Quality isn't Expensive, it's Priceless

Your salon may be busy and running on all cylinders, but if your customer service is unhelpful, unreliable, or rude, people will hear about it, and you’ll start to lose clients.

Investing in your customer service is the key to long-term business success.

But what is great customer service, and how can you make sure that your clients have a great experience when visiting you or your salon? Great customer service means following best practices like valuing your client’s time, having a positive attitude, knowing your stuff and providing knowledge, and your willingness to exceed client expectations. 

You can use many different tools to help provide great customer care and service, from salon software to client emails, but below we focus on ten ways that you alone can create a great atmosphere for your clients that will have them raving about your salon to their friends…

Know your stuff!

As a professional within the hair and beauty industry, you spend most days helping clients with hair and beauty problems that will help them to look and feel their best.

Expansive knowledge comes with the job and training, but product and service knowledge are an essential customer service skill. You need to believe in the service you provide and the products you recommend and use your knowledge in an insightful way. Show your clients how certain services or products can benefit them and help to solve their hair and beauty problems. 

By providing your expert industry knowledge, you help clients get the most out of their time with you and feel like they have true value for money. If there is something you don’t know about a particular service or product, make it a goal to learn everything you can about it so that you can amaze your clients with recommendations on the latest products, technology and services. 

Positivity rules!

Attitude is everything, and a positive attitude goes a long way in providing excellent customer care. Your attitude is reflected in every aspect of your communications, from the language you use and your tone of voice, to the way you hold your posture. The right attitude can easily turn a negative experience into a positive one.

We all know how easy it is to misinterpret a text or email. Our brains use multiple signals to interpret the emotional tones and cues from others, so don’t be afraid to convey warmth and humour with your clients. A warm smile and a kind positive attitude go a long way with a lot of people.

Get creative!

The hair and beauty industry are highly creative, and so it makes sense to use this creativity to solve your clients’ problems. Don’t be afraid to wow your clients as you seek to problem-solve for them. You could just fix the issue and be on your way, but by creatively meeting their needs in ways that go above and beyond, you’ll create clients that are committed to you and your salon.

Don’t delay!

Time is a precious commodity for all of us, and clients want to feel that their time is valued. Resolving customer queries as quickly as possible is a cornerstone of great customer service. Speed should be of the essence — especially for smaller issues that don’t take much time to solve.

Most clients understand that more complex issues take time to resolve. There is a difference between the time it takes you to respond and the speed at which you resolve their problems. Try and get back to your clients as quickly as possible. But remember, keep your attitude positive and helpful, as clients will know when you’re in a rush to get them out the door or off the phone.

Keep it personal!

On a busy day, we can sometimes forget that our clients are human and not just a 30 minute or hour appointment to try and get through. Clients want to feel more than just an appointment and don’t appreciate generic responses or treatment. They want to interact with you as a person.

Do you know your clients’ names? How about their interests or hobbies? Can you make them laugh or hold a good conversation? Do you know which clients like to talk and which like to enjoy a peaceful pamper? It’s obviously not possible to do this with every client, but knowing your clients as well as you possibly can, can give them a personal touch when they visit your salon. 

Be helpful!

Some clients don’t want a full-on customer service experience, some are more independent and want to find products or resources on their own. Using your social media and website is a great way to help clients help themselves. Providing blogs and helpful articles online for your clients is a great way for them to find information as and when they want it. Whether it is haircare articles or product recommendations, putting these out there in a non-intrusive way can lead to clients seeking further care and advice from you directly.

Give support!

Your clients need to be treated like they are the most important thing to you, that’s because they are. Their custom pays your bills and enables you to live your life. Remember to always keep your customer service human-centric. Putting the human before profit and product is a great way to show support and care to your clients. 

Actively listen!

Listen to what your clients are saying - really listen and hear their feedback. Taking the time to listen to your clients allows you to effectively solve their problems, resulting in a happier and more loyal client.

Active listening is always used in therapy, it’s where the therapist pays full attention to what is being said and repeats the issue back to the individual so that they know they are being heard. People want to be heard. 

Active listening also means you are mindful of your client’s unique personality and current emotional state so you can tailor your response to fit the situation. Customer service is not one-size-fits-all.

Keep your word!

Delivering on a promise is common sense when it comes to customer service. Don’t let your clients down! Delivering on your word shows the client that they can respect and trust you.

For example, if you have promised to get your client from one hair colour to another, then you better be able to do it in the time frame you gave them. If you are over promising and cannot achieve what you said, then the client will have very little trust in you and your abilities. 

If you have over promised and the service has not gone the way the client hoped, offer to make it up to them. Provide a free service, carry out free hair treatments to correct any damage, refund their money for example. You might lose some money in the short term, but you could gain a loyal client in the long term.

Interestingly, customers do not feel extra grateful when you deliver more than you promised. They do, however, feel angry if you fail to deliver. It’s still better to under-promise and over-deliver so you can make sure you never break this important social contract.

Be proactive!

Going the extra mile is one of the most important things you can do to deliver great customer service. This is when you have ticked all the boxes, yet you still want to do more.

Sometimes being helpful means anticipating your clients’ needs before they even articulate them. In fact, sometimes clients may ask for one thing without realising that they really need another. It’s your job to anticipate their needs and provide for them.

When clients feel like you value them — like they’re truly special to you — they’ll keep coming back. Sending them a small gift “just because,” or giving them a voucher will speak to your clients’ egos and demonstrate your genuine appreciation of their business.