointments.  She also referred a lot of clients to my business which I was grateful for.  I’ll be honest though.  She wasn’t my ideal client.  I enjoyed her as a person but she had a hard time keeping still, sometimes her eyes would open while I applied her lashes and she would get upset at her then boyfriend and start yelling at him like a maniac.  

I dealt with it all because I liked her.  

One day, she text me after her touch up appointment to let me know that she lost a lot of her lash extensions and she wondered if I’d used any new products on her lashes that day.  Of course, I would never do such a thing without notifying my client first and I told her that but I did something that I now know, was a mistake.  

We were also friends on Facebook at the time and I saw that she had attended a party the same day I applied her lashes. And in the photos, her lashes were covered in eyeliner and mascara.  So, I asked her the question, “have you worn any eyeliner or mascara since I last saw you?”

Asking that question set her off and she became irate.  She sent texts in all caps and threatened YELP ME ALL OVER THE MAP, which I assumed based on her tone, she meant it as a negative thing.  I replied to her calmly and asked if something else was going on because her behavior seemed really extreme in response to the question I asked her.  I think that question made it worse.  She just flipped out even more and got so nasty that I had to block her from texting me.  

Oh, but she didn’t stop there.  

I made a post about lash extensions to my Facebook profile and she started commenting and telling people that I was the worst lash artist she’d ever been to and never to trust me because I’d damage their lashes.  And then she went on to say she looked like a plucked chicken which I assume was because she got so mad, she pulled out all of her lash extensions.  I ended up having to block her everywhere. 

The way she flipped on me really caught me off guard. More than anything, it hurt me because I knew that it meant the end of our relationship.  And I couldn’t believe that after alllllll that I’d done over the years to accommodate her, she would be so WILLING to sabotage my business with a negative review.  I mean, in all the years I worked with her, she hadn’t even written me a positive review but now from a little question, she’d be willing to write a negative review?  

The reason why I share my experience with a client threatening me with a negative review is because the first question you want to ask yourself when a client is threatening you with a negative review or like in my case, flipping out is, “is this person being reasonable?” Meaning, do they have good reason for writing you a negative review?  Is there something you’ve done that could have prompted the negative review?

If yes, you need to do everything you can (within reason) to fix the situation and make it right.  But if you haven’t done anything wrong and the person is just being crazy, keep reading and I’ll share later a few things you can do to manage the situation.

Assuming you’ve done nothing wrong, the first thing you need to do is ask…

WHAT ARE THEIR INTENTIONS?

Here’s the reality of the times we’re living in right now.  Most people know that the survival of a small business depends on positive reviews.  So before we start to worry about the thought of a negative review, we first need to ask ourselves, “what are the client’s intentions in threatening you with a negative review?”

Ultimately, the outcome they’re looking to achieve is for you to give them what they want… whatever that is.  For most people, the reason for threatening you with a negative review is they know that it can possibly ruin your reputation in the eyes of potential clients and you’ll be willing to give them whatever they want to avoid getting a negative review.

But even deeper than this, what kind of person would be willing to sabotage your business, possibly your survival just to get what they want?  

A bully.  A miserable human being.  A person who feels powerless in their everyday life so they go around bullying people as a desperate attempt to feel like they’re in control or in a position of power.  Ultimately, only a very weak and immature person would behave in this way.  Or in my situation, a spoiled, 50 year old brat who’s never been called out for bad behavior and someone who I later learned, is privately battling with domestic violence at home.

When you’re dealing with someone like this, keeping all of this in the front of your mind when you interact with them is critical.  It’s also important to keep in mind that you may say everything right, but because this person is seriously damaged and experiencing deep internal pain, they won’t be able to use reason and actual hear you in order to respond from an emotionally intelligent place.  

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO MANAGE THE SITUATION?

The first thing you should do is mentally prepare yourself to receive a negative review.  No matter what you do or how pleasantly you handle a situation like this, there’s always a chance the person can and will, leave you a negative review.

If you prepare yourself mentally for it, the thought of a negative review won’t be as much of an emotional drain.  Instead, you can come from a place of power and prepare yourself to have a professional response. 

As I mentioned earlier, if you made a mistake, own it and try to make things right.  But if the client is being a bully, remove all emotions in your exchange with them and stick to the facts.  I find that when someone is in a heightened emotional state, if you reflect the facts of the situation back to them and don’t allow them to suck you in to their emotional tirade, it’s easier to respond to the situation from a level-headed place.

No matter what, do not cower to unreasonable expectations that the client may have just to avoid a negative review.  If you do, it only teaches them that they can bully small businesses into doing whatever they want if they threaten a negative review.  

When that client threatened to Yelp me all over the map, I replied to her, “If that makes you feel better or you feel that’s what you need to do, then go ahead.” The reason why I responded in that way is because I knew that 1 negative review wouldn’t affect the reputation I had built over the years and I also knew that if she wrote a negative review, she’d be so mad that it wouldn’t be difficult for onlookers to recognize her as a complete wack job.

By that point, I had a full clientele and I’d been a lash artist for several years, so I meant what I said to her.  If you’re new and you’re not in the position I was in at the time, you’ll still want to make it clear to the client that you aren’t moved by the idea of a negative review because when you respond in that way, it takes away their perceived power over you.

Now here’s something every lash artist needs to know….

NEGATIVE REVIEWS AREN’T NECESARILY A BAD THING

Sure, in the old days when people could say anything about your business and you had no recourse or an opportunity to respond, you needed to fight hard to not receive any negative reviews.  But these days, you have a chance to respond professionally for potential clients to see. And you may even attract new clients based on what the reviewer says in their review or in the way you respond.  I’ll give you an example.

Years and years ago, I was on the hunt for a new doctor.  After finding someone locally, I checked out his reviews on Yelp. I’ll be honest, the reviews were all pretty bad.  This guy had a 1 star rating and people didn’t like him one bit.  But rather than going off of the star rating, I decided to actually read the reviews.  Some people said they didn’t like him because he told them they were overweight.  Others hated how much he talked.  Based on those reviews, you’d think this guy was a real wack job.

But as an onlooker, I actually thought he would be a good doctor for me to check out.  In my opinion, a lot of doctors won’t tell you that you’re too fat, they’ll just wait until you have high blood pressure or diabetes and then write you a prescription.  So in my opinion, it was a GOOD thing that this doctor would be willing to tell you the truth.  And about how much he talked?  I translated that to mean he was very thorough and wouldn’t rush you through the office in 5 minutes so he could get to the next patient.  

So I scheduled an appointment.  And guess what?  He turned out to be the best doctor I’ve ever gone to.  He didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear.  He was honest and he took his time explaining things to me because ultimately, he wanted to help me to live a healthier lifestyle.

I share this to say, we’ve all gotten more savvy these days when looking at reviews.  It’s not difficult to spot a person that is unreasonable or a weirdo.  For most people, when they look at reviews and take the time to read the reviews, they’re looking to see if the person who wrote the review is like them.  If they are, their ears perk up and they take it into consideration.  If they aren’t similar, whatever the reviewer wrote goes in one ear and out the other.  They take it like a grain of salt. 

So if you’re ever threatened with a negative review, just keep in mind that there’s a good chance it won’t have a negative impact on your business.

Threats of a negative review can happen, even if you’ve done everything right.  It’s important to know this when you go into business for yourself.  Prepare yourself mentally, try to be as selective as you can when accepting clients so you provide the best service and avoid negative reviews altogether. And in the event you receive a negative review, know that it’s unlikely to ruin your entire business.  You have an opportunity to respond and your response may end up helping you to gain clients.

I hope this helps you and if you’ve ever experienced a client threatening you with a negative review, feel free to share your story!