Your Client Said What?

Summary

In this episode, Amy Ingle and Amber Schaffer discuss the intricacies of working in the medical spa industry, focusing on client management, expectations, and the challenges faced by injectors. Amber shares her journey from radiology to aesthetics, her passion for making clients feel confident, and the importance of setting boundaries with clients. The conversation delves into handling difficult clients, unrealistic expectations, and the strategies for maintaining a positive work environment. Amber also offers valuable advice for new med spa professionals and reflects on her aspirations for the future.

https://linktr.ee/sweetfaceinjector

IG  @injector_perfector_dnp

Takeaways

• Amber's journey from radiology to aesthetics is inspiring.
• Setting boundaries with clients is crucial for injectors.
• Unrealistic client expectations can lead to dissatisfaction.
• Educating clients about procedures helps manage expectations.
• Laughter and positivity are essential in a spa environment.
• Firing a client may be necessary for personal well-being.
• Free marketing strategies can effectively grow a business.
• Client reviews significantly impact new client acquisition.
• Injectors must be prepared for difficult conversations.
• Continuous education is vital in the aesthetics industry.

Titles

• Navigating Client Expectations in Aesthetics
• The Art of Client Management in Medical Spas

Sound Bites

• "I love my job."
• "We learn every day."
• "I had to fire a client."

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Background

01:14

NEWCHAPTER

02:52

Amber's Journey in the Medical Field

05:32

Client Expectations and Red Flags

08:19

Bizarre Client Requests and Unrealistic Expectations

10:44

Dealing with Difficult Clients

13:36

Setting Boundaries and Client Management

15:59

Firing Clients and Responsibility

18:41

Team Morale and Client Interactions

21:13

Advice for New Med Spa Professionals

23:32

Business Growth and Marketing Strategies

Transcript

Welcome to glow up and get real. I'm Amy Ingle with the podcast and I have here Amber Schaffer Yay, and this is a special episode because we are in our small sweet spot And we're just like having a great day having some champagne cheers

And we're going to talk about something very interesting.

So our first question.

is Amber, tell me a little bit about yourself. All right, so I began
my medical experience starting in 2005, I guess, from radiology, radiology
tech. Then I worked at an urgent care and I saw how cool nurses were and I was
like, you know, I want to be like them. So I went back to school, went to Nova
Southeastern University.

and got my bachelor's degree that went back to school because the
whole COVID and the furlough incident. I said I needed to get I'm an essential
worker. So I need to get my master's and I want to get a you know, my nurse
practitioner. But then I figured you know what go gung ho and get my doctorate
too. So

back to Nova Southeastern University got my master's in doctorate and
here I am. Here you are. And so you're in the medical realm of the spa
industry. tell us a bit about how you got involved in that. well, okay. So it
all started when I was having some hair loss, hair loss, as you know, okay. And
I thought you and just

how amazing you are and your personality and I was like I want to be
like her. That's sweet. Yeah that's the truth. That's so sweet. Yeah I was like
and I kept hounding you didn't I for like after my botox injection you need a
notification. But you weren't one yet? No I wasn't but I was in school you knew
why. I I handed you for a few things.

Yeah, then it was either aesthetics or behavioral health, as you know.
Same in the one, one in the same. It actually is. It's amazing. I'll have like
a whole therapy session with my clients, which I do love. When they trauma
dump, it doesn't bother me at all. Trauma dump. I like that. I never heard that
before. Trauma dump. Nice.

Yeah, I'll sit there and listen because I can relate and sympathize
and you know, a lot of people need like an outlet. So while you're sitting
there injecting and such you can and they explain their experiences and like,
yeah, I've been through that before. then, yeah. That's how you're related.
Yeah. And so then you came into the medical spa.

at Sweet Spot and you've been there for two years now. And what would
you say? Good move, still looking to do something else. What do you love it?
You hate it? I love my job. Everybody knows I love my job. Yeah. Yeah. Good.
Good. Good. Good. What do you love about it the most? Because I'm sculpting.
It's art. I love making people happy when they leave and they have that
confidence. like I did my job. I worked at the hospital for...

I don't know, two years, and then I worked at an outpatient and you
know, you're always in that field where the doctors give you that depressing
news. ⁓ you cancer. So like this job is amazing. You have happy results. You
don't have like clients coming back. Yeah. Well, happy results, but the reason
we're here today is talking more.

about those unhappy results that we sometimes get or some of those
clients that are just not happy with us, right? So let's dive into the
questions that I have for you. So let's chat. So are there any red flags that
you look for that signal a client might be high maintenance or potentially
problematic? So there are a few, but it's not everyone.

because I have some great clients that do this and they are not
problematic. Yeah. Let's just get that straight. We love almost a hundred
percent of our clients, but there's a few that are a little high maintenance.
Yeah. ones that come in there, like I can't bruise. Absolutely no bruise. I
need it here. And you know, it's just like, um, are they coming and say
nobody's bruised me before? Oh yeah.

Really? You're getting an injection in your face. It's a needle and
you're causing trauma to the skin. You're gonna bleed. Yes. And especially the
ones that are on the blood thinners of the tumor. Take an ibuprofen like three
days before. They're gonna bruise. Absolutely. So, okay. Any other red flags?
Oh, I don't allow that. I'm like, give me that mirror.

Oh, I have a few. Do you have a mirror? don't just like… Yeah. Now, a
mirror for consultation is perfect. I always use a mirror pretty much when I
can do a consultation, like have a look at here. But when I'm doing the
procedure, I do not want them watching me do that because they can… Oh, I've
heard my lesson on one client. Yeah. They can tell you how you need to inject
and where to put the needle and that's… Oh, that's what happened. Yeah. Yeah.
And then when that did happen, what was the result?

to, we're done. She was telling me how to inject and she was
questioning why I was doing it at an angle and that's the way I learned and was
taught. So when you're questioning my technique and you're at the nurse
injector, she probably, so I stopped. And she didn't get a certain area done
and that's on her. Right. Yeah. She's just, if she's going to come to you and
trust you with her face, then she needs to let you do it a hundred percent.

After after you've had the consultation and she's agreed to the
procedure she needs to just let you do your job, right? And if not, I've had to
say listen, this isn't gonna be a good fit Go down the street Go down the
street because backyard boat talks and they they actually will never be happy
those kind of clients so It's good to just like thank you very much for coming
in, but we can't help you today

They leave the country or the state Or the state yeah, we have a
couple of those that yeah, we'll the country Yeah, really bizarre, okay, okay,
so can you share a story where a client's expectations were wildly? Unrealistic
how did you manage the situation?

We learn every day. ⁓ that is the truth. Yes. I would say an
unrealistic expectation is when a client comes in and they want their cheeks,
jawline and chin and they want one syringe of filler. Just one? Can't you do
that with one, Amber? Come on. You're a super injector. No? So if you were
going to get your cheeks, jawline and chin, how many syringes do you normally
recommend? Depending, kind of average.

All depends. Everybody's different. So like for cheeks, I would say
either half half or one and one syringe. Syringes. Yeah. For jawline, that
ranges from three to five. I have done clients where it's like...

Yeah, if you're doing jowl you definitely need one for jowl So that'd
be one and one for both sides and then jawline usually you need two on each
side If it's a man, you might need three to make that chisel chisel jaw look.
Yeah, so and then the chin Yes, snatch. It's the hot word snatch But then the
chin probably another half to one CC as well. So it just depends on the
structure

Yeah, I like that. I just want one syringe for all of this. like, no,
that's not gonna work. Who requested this for and they were like 30 units for
the whole face. What? And that 30 units for the whole face. Yeah, had a client
say that to me. Yeah, I don't think so. Try that. Try again. OK, so what's the
most bizarre or unexpected request you've received from a client?

think the most bizarre, mean maybe it's not bizarre, but it was to me
was Kybella to the cheeks. Yeah, so Kybella, it actually dissolves fat through
di-cholic acid. We don't even do that anymore. one of them research people can
say it. No, we don't even use Kybella anymore because we just feel like there's
not enough...

of a result and you need multiple treatments, it's just clients aren't
satisfied with it. Maybe some people have had a great reaction, but we have
other things that are better now. Kybella's been out for years and now we have
like a Tiva, which I think is a better solution, it's more natural from, yeah.
So yes, and if you would have done it there, what would have happened?

Well, you could hit a nerve. That's the problem. That's why we don't
inject there. Yeah, you could. You could do some damage to some of facial
nerves and then they might not smile so pretty anymore. So we stay away from
that area. definitely that. And there's another one actually. And people want
filler here. They're like, no. I'll do it. I've done it. I'll do it to one
client and one client only. yeah. But.

Otherwise, I am not about to lose my license over blindness. Yes.
Well, I will only do it A, if I've seen them multiple times and I know they'll
come back to see me. B, they're getting a neurotoxin every three to four months
because if you don't paralyze those muscles, there's no point in putting filler
in there. Exactly. No point. Yeah. And you have to put more filler in if
they're not using the toxin. So they have to do that. And then three,

If they understand all the risks involved with that, I will inject
here into the static line of the Glabeller after all of those things are super,
very superficially, almost intradermally actually. So I've had success. My
clients love it, but there's only a few that I would trust that I would do that
with. So you've to be a very VIP-er with me to be able to do that. So yeah.

Absolutely. So, oh, how do you deal with clients who are never
satisfied no matter what you do? No matter what you do. I know, I get the phone
call. I'm like, Amber, you can handle this on your own. But first of how do you
approach that? I mean, I hear what they have to say and I listen and I try to
make people happy. I am a people pleaser.

Mm-hmm. With them, I mean, there's certain expect- you know, like, ⁓ if they have these crazy expectations, I want a full free syringe,
blah blah blah. It's like, come on now. Yeah. I don't see the results in my
lips and it faded within four months. What- and filler blindness. I know I'm
talking about everything, but- No, that's good. Yeah, the people who have like
filler blindness and they think that, you know, the syringe dissolved within-

So filler blindness, blindness, describe what that is. So it's when a
client will come back in and they'll say, I don't see the filler anymore. It's
not there. But then you show a previous picture, what they look like. you're
like, no, it's still there. But you get so used to seeing your face and lips a
certain way that you think the filler. Yeah. I agree. It's all kind of in
retrospect too.

someone comes in and you do some work on their face with some filler,
they get used to it, and then they think that we caused some issue when it
wears off. Oh, yes. For instance, like Botox, they get Botox for a couple of
years and then they stop maybe because they've moved, they haven't found a new
provider or they just feel like they can't afford it, they're saving their
money.

and then they feel like because we did the Botox all those years, we
made their face look older. This happens all the time. And we age every day.
You I always say a baby's skin, a newborn's skin, replaces itself every three
days. An adult's skin replaces itself every 30 days. So we're aging every day.
We can't stop the clock, but we can actually kind of slow it down.

So I do get those clients that think that we've made their face worse
because we've injected them which is not the case. They just didn't realize
they've aged over the years while they were getting treatments. Or they lose
weight. This is true. Azempic. And they have skin like... Wigovie. Yeah,
exactly. It's like, that's you losing weight. And that's like, talking about
that, I mean...

It's all over the news, all over social media. you know, if you take
semi-glutide, ozempic, Wigovia, whatever, that you're going to have all this
loss, all this fat loss, all this bone loss, muscle loss. And it is true, but
you have to like exercise. You have to eat properly. You have to take nutrition
seriously when you do these weight losses to prevent some of those losses.
Because they would happen if you lost weight naturally, you know, without drugs.

So we have to do a lot of educating, don't we? Yep, yes we do. Okay,
so got one for you. Oh, I got, I like this one. Oh boy. This is good for you.
How do you set boundaries with clients who want to overstep whether it's after
hours text or demanding special treatments? Of course you picked Amber! Of
course you picked this one, all right. You only gave me one syringe and it
doesn't look right.

Oh, but in my notes, I see that I suggested too. So tell me how you
deal. So yeah, I will suggest to people, especially the group on the front,
let's say 30 units and that's all I need. So I will write like the suggestion
is, you know, recommended the units, blah, blah, but they're on a budget or
they have unrealistic expectations.

And so I will write everything in my notes that way we don't, ⁓ you know, they point fingers at us. Yeah. Yeah. That. And then, ⁓ I used to, and Amy killed me for this one, give out my personal phone
number. Don't ever do that. Don't ever give your personal phone number out
ever, ever, ever. Yeah, you did.

Yeah, you did. There's a reason the office, the spa has a business
number. Yeah. And we also have social media. They can go on social media and
ask questions or give us messages to call them back. We also have text
messaging. So there's lots of options. We look at it. We look at it 24 seven.
So if there's something that's a dire need at midnight, I'm sure one of us will
address it. We'll see it and address it.

So, okay, got, what's your go-to strategy for deescalating an angry or
upset client? I know what you're gonna say. I do. You call me. Yes, you call
me. So I'll answer this one. So I used to get all worked up and be like, ⁓ I'm gonna say this because this is what happened and blah, blah,
blah. That will get you nowhere.

That will get you nowhere, that'll only make things worse. And I
learned over time, you just have to step back, take a deep breath, and own it.
And by owning it, just be, have sympathy, just be there for the client, listen
to their concerns, even if you don't agree with it, just listen, and then try
and make things better. I mean, we had that one client that,

got a package, this was recently, got a package for body sculpting and
decided it wasn't working for her. So she demanded or asked, I'm not sure she
talked to you, if she could then cut her package up and use that towards
another treatment. Now we don't do that, but this client was really upset. She
didn't have the expectations that she had expected, although we never...

We never give unrealistic expectations, but sometimes the clients
don't hear that. They don't hear it. They hear what they want to hear. However,
I did say, come back in. We'll do a different treatment just to help smooth
things over. It just depends on the client too. Sometimes if they're nasty to
me and they're just downright mean, I will not step forward and give them
something to reimburse them with. I'll be like, no, if you're going to act that
way, I'm done with you.

you know, let's, but if you're like sincerely, you know, want to speak
to me in a, in a professional manner, then I'm more likely to kind of give
back. there you go. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So the next one, have you
ever had a, had to fire a client? Have you ever had to fire a client?

And what led up to that decision and how did you handle it? Oh no,
here we go again. Here we go again. I shouldn't even ask that. Oh, you know it
too. Yep, yep. Time for a drink. Yes, yes. Cheers. Cheerio.

So what would you say about that one?

She ruined my Christmas. no, she ruined your Christmas? back in like,
back in Nam. No, I'm kidding. So like when I first started with Amy, I had a
client who was very upset that she bruised, needle to the face people, she
bruised and... You didn't punch her? Needle to the face. But coincidentally
left the country. just, know.

Um, stupid me gave my phone number, personal phone number. So she
would text me that she was unhappy that she bruised and just every day. And I
don't know what to do. She left the country. I told her to get Arnica, get some
heat to have your blood or have your body absorb the blood. Like, like IPL
treatments. left the country. So I don't know what you want me to do. What

like yes I heard you every day you're bruised you're not happy you're
bruised you're not happy I got it mm-hmm so I was like I'm not letting her ruin
any of my Christmases or holidays ever again mm-hmm so I just said please do
not assign this client to me anymore mm-hmm mm-hmm something that I do it's
like reverse psychology pretty much is when somebody bruises usually you know
right away but they could

They could wake up with a bruise the next day, you know? So what I
always do is I say, ⁓ you're bruised. Okay, well, let's let's review kind of what what
medicine you took beforehand and probably nine out of 10 times. I'd say almost
10 out of 10. They've taken ibuprofen, Motrin, aspirin, turmeric, fish oil,
like within five days. So I kind of turn it and alcohol. Yeah, I don't count
that one. But, you know, anyway.

But I turn it around and say, listen, these are in your
pre-procedures. They're online. Before you have your procedure, this is what
you need to avoid. We have it in our consent forms. So because that happened,
that's why you're more likely to bruise. That's why you have the bruise. So I
always kind of turn it around to give it the responsibility of the client,
because not everything needs to be our responsibility. We can tell them, tell
we're blue in the face, and we have done it, and it doesn't matter.

So we have to sometimes give them the responsibility to listen to us
and to read the consent form before they sign and to go online and see our
pretreatment instructions. I mean, I do that often and that sometimes helps
deescalate because they're like, you're right. So that's just kind of word of
advice from over the years that I've been doing this.

I mean, and you know, we are the ones that put the needle next to the
vessel that caused the bruise, right? We are the ones, but not everyone's
anatomy is the same. know, those are not all in the same place. No, you inject
and we don't have x-ray vision. So we can't see them. So we do our we try so
hard to follow our procedures and our protocols to minimize bruising.

but there's just some things out of our control. And that's in our
consent form. And that's the most important thing. Just have that in your
consent form so that all the responsibility doesn't fall on you, the injector.
so how do you keep your team motivated and positive when dealing with difficult
clients or tough days? Yeah, so when you're like in the spa and Zo's at the
front desk and you've got somebody coming in that's like, whoa.

We know we might have a little issue on our hands or the issue happens
after the procedure. How do you keep the morale up in the spa? Well, just,
okay. Well, with them, they kind of just, I'll be an outlet. You guys dump on
me. I'll listen to it. But I mean, you got to stay positive. You got to keep
the spa going, keep people positive, because you don't want it to ruin your
whole day.

I always think laughter helps. It does, laughter. Yeah. Does it
matter? Comedy. You know, we're not making fun of clients, but we are trying to
make light of some of the situations to help ease some of the stress in the
spa. So that always kind of helps, I think.

new med spa professionals about handling pain in the ass clients, what
would it be? What's the advice to new med spa professionals? Just try to keep
the clients happy. Yeah? Yeah, that's what I think because that's the way you
gain business. That's the way you keep them coming back. You keep them happy.
But you can overdo it too.

Don't you think? can over do it over kiss their tushy and then it can
backfire on you. That's happened to me before. lot of supply, you know, you
lose out on the money. You pay for all that product and then you're just giving
it for free to a few. Or your time. And the time and they're just not happy.
You're just not making them happy. And it's all.

It's all based on the foundation of unrealistic expectations. We're
not a plastic surgeon's office. We can't do full face lifts, nor do we want to.
But we can slow time down by gradually introducing neurotoxin and filler and
sculpture and radius. There's all kinds of things we can do to slow down the
aging process and just kind of make people feel more confident in the aging
process as well.

Yeah. Okay, one more. This is what I ask all my guests is what is your
sweetest tip of the day?

Don't freak out and stress out the injector. That is my sweetest tip.
We know what we're doing. Don't stress us out. Trust me. I have the sculpting
idea in my head. I don't need anyone to be like, don't bruise me. Cause that's
not my intention to bruise, but things happen. Yeah, absolutely. Don't stress
the injector. Don't stress the injector. Do you have any questions for me?

How do you deal with running a business and everything else you do?
Well, I've been doing it for eight years. So it started out slow. I didn't open
up a Medi Spa with 14 employees and, you know, five injectors and two
locations. It didn't happen. It started small in little bits. And just over
time, it's just easier to grow to where we're at now than

just opening up something, boom, with all the equipment, all the
supplies, all the injectors. It's like baby steps. That's the best way to open
your business. So if you are wanting to open your own medical spa, I would
suggest getting a small little space. I was in a salon suite. It was like the
size of a bathroom. It was so tiny. I couldn't even move in there hardly. And
there was no way I was going to have a piece of equipment in there like a
laser. There was no room.

And it was good because lasers are very expensive. So I waited about
two years before purchasing my first piece of equipment and the laser I got was
a multifunctional. So it could do a lot of different things, which was great
because that way I could offer a lot of different treatments to help pay off
that machine. So it's just doing it in small increments, I would say. Don't go
overboard, don't do a lot of marketing, do free marketing.

I have to say Groupon was my go-to when I first opened because it's
free. I did lose about $10 per client, but I looked at it as a marketing fee.
And some of my clients that I have today that come in every three to four
months regularly, we were talking about one of them earlier today, she was a
Groupon. And I have some of the best clients that came from Groupon.

There's some that just Groupon shop and you'll never see them again
unless you put another Groupon up. But for the most part, I some amazing
clients and you do too. do. Yeah, I do. Yeah, I really do. And I have like
Punta Gorda clients that will drive to Fort Myers. Which is which is about a 40
minute drive. Yeah. Yeah. And not only that is Groupon is not like a do all for
all every all.

You know, I did it for the time being to grow the practice and it
really did help. There were nice reviews on Groupon that helped with just
growing. But then once I got to that point where I was like, okay, I have
enough clients. I think I can stop the Groupon now. Let's just see how word of
mouth does and just, you know, talking to other people and just bringing in
other clients through our Google reviews. That was another thing. That was like
the second thing I did is made sure everybody reviewed on Google because

That's where people go to try and see if it's a reputable spa. I
always ask my client when they come in, so how'd you hear about us when they're
new? How'd you hear about us? And almost everyone says, well, I saw you on
Google. So you looked at our reviews. Yes, your reviews, and they were amazing.
And do we have 100 % five stars? No, we don't. We do have some of those clients
that were not happy with us.

However, the majority of our reviews are great and that's what keeps
new people coming in the door, which I believe is really important. So start
slow, start small and use your resources that are free. Yes. So anything else
you want to talk about? You don't know? So where do you see yourself in the
next five years? With you still.

We'll have our canes and we'll be injecting with our spectacles. I
don't see a wrinkle. Right? So, well thank you so much for being on the show.
Thank you for having me. Yes, and I'm gonna have you again. Hopefully we'll do
this like every month. I feel honored. Okay, cheersio. Yes. Cheersio to medical
spa aesthetics. Cheers guys.