Child ear piercing gone wrong - help me with what to say

[formula3]

DD8 had ears pierced today at Claire’s. All went fine, until we got home and she said “my earring has fallen out” and after initially telling her that was impossible l looked, and sure enough there was no earring in right ear. She hadn’t fiddled with them in the 3 hours they had been pierced and we got home, and I found the earring itself in the hood of her coat, no sign of the back so assume it was loose from start and is still somewhere in the shopping centre.
she was very upset, obviously, as she’s 8 and was panicking due to some blood around hole. I called Claire’s and explained what happened, the lady I spoke to sounded very shocked and said she had never had this happen and she needed to call her senior. She called back to say they were very sorry, that it must have been a fault with the earring (though it looks fine) and all that can be done is to leave it a week to heal over and they will pierce it again and as an apology not make me pay again!

I was too shocked to really process it other than to say that I didn’t think she’d want to come back there given she’d been brave to get it done in the first place and was now very upset, and said I had to go as had a very upset little girl to sort out but Could someone senior get back to me. That didn’t happen by the end of the day.

what do I do now? Contact head office? I spent £68 on good quality piercing earrings and about £15 on the piercing aftercare which for me is a lot but it was a special occasion that has gone really wrong. I’d like a refund because I feel I’ve paid for a service that has been poor (be it the fault of the equipment, or staff not checking the back was secure). My daughter is upset she only has one earring (fair enough) and I will try and encourage her to get it re-done elsewhere but right now there’s no way she’d agree to being pierced again.

I don’t write very well- could someone help me word an email and what I should say/ask for? I mainly want to stop this happening to someone other child but I’d also like my money back, not just free new piercing which can’t be goof
for her ear after a week? ☹️

thank you X

Ask for a refund or a printed out coupon/ letter for the free re-piercing, signed by the manager, with no expiration date.

Take the other one out if DD thinks she looks odd.
Let the hole(s) heal.
Get the piercing redone when DD is healed and wants to do it. Maybe at Christmas?

One of my DDs lost an earring soon after piercing but was happy to have just one for a while. She had the healed ear re-pierced after summer swimming season was over but before school started.

Claire's did it for free. We had the printed out free re-piercing note, which was a good thing because by the time we went again the staff had all changed.

They don't shatter cartilage if you get a lobe pierced.

My daughter had hers done when she was 15. Obviously she wanted them but she created such drama before and was even worse after.😳🙄 The OP’s eight-year-old sounds like she reacted appropriately towards what had happened. It is okay to call her brave and mature because I think she was.

She never said they did. Claire's also use guns to pierce cartilage though.

@formula3
I know you said you're not on X, but for this complaint it it is best to go public on their socials at this point.

Create an account for whichever social Claire's is on.
Post that your daughter's piercing failed and you want a refund, you do not want, nor trust, Claire's to re-pierce your daughter's ears, an 8-year-old child. Say you've been given reasons for the mishap, but they aren't relevant now as you simply want your money back.

Ask to be contacted to confirm the refund.

No, i know, but I, like others, did have cartilage piercings done by Claires, with that gun, and it did not go well.

I didn't think on a forum full of intelligent women that i would need to expand that comment to explain i was giving an example of how damaging those gun can be in the hands of ill trained shop assistants.

The best way to get piercings is from someone that uses a sterile needle (piercing guns cant be sterilised) More accurate and hygienic and no jokt from a gun. The needle slides through so fast and far less painful/traumatic. A fraction of the price and done by someone who is an expert at piercing rather than a person who jas probably had a quick piercing training day at Claires 😬

Same.

Thank you so much I’ll do this

The vast, vast majority of children are not getting cartilage piercings.

They are getting their lobes pierced, which is a very straightforward procedure even with a piercing gun. The vast majority of kids getting their earlobes pierced with a piercing gun have no issues afterwards. Kids even do their own or their friends' ear lobes with sewing needles and experience no problems as long as there's some knowledge of hygiene. Cartilage piercing comes with extra risks even if not done with a gun.

Lobes are not cartilage. A poor outcome with a cartilage piercing is not an argument against lobe piercing with a gun because it's a comparison between apples and oranges.

If you want to re-pierce, ask that the offer not expire, applies to all Claire's shops nationwide, and will be in writing.

Exactly the same thing happened to my DD when she had her ears pierced at Claires we took the earring out that had stayed in her other ear, waited a few months and went elsewhere. When we look at the holes from the Claires piercing they looked wonky as well so didn't trust them to re do it

Excellent post.

Poor you, I'm so sorry about the pile-on. SpiraliserSardinePasta is totally right.* *Loads of girls get their ears pierced at 8 or 9 with no problems at all. You were just very unlucky.

I do think you should push for a refund and go public if they won't. They don't know you still intend to have it re-done so just tell them your dd has been put off now and doesn't want to be re-pierced.

Given your dd's history this is the kind of story a local paper might wish to take up - or at least you could let Claire's know you will be going to one if you don't receive a refund. Or try the consumer champions at the Guardian or Daily Mail. I know it all seems disastrous now, but she's only 8 and in a few months she will have new earrings and it will all be forgotten.

I had my DD's done for her 9th birthday at a pharmacy that had good reviews and used numbing cream. It was expensive because the earrings were good quality and they spent a long time measuring to make sure the holes were level. Perhaps find one like that and get a second opinion from them as to the best time to do it.

Yes new gloves, not sterile gloves. There is no difference with them using well washed clean hands. They are usually the same gloves dentists use, the blue ones, again not sterile. They come out of a box similar to a tissue box.

It's not blunt force trauma because it makes a hole not a bruise.

@formula3 how is your daughter's ear now? Have you managed to get a better result from Claire's?