Shut DOWN!

Well, I got an illegal salon shut down.  Now the offender is crying foul.  She says she's been licensed since 1998 and only does nails (in her home, illegally) for family and friends and she doesn't charge.  Well, I am sure her state board found the following items just as incriminating as I did.

• Why do you have a BUSINESS Facebook Page then?
• With a business name?
• If you aren't charging, then why are you telling people how much you charge when they ask?

I totally call bullshit.  You were caught fair and square.  Now you want to change your story.  I think the most ridiculous statement you made was:

"I am up to code on everything and have my nail license and was unaware of having to have a salon license since Im not a salon, I don't do hair!!!"

So, only people who do hair have to have a salon license?  Really?  Are you really that stupid?  Further, I doubt that you are "Up to code on everything".  I am certain that your salon does NOT meet the following requirements that your state REQUIRES for an in home salon:

• To have an entrance that allows you to enter from the street and not through any part of the home.
• To have a bathroom that is only used for the salon.
• That you have a minimum area of 180 square feet and a minimum width of 10 feet.
• That you have the minimum furniture and equipment listed, which includes a manicure table, two chairs, pedicure basin and a RECEPTION DESK.

I highly doubt that you meet all of the requirements above, since most home owner's have to do major renovations to meet state board requirements.

You are now encouraging all of your "family and friends" who you have been servicing, (I lost count after 80) write on your ILLEGAL businesses wall so that state board can see their support.  REALLY???

Do you not get it through your head that you are BREAKING THE LAW.  That is why state board shut you down!  They don't give a shit what your family and friends have to say.  Actually, this is not going to help you, it's only going to prove HOW MUCH illegal activity you have been doing!  You are ensuring a fine and loss of your license.

I don't feel bad for you one bit.  You broke the law.  You are now angry that you got caught.  Sorry, you can trash the Vietnamese salons all you want, but you know what?  You are no better than the worst of them AND some of them are better than you are.  They are legal.

--Nancy

Reader Submissions 14

oh oh oh I have one.... no you can not buy a jar of the acrylic powder(custom blended colour that I made up because you didn't like any of the existing 5 colour options for your nail bed) from me so that if you go to another tech you will have the colour you love.  I'm not the only one who has noticed your negative attitude about everything either- we've had clients ask not to be booked in for their hair or nail appointments when you are in for an appointment because your moaning gave them a headache.  Yes I realise I am moaning now but I'm about to go to work to do your nails, then a deluxe pedi and then your waxing- I have you for the next 2-3 hours *shudders* 

So it's okay for you to move your appointment around constantly, but it's not okay for me to be sick and have to stay home in bed?

Please quit bathing in your perfume.  You smell like a French whore and you make everyone in the salon sick when you come in.

Flush the toilet.  You are not five.

When a client comes in and is totally going on and on about how horrible their last salon was, it makes me want to never rebook them because it's just a matter of time before I am the subject of that same story.

If you have been to four different salons and had problems with your nails, what makes you think I have a magic wand to make things successful?  After FIVE different techs work on you, it is obvious that YOU are the problem.

I cringe when I hear my co-worker ask "Do you want change back?"  Never ask for a tip.  Just give the person their change and let them give you a tip if they want to.  Worse is when she takes a credit card and asks "Do you want to put a tip on here?"   There are much better ways to handle these things.

Pretend manicurists are really starting to piss me off.

Hey crazy, take your crazy and find someone else to put up with your crazy.

Manufacturers - You REALLY need to make your items acetone resistant!  We use acetone for crying out loud.  I am sick to death of paying top dollar for your stuff only to have it ruined by a tech that is sloppy with her acetone.

Thank you big, expensive, nail manufacturer for charging me an arm and a leg for a brush, that all of the hairs fall out and then tell me that I didn't take care of it right.  I've been doing nails for 10 years and never had a problem with a brush like this.

Who Are You?

I hear the murmurings.  I see the insinuations.  I am not blind, nor am I dumb.  I see that some are claiming that they know my identity.  I have to laugh, because some of those claiming it the most, I have never met in my entire life and never and an interaction with until I became anonymous.

How do I know so much, you ask?  Well it’s not hard.  It’s very easy to see things via Facebook and the Internet.  Even though I am not friends with everyone, I can still see most of your interactions with others that I am friends with.

I see how two faced some people are.  How they openly talk about others thinking that they can’t see it just because they adjusted the privacy settings so that the person they are talking about can’t see it.  Someone may have their account set to friends only and I am not your friend, but when one of my friends comments on your stuff  “I” can then see it all.

So, it doesn’t take someone in the know, or someone who is wildly known to see and know things.  Even a newbie to the industry could do the same.

So, why is it so important that people know who I am?  Is it because I called you out on something?  You didn’t like what I had to say?  Maybe something written has hit a little close to home and hurt your widdle feelings?  Grow up.   Learn from it.  Move on and be a better person because of it.

To those who are certain you know who I am.  Prove it.  I know you don’t have it.  Truth is, I could be anyone.  I could be your competitor next door.  I could be the tech working in the chair next to you.  I could be your best friend.  I could be your boss, or I could be the booth renter that you abuse.  See, no one knows for certain who I am.  No one that is, but me. 

--Nancy

Reader Submissions 13

You are not all that.  You may think you are, but you are not.  Anyone can be anyone they want online and it is clear that you are not what you think you are.  So take your holier than thou attitude and shove it up your ass.  Go do some nails and quit trying to tell people what to do all of the time.  Maybe if you were busier at your nail table you wouldn’t have all this extra time to be all up in everyone else’s business. 

Why do my client’s misbehave when I am off sick and one of the other girls in the salon does their nails?  They wouldn’t come in 30 minutes late with me and expect me to do their nails, why do they expect others?  I am ticked.

How many family emergencies before you finally say to someone that this is too many, you need to pay the late cancellation fee.  They find out that emergencies give you slack so they use that each and every time.

Why don’t nail companies answer their emails?

Hey OPI, your Gel Color sucks ass.  Just like your polish did.  I can’t believe people buy this crap.

Some people need to take their nose out of the air.  We all wipe our butts the same way.  You are not better than me.

I am sickened by how many people think that they can eat at their nail appointment.

Thank you to the inconsiderate jerk who shared their sickness with me.  We don’t get sickdays when we are self-employed.  Next time, reschedule your appointment when you are sick.

Too many people lie to your face.  Why can’t you just admit you did something wrong.  It will gain you more respect, admitting it, than you do by lying to cover it up.

I’m sorry, I know it’s trendy, but putting nail foil on your lips makes you look trashy and like you are trying too hard.  It’s NAIL FOIL that you can get for $1 at Dollar Nail Art! 

Please remove your 999 bottles of juice, that are half filled in the salon fridge.  It’s a shame when we can’t put anything in there because you have a years supply of daily bottles in there.  Other people work here too.

If you can’t afford your nail appointment, don’t make one.  NO we can’t do your nails today and have you pay next week.  Also, don’t tell us this after we have finished your service.  Please do not call to rebook.

Follower Friday - Reader Submissions 12

You are one of two clients, who still wear polish.  I don’t want to hear how your sister’s polish lasts forever, she is wearing gel polish, which you refuse to use.  Go take the walk of shame to the back of the salon, where the polish is.

One day, I am going to go and use the stylist’s hair scissors to open a package.  That will serve them right.  Maybe they will respect my tools then.

What the hell kind of names are Red 101 and Blue 102?  Did your creative department quit on you?

Dear Client:  We have been hearing about your marital troubles for over a year now.  If you aren’t going to leave him, we really don’t have the patience to be sympathetic any longer.

I am so sick and tired of the hairdressers in my salon getting their nails done at the chop shops.  That doesn’t promote me at all.  I am going to get my hair done at SuperCuts from now on.

So, it was a mutual agreement?  They didn’t fire you?  Right…….

1990 called and they want your nails back.

Why do so many people waste time trying to recreate things.  Why not just use what you already have available to you?

I have seen ridiculous statements made by both political sides.  I am sick of reading it.  You people are ridiculous if you 100 percent believe the side that you back.

Sometimes, it takes all I can do, to not reach out and smack you in the head.  You annoy me. 

ISSE Long Beach

For the most part, this show was pretty good.  There are only a few things that made me want to go postal and I will share them with you.

SUITCASES.  Really.  Why do you need to bring a freaking suitcase with you and fill it up.  First off, it says in the brochure that they are prohibited, yet they still allow people to bring them in.  Now I totally understand if you are a nail or hair competitor, you need to have a case to bring your supplies with you.  I am talking about these women that haul around up to three suitcases filled with shampoo, conditioner, etc.  Don’t you realize that most of these companies will ship these items to you for FREE?

It’s quite funny, actually, to sit there and watch people, who aren’t paying attention, in awe of the show, wait for someone to pass, only to trip over the giant suitcase that they are trailing behind them.  Or how about the ignorant ones with those suitcases, who prop them all up against prime counter space to make their next purchase.  Five other people are now not able to get waited on because you and your mountain of luggage are taking up the space of 10 people.

Next, we have the loud, blaring music and the people with microphones.  I think everyone is trying to out yell the next person.  There’s nothing worse, than trying to visit a booth and you can’t because the neighboring booth has people crowded all in the walkway and you can’t walk through, let alone visit the booth.  You also can’t hear the demo because the booth next door has their platform artist screaming into a head mic.  My ears have been raped for the year.

How about the people, who can’t respect your personal space?  You are intently watching a demo, only to have someone, stick their head, directly in your view.  Ummmmm, hello!  I can’t see through you!  Wait your turn, like I did, to be able to be up front to see.

This last one is just a little pet peeve of mine.  Why do women teeter around the show in those stiletto heels?  You can tell they are hard to walk in on that show floor carpeting.  Walking miles each day on the showroom floor is probably growing the most wonderful bunions on their feet.  I am all for looking cute, but you can look cute in practical shoes too.  You don’t have to look like a hooker ever day.

Some of these stylists seem to try to one up each other in the shock value of their clothing.  I mean, I saw a grown man that looked like a human Dalmatian.  His hair was shaved and dyed platinum with black spots and then he had on an awful, matching spotted suit. 

Gelish has to be commended for keeping on the cusp of everything that’s new.  Last year, they gave us the Rio collection of neon soak off gel colors, last fall it was the Auroras, shimmering, glittery top layers.  This year, they gave us Magneto, soak off gel with magnetic additives in it so that when you use the magnet that comes with it, you get a really cool pattern.  Hey CND and Young Nails!  What did you give us new?  Oh some new colors.  Those aren’t anything to get excited about, hell half of them look exactly like colors you already have.  MAGNETO is something to get excited about!!  You better stop sitting on your laurels or Gelish is going to run circles around you come Premiere Orlando.

I checked out the Nailpro Competition area.  I was very pleased to see that they finally added some interesting competitions to the schedule for this year.  Competitions that represent what most of us are doing in the salon daily.  They had a Soak Off Gel art competion.  I loved this one!!!  They also had a stiletto competition that required a minimum of two inches in length. 

My only complaint is, unless you were there and in the right spot at the right moment, you don’t get to see these beautiful creations.  Nailpro, you are a magazine for goodness sakes.  Why can’t you take a photo of each and every entry and upload it to your Facebook page for everyone to enjoy.  It costs you NOTHING but the few minutes it would take to snap the photos and upload them.

Think of all the technicians who would love to see these nails.  Think of the thrill a competitor would have, seeing their creation on your page!

Oh and another thing, I think you need to finally put Salon Success to rest.  Let’s face it.  These nails do NOT represent the nails that we do in the salon, day in and day out.  These are not the nails that bring us the money.  Times have changed and so should this competition.

All in all, it’s been many years since I’ve attended this show and I am glad I was able to take some time and attend this year.  Now, I have to decide if Orlando is going to happen this year.

--Nancy