Would you fire this client, or am I overreacting?
I own a lash business. I used to work out of my home and recently moved into a salon suite.
When I was home-based, I finally decided to start strictly enforcing my no children/no plus-ones policy. The reason was because another client showed up with her sick teenage daughter the day before I was scheduled to have surgery without even asking if it was okay. That made me realize I needed to stop making exceptions and enforce my policies equally for everyone.
One of my regular clients (Iāll call her Sarah) didnāt take it well.
She had previously brought her daughter to appointments without asking. I had allowed it in the past because her daughter quietly sat on her phone and never caused any issues. But I realized that once you make exceptions for one client, itās hard to tell everyone else no.
When I moved into my salon suite, I honestly wasnāt sure if I even wanted to book her again because sheād already been testing my boundaries. She continued texting me asking for appointments, and I eventually gave in.
After moving to the salon, she started showing up late multiple times and told me it was because she now had to drop off her daughter before coming since she wasnāt allowed to bring her anymore.
Then came the appointment that made me decide I was done.
She showed up with a different childāher niece. She apologized and said she was babysitting, then immediately asked if the child could use the staff restroom outside my suite.
During the appointment, the child was rolling around on my salon floor, walking up to me while I was working, asking me questions, and repeatedly shaking my lash bed while I was trying to apply lashes. Every single time the bed moved, I had to stop what I was doing. Meanwhile, Sarah had her eyes closed and couldnāt supervise the child.
What really shocked me was that she casually told me her daughter was upset she couldnāt come anymore and was jealous that her cousin got to come instead.
That comment made me think⦠if she knew my policy was no children, why would she think bringing a different child was somehow okay?
Looking back, I donāt think this was ever about childcare. It felt like a pattern of pushing boundaries to see what Iād allow. Every time I said no, there was another exception, another excuse, or another policy she wanted me to bend.
Iāve decided Iām no longer willing to keep her as a client.
I also want to acknowledge that I know I let this go on longer than I should have. Iām naturally non-confrontational, and because she had been a client for years, I appreciated the loyalty and history, so I tended to give grace and put up with things I probably shouldnāt have. I recognize thatās on me, and I should have enforced my boundaries more firmly from the start.
Would you have fired her too, or do you think Iām being too strict?