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Welcome to episode 21 of the artist to artist podcast. My name is angie I am the host of this podcast Obviously i'm also a full time freelance makeup artist and a makeup artist educator and in today's episode I'm going to be talking to you about dealing with difficult clients You now, I cannot take credit for this episode. I put up a poll on the Artist2Artist Instagram and the first three answers I got from this poll when I asked you what you wanted to hear on the next podcast were all about dealing with difficult clients. If you responded to that poll, this episode is for you.
I am going to talk to you today about some practical advice when it comes to dealing with these difficult people. We'll talk about your mental health and how practicing mindfulness can really help with when you deal with people that are challenging and there's a lot of them in this industry. And I'm also going to talk to you about where both clients and artists can go wrong when it comes to working with one another.
Because sometimes it's not always the client's fault and sometimes we're bringing something to the booking that can [00:01:00] irritate people and make them difficult. So we're definitely going to talk about that as well. I think it's really important for me to start this episode by letting you know that difficult clients are just part of the job. Makeup artistry is a customer service job before anything else and you have to take the good with the bad.
Just like any other job you're going to work with people that you love to work with and you're going to work with people that you maybe don't like to work with. The other thing that I wanted to mention when I say client, I basically just mean anybody that sits in your chair. It could be a bride, it could be an actor, we've all dealt with people that have unrealistic expectations for what they can get out of a makeup application.
Last minute changes. Some people are just very much having a bad day and they're going to take it out on somebody and sometimes that person is you. I can promise you I've dealt with every type of difficult client that you can imagine. I started really young working in beauty retail, so that's, was my first exposure to working with challenging people. And then I've had people that, are in my chair and they hate me from the moment they lay eyes on me to the moment they leave my chair.
I will never [00:02:00] like anything I do. I have people that just don't respect what I'm doing at all. I've had people just be so difficult for no reason. So I've been there. I know it's going to happen again. It's happened to me a ton in the past. I remember very clearly when I started working as a makeup artist more regularly When I had difficult clients in my chair and i've worked for some very difficult people And at the beginning when it first happens you feel like everybody's going to be like this and then you feel like you're not qualified for the job, but But I can promise you these are just growing pains and you'll get more accustomed to managing difficult clients.
And the more exposure you have to people like this, the more ways you'll learn to cope and deal with these types of things. And I'm hoping that some of the stuff I'm going to share in today's episode is also going to help you with this. One thing you will always hear me say is if you want to be treated like a pro, you have to act like a pro.
And I think this is very important to remember when it comes to dealing with clients specifically. I think it's important to set a professional tone from the first interaction with a client, whether it's through a text [00:03:00] message, whether it's you meeting them in your chair for the first time. Establishing and maintaining that level of professionalism is going to put you in the driver's seat with a lot of clients and that means in Texts in emails and in other communication. This is where you can set very clear Expectations of how you want to be treated and this also can reduce the amount of misunderstandings that you're going to have in your chair. I will encourage you to just remember to always handle yourself professionally right from the jump. When you shake someone's hand, when you send that text or email, you have to set the tone and you have to let people know you're a professional.
Your communication always has to be very clear, straightforward, very polite, and consistent communication in this manner is one of the keys, I think, to building trust and setting more of a positive tone to your entire client relationship.
And because we communicate in so many different ways and across so many different platforms with our potential clients or with our ongoing clients, just [00:04:00] remember no matter what, always try to be professional.
And all that stuff you can do even before you're booking. This is why I always talk about writing templates and just remembering to go into business mode. Even if someone texts you and it's 9 o'clock at night or it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday. Just always go into business mode. This will help you.
So much when it comes to actually dealing with these people in person and especially for bridal Those contracts have to be clear your communication always has to be very clear about your rates about timing Just about your expectations for your clients. When you have that first interaction with your client at a booking, that can really set the tone sometimes for the entire appointment or the entire day on set. You'll always want to make sure you introduce yourself, even if you've spoken over email or text or whatever, and you feel like they should know you.
Sometimes when people come into our chair or they're on a set, it's very overwhelming. They're meeting a lot of people, so you do want to still introduce yourself. And I think [00:05:00] for me, what I like to do is, and what I find clients respond to is, , When they come into my space, I need to let them know that I am in charge of this space.
And I like to have a very helpful, polite, more maternal approach to dealing with my clients. If they come into my space, I will let them know where to put their stuff, where to sit down, making sure that they're comfortable, if they need to use the washroom, if they need to finish a water they've had. I will initiate all of those directions as soon as they come into my area. The other thing I'll do when they come into the makeup area and we're getting ready to start the application I will say do you need to use the washroom before we start or i'll say something like okay We've got five minutes before we are going to get started.
Do you need to make a call? Do you need to grab something to eat just to let them know? I'm controlling the space. I'm on a schedule and I am keeping track of time. So little things like that Um to the client. It looks like you're [00:06:00] taking care of them and you're making sure they're comfortable and ready to go, but what it's doing for me is also letting them know I am in charge of the timing and schedule in this area.
So that makes people a little more willing to fall in line with what you need them to do.
When you step onto a set, when you show up at someone's home, when you're maybe working with a bridal client, everybody is exchanging both verbal and nonverbal cues, a. k. a. the vibe. I want you to be aware of this so that you can use this to your advantage when you're dealing with your clients.
An example of how I would sound when a client comes into the makeup room or comes to my table or goes to sit down in my chair, I will say, Hi, my name is Angie. I'm going to be doing your makeup today. Let me help you with your coat. If they have any bags, I'll take their bags from them. If they put their bag on the floor, I will say, you know what, let's find a better place for your bag.
The floor is pretty dirty. So I'll say, So right there, I'm taking control of my environment. I'm giving them the feeling that I'm going to look out for them. I'm making sure all their stuff is where they need it. And then I'll say, all [00:07:00] right, we've got seven minutes until we have to start the application.
Is there anything you need to do in that seven minutes? Do you want to grab a coffee? Do you need a water bathroom? So I'm also letting them know, Hey, I am on a schedule and I plan to stay on the schedule. That signals to them how the tone of the appointment is going to go.
Also, you can hear in the tone of my voice, I'm being very clear and direct. when I'm doing this, I'm looking at my clients right in the eye. I'm just showing them that I'm paying attention to them. Once that part's all done and we've done the introductions, they can then sit in my chair and they can see that, yes, this kid is clean, it's organized.
I have approached them being really polite, being respectful. I am coming off as someone that's approachable. My body language is indicating I'm comfortable and confident. I'm not being, rummaging around my kit. I'm not rushing around making it look like I'm panicked.
I think maintaining a calmer pace, it just conveys confidence and control and people [00:08:00] respond really well to this. And when you appear stressed or you're moving around frantically, sometimes clients will confuse this with you being unprepared and it makes you look unprofessional and clients don't trust that this is a great way to start your booking and to let your clients know you are calm Because you are confident because you're a professional and you can kind of just take it from there
this is probably a good part in the episode to talk about understanding the client's perspective because sometimes this will give you more clarity on their behavior. And for a lot of people, having their makeup done is not a relaxing experience. Being on set can be very stressful. Everybody is going through something.
Believe me, I know we all get wrapped up in our own stuff, but you never know what someone has dealt with 20 minutes before they get into your chair. You don't know what the circumstances are. Of their life are so that's important to keep top of mind and you know Not everybody loves having their makeup done for a lot of my clients It brings up a lot of their self esteem issues and insecurities and they can be [00:09:00] very reactive when they're feeling like this And this is why it's important to be able to have ways that you can control how you react And to calm yourself when you can feel your stress levels are getting very high and this is why I talk about physical fitness, I talk about mental health, and I talk about mindfulness as a very helpful tool that makeup artists should have in their tool belt to help keep things calm.
The last thing you want to be as a makeup artist is reactive. For some people when you hear the word mindfulness It's not about filling your apartment with crystals and doing mood boards and manifesting and all of that If that's something that you do sure, that's great. And that helps you.
It's just really about staying calm calming yourself down if you find you're in a state of stress and not being reactive and it's also about Realizing that a difficult client a difficult situation that you're in It's only temporary and it's going to pass and it's not going to have any any effect on your job the next day, the next weekend.
It's not going to [00:10:00] have any effect on your potential as a makeup artist. So this is where practicing mindfulness, meditating, deep breathing, and just finding ways to calm yourself down, getting yourself in the moment, and really taking your ego out of it. This stuff is so important to help minimize the difficult client interactions you have. How we show up to a job can affect how our clients and the people that we're working with treat us. I talked about those verbal and nonverbal cues, and you really have to not bring what is going on with you to the job. We work in very close settings with people and people can feel when something is not right.
And you can unintentionally contribute to a really difficult situation if your personal stress or your lack of preparation is affecting how you're feeling, how you're interacting. If you're, you are stressed, if you're moving around frantically, if you're snapping at people that could trigger somebody else and they'll be difficult with you because you just look like you're not trustworthy and you're unprepared.
This is where [00:11:00] preparing yourself for each job before you go to the job, looking at your call sheet or thinking about what you're going to be doing and sort of walking through your next job is going to help you prep your kit so that you are prepared. Doing those deep cleans and organizing, that will help.
Ensuring that, again, your personal issues do not spill over into your work. So whether that means seeing a therapist, exercising more, meditating more, you have to take all of those things into consideration. Because when I say we're working closely with people, you can tell right away when you're working with someone if they're having a bad day, if they're stressed out, if someone is irritating them. We're working two inches from people. People can tell when you're going through it. Let's talk about some practical tips when it comes to managing difficult clients. I think communication is something that not everyone can do this well naturally, and it is something to work on.
And I think sometimes it is scary to ask your clients what's wrong or to call out something, but you have to get over that. So the lines of communication are open with your clients and they [00:12:00] know they're open. I think when you do that, your experience with a client is going to be much better if you can communicate clearly and you can talk about good and bad things.
A lot of makeup artists are scared to ask for feedback or scared to show a mirror because they don't want their work critiqued or they don't want their client not to like it. But at the end of the day, we are not mind readers. We have to ask questions. We have to pay attention to how our clients are acting.
What our clients are looking for, what they like, what they don't like. It's just a regular part of the job. And if your client doesn't like something, it's just makeup. You can fix it. You can change it to what they want. It's not so final. And I think that's going to be something where if you can have that approach with your clients, it's going to be very helpful for you.
If you pick up on something your client doesn't like, just call it out right then and there, ask them about it. I had a client in my chair on the weekend, and she's not a makeup wearer, and she was getting prepped for an event, and I could see that physically she was nervous about the application. She was kind of tapping her foot on the chair, her knee was going up and [00:13:00] down, she was fidgeting a little bit, and I said, are you nervous right now?
Are you uncomfortable? And she said, yes, you know, I'm really not used to having makeup. And how I respond to this is I let them know, don't worry. I got you. I have a mirror here. We're going to check in. I'm going to make sure this makeup application is exactly what you want. I don't want you to leave this chair feeling like you don't look 10 out of 10. I always watch my clients when they're in my chair. I pay attention to their body language, the questions they're asking me, what they're saying to me.
And if I feel like something's off or there's something I just want to double check, I will ask them right then and there in the moment. This just shows my clients I'm paying attention to them. And again, it's that maternal approach where you want to take care of your client and you want to make sure that they're feeling good about their experience with you.
If you can have this state of mind when you're going into your bookings, things are gonna be much easier for you. You've probably heard the term active listening, and if you haven't heard this, it just means that you are paying close attention to what someone is saying to you, and you are demonstrating [00:14:00] to your client that you understand. That just sometimes includes repeating back to your clients what they said, but in your own words, nodding, eye contact using words that are just welcoming and more caring. This is a very big part of that interaction. It's a big part of that consult that we do, especially with our personal clients before we start the makeup application.
So here's an example. When someone sits in my chair, I will say, what type of look do you want to go for today? Do you have any, examples of pictures that you could show me. Let's take a look at your inspiration or your mood board and they bring out their Pinterest and they'll show me a bunch of natural makeup looks. First thing I'm gonna do is look at all of the common traits of the pictures that they're showing me. So maybe they're showing me all Hailey Bieber natural makeup looks. I love using Hailey as an example. I will say, okay, so you're going for a more natural look for today's event.
And from these pictures, I can see that you really love a Brown shimmery shadow. What do you think about that? [00:15:00] Or I'll say, does that make sense to you? And then this just confirms I'm seeing what they're seeing in their inspiration or their mood board. And I'm picking up on the elements of the makeup applications that they want to see in their face. Now, sometimes I'll have a mood board or I'll get pictures where they say to me they want natural and all of the pictures are not natural at all.
And they'll say words like soft glam, natural glam. I will ask them, okay, tell me what you mean by soft glam. What do you like about these photos? What do you dislike? Are you looking for more foundation coverage and less eye makeup? So I just throw out questions to really clarify exactly what they're looking for.
And I'll ask them this, not because I'm incompetent, but I'll say, I just want to make sure I get this application perfect for you. And it's exactly what you want. That's how I handle things when clients are showing me something different than what they're saying.
Sometimes we have to do some. investigative reporting to really figure out what our clients want. And even when my [00:16:00] clients don't have mood boards, I have prepared mood boards that I show them. So if they say natural makeup, I'll show them a mood board. If they say soft glam, I'll show them something that's a little more heavier than a natural makeup.
I have all of these things ready because some people are more visual learners and other people respond a better to the question and answer. So do you like a brown eyeshadow? Do you like a brown eyeshadow that is matte or shimmer? All of these people have a glowy cheek. Is that something you wanted?
Yes. Are you loving this rose color in all of these pictures? No, I actually like more peach blush. This is how you make sure you are listening to your clients and you're addressing any confusion that you may have about what they're saying versus what they're showing. This is all part of making sure that you are listening and you're getting to the bottom of exactly what they want
Sometimes a difficult client is a stressed client or an anxious client or they're worried about something. When I see that my client's feelings are starting to manifest, Physically or they're [00:17:00] saying certain things. I will call it out right on the spot if I see that they are, you know Nervously tapping their foot or they're asking a lot of questions about the same thing Like what type of liner are you doing?
How long is the liner going to be? Is that what you're using for the liner? Right then and there I will ask them about it I will say are you a bit nervous about the type of eyeliner we're doing? If I see that they are stressed out and nervous, I will say are you feeling nervous right now? Are you anxious about the wedding? Are you nervous about your event tonight? I'll call it right out So that they just feel seen and I will say things like oh, I totally get it I know how stressful this can be but we're gonna work together to make sure this look is perfect for you. I'm being attentive. I'm showing that I'm understanding. I'm making eye contact. I'm not talking to them with my back turned. I'm not talking to my clients in a way where I am just out of energy.
I don't want to deal with them anymore., I'm upset with them because they should be liking everything that I'm doing. That's not the approach that your clients want to see.
At the end of the day, really clients just want you They want to feel like they can trust [00:18:00] you and you can gain this trust by showing up as a professional, by acknowledging that you understand and hear what they're looking for in their makeup application.
And sometimes it's as simple as that. And there are clients that will be difficult with you until you make them feel comfortable. And what we're talking about in today's episode and me sharing with you my tone that I use with clients, some of the things that I say, sometimes it just takes one phrase or one word or one.
Nod, one look in the eye to bring clients down a bit, calm them down, and they'll become less difficult when they know that they can trust you and they know that you are hearing what they're looking for. Another important piece to dealing with difficult clients, and this kind of goes back to what we talked about in the beginning of the episode, is setting those boundaries.
And you can do that through your communication, but you're also going to have to do that in person when your clients sit in your chair. There are some people that don't understand that we're working on a schedule and this is very specific to personal services like bridal, like special [00:19:00] events, where they want to add things, they want to completely change the makeup look that they're doing.
Setting those boundaries and how you communicate your boundaries is From the first time you text or email or DM or whatever it is to the time where they're sitting in your chair is going to be important. there are phrases that you can use, and I'll run through a couple that have come up, just a few that I can think of off the top of my head.
There are clients who you will do, let's say a wedding makeup application and they're a bridesmaid, and They give you the mood board you do the look you check in with them It's good. Good. Good. Good good And then all of a sudden five minutes before that appointment time has to be over They're making all of these adjustments or they see someone else's makeup that they would prefer Sometimes this is a client who's just not sure of themselves I find a lot of my clients who are like this are just really low self esteem and they're very indecisive when you have clients that are like this and they want a lot of the makeup change, but you have to stick with it on the schedule.
What I usually tell them is, look, I'm happy to make [00:20:00] adjustments for you, but I have to make sure that we're staying on our timeline for today because I don't want you to be late for this event or late for this wedding. So let's do this. I've scheduled in 15 minutes for touch ups, sit with the makeup for now, and then come back at this time.
And we'll use five of those minutes just to make the changes that you want. That's a way to set boundaries and to let the client know, Hey, look, Listen, we have to be on a schedule. This is not all about you. And I have to move along, but you are doing it in a way where you're not making them feel like it's over. It's completely hopeless that, you're not going to do anything for them.
If I also notice that a client is going to be indecisive, I will say things like, look, I just want to make sure you're totally happy with this look. If there's a few different looks that you're thinking about right now at this point in the makeup application, let's pull them up on our phones or whatever.
And let's take a look at what some of the similarities are between those looks. So we can narrow in on something that we can do in the time that we have for the appointment today. Transcribed So that's another way to deal with more indecisive clients. What you say and [00:21:00] how you say it is very helpful with setting those boundaries. Clients don't like hearing no. It's all about finding that common ground and doing what you can in the time that you have. And it's as easy as saying, I will do whatever I can for you in the time that we have in the schedule.
If that means you come back in two hours time for a five minute touch up, let's do that. And we'll make sure. Everything's good to go. If someone wants to add a service, you can say, look, I'm here today for five services. This is the scheduled time. If I have some time, I'll let you know, but I can't let you know right now. It's just about, like, not saying no, but being realistic and reasoning with your client. If you can try to help, you will, letting your clients know that. That's one way of setting boundaries the other way to do it is through your communication. Making sure your booking policies and procedures are very clear with your special event clients. It means a schedule. It means that saying you can do what you can in the time. If someone's late, you can only do what you can do in the remaining time. In their appointment, things like that. [00:22:00] Being very clear about that, regardless of who it is that you're dealing with, making sure you let people know what your boundaries are in that way, with your booking, with your payments, whatever it is, you do that before.
And then when you get onto set, it's just about being confident, owning the time that you have. Okay. Recognizing that really you're there to do a specific job in a specific time period and you want to help when it is reasonable and when it makes sense for everybody else that's doing their makeup. So I hope this is kind of clear.
Sometimes it's just about knowing when to compromise and knowing when to stick to your guns. And clients, when you can just speak directly, when you can call things out as they're happening, when you can be reasonable and you don't immediately say no and you don't, again, you're not reactive and saying things in a rude way or you're not snappy with people, most clients, if you can reason with them, they're totally fine
Some clients just want a problem solved and you need to be a problem solver, meaning like [00:23:00] maybe they're late and you don't have time.
How can you help them in the time that you do have to make sure that they're feeling good? Sometimes people, when they sense that they can take advantage of you, they will, knowing when to compromise, knowing when to stand firm is really important when dealing with difficult clients.
And when you have those boundaries set, and you come across as professional, A lot of clients will respect you more and they're not going to try to push your buttons and, you know, act in a certain way that's going to be difficult to you. And then again, just recognizing that not all clients love having their makeup done and everybody's going through something and making sure you're taking your ego out of it.
This is why it's important to have that more problem solving approach with your clients. Sometimes this is where that mindfulness comes in Knowing it's just a temporary situation.
It often says more about them than it does about you understanding that some people are not having a great time when they're in your chair and they're not really enjoying the whole experience. It's all of these things that you have to be aware of.
It's not just about what your kit looks [00:24:00] like, the makeup looks that you're doing, making sure you get the before and after photos. There's a lot of nuanced stuff that goes into dealing with clients, especially difficult ones.
Just to recap what we talked about in today's episode a lot of clients that are Potentially going to be challenging or difficult to work with you can minimize how difficult things are going to be From that very first interaction. From that first email text or dm really making sure you're showing up in those interactions as a professional when it comes to The actual makeup application making sure you're starting the appointment on the right foot You You are communicating to your client.
You're taking care of them. You are aware of their perspective. You are also self aware of how you are showing up to these jobs.
You are managing the situation in a way that is calm and confident and you understand that when people are being difficult, it's not necessarily on you.
And of course, I cannot finish this episode without reminding you that we all go through this difficult clients come with the [00:25:00] job that's everything for today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you like what I'm doing here, please don't forget to subscribe, whether it's on YouTube or where you listen to your podcast. If you have any follow up questions or podcast topic requests, please put them in the YouTube comments.
That's the best place for you to get those requests to me, and I think that's everything. Don't forget to follow me on my social media channels, and I will be talking to you next week. Have a good one..
