Bad Day

We all have them... those days when absolutely nothing seems to go our way? Yeah, that was yesterday. First, let me begin by reminding you that my daughter's soccer games are Saturdays. I have a rule that I work Saturdays ONLY if I can work around my daughter's game(s). Six weeks ago, when yesterday's appointments were made, I broke that rule. One of our hairdressers' clients' daughter was (a) turning 18 and (b) it was Prom... so the client made appointments with the salon's massage therapist (a basic massage), me (mani/pedi for each of them), and said hairdresser (color/updo for birthday girl, updo for friend). I was told to be there at 11a (two mani/pedis would take me four hours total -- I'd be done around 3p). Knowing I would miss my daughter's game, I made arrangements for her (yes, she was hugely disappointed -- as I have only ever missed her games when either her or I have been sick, & once when I was in New York for a weekend a few years ago -- but she *did* understand). Knowing I needed to eat before I started, and I needed to wash my basket-full of dirty towels, I left my house at 10am, and walked into the salon at 1030a... and promptly had the friend (J) handed to me to "get started on, because I must have miscommunicated" (hairstylist's words -- she thought she told me 10a). Not a problem; I had snacks I could eat in between... ... Or not. I had exactly 1/2 hour to do her manicure before she HAD to get into the massage therapist's studio, because the MT had another client coming at 1230p. Luckily, J didn't need a lot of work; I got the whole manicure, but not the polish, done before her massage. C then came in, so I took care of her mani, and got her feet soaking while I (after her massage) finished J's polish. I was interrupted by hairdresser about 5m before I was done with C (the birthday girl), wondering how much longer I'd be. Since my pedi tub needs to be cleaned & disinfected (15m) in between each client, I took that time to chow a Babybel cheese and some applesauce... but still didn't have time to even start my dirty towels (luckily, I had just enough clean ones). I was about 10m from finishing J's feet when hairdresser came back again to ask how long I was going to be. At some point, while I was cleaning, I got a message from both my daughter and the mom-friend who took her to & from the game, telling me that it was M's "BEST GAME YET", and that they tied 4-4 (previous games were 0-5 and 0-10). That upset me. Then, hairdresser called up the stairs & told me my check was on the desk downstairs; great. Finished cleaning, gathered my stuff, and went to collect my check. I know it "shouldn't" matter if a client leaves a tip or not, but after being early, being thrust into work when I wasn't ready, not eating lunch, & missing my daughter's game ("BEST"?!?!? ugh)... then to be written a check for ONLY the amount of the services was a slap in the face. As a regular client at our salon, she should know better. And, I knew better than to schedule services during my non-work time. So, I remind all of you -- a proper tip within the beauty industry is 15-20%... for EACH of your service providers; especially if they're doing you a favor! Oh, and in case you're wondering, I finally got "lunch" at 4p, when I got home. UGH!