How to Excel at Customer Service in the Salon

Lisa Stone, Salon System Educator has shared with us her top tips on how you can excel at customer service in your salon to keep your clients coming back.

How do you define customer service?

To me customer service is making your clients feel special and going above and beyond what the client expects. At the close of good service, the client feels positive and valued and feels a strong desire to return.

Why is exceptional customer service so important in relation to ensuring client retention?

As human beings, an unhappy, dissatisfied client tends to go and tell more people about their negative experience than they would a good experience! Strange but true, therefore, by making sure they leave happy, is so important in building up a trusted reputation. When a client leaves feeling valued and having had an enjoyable and beneficial experience, not only will they return but they are more likely to then go on to recommend your services to others and write good reviews. Keeping your clients happy is a great free way to advertise via word of mouth and this is essentially the most valuable advertising of your services also.

 As a salon owner, are there any ways to implement strategies to ensure staff are delivering exceptional customer service?

To ensure your staff are delivering the best possible customer service you MUST lead by example, show them how it’s done no matter what your mood what your situation etc Be a good role model, so that your team see you react professionally at all times. Ensure you have regular staff meetings and training sessions, make sure staff are knowledgeable on all products and services. Let staff know that there will be regular mystery shoppers to keep them on their toes, in order to avoid being complacent.

How can the entire salon team go that extra mile to ensure client satisfaction/retention?

First impressions count! Ensure your clients are greeted in a very warm and friendly way, making sure you smile and make eye contact, even if you’re busy or in the middle of something, even if you’re dealing with a problem, simply acknowledge the client and say you won’t be a minute, no one likes to feel ignored. Make sure the reception is clean and well presented creating the right welcoming ambiance and atmosphere.

Offer to take coats and offer a seat and a drink, it’s the little things that make all the difference. Use beautiful crockery that’s well presented with a biscuit, offer up to date reading material with a wide choice to suit all personalities.

Offering little extras every now and again at no extra cost always makes the client feel special and it really doesn’t need to be too much, a few little samples of a new product. A discount on their birthday or creating a loyalty scheme works so well and is so appreciated.

Be interested in your client, ask how they are. Although we can’t remember everything about everyone, why not use a system that allows you to input a little sociable information about them. When and where they’ll be taking their forthcoming holiday for instance.

Try really hard to run to time, people really don’t like to be kept waiting and finally, create feedback forms or surveys on apps. By asking for feedback from your clients, this demonstrates how much you care about the service that you offer and that you’d like to continue to build upon it also.