What I learned about customer service at the nail salon
I have to admit. I get my nails done every two weeks without fail. There's something about having nice nails that makes it worth the effort. At my last visit, however, I started making a few observations that I thought were excellent lessons in customer service that we could all learn from.
1 - Make every customer feel like they are the only one in the room. While I was getting my nails done, several people came in. The technician acknowledged them all and told them when they would be served but never stopped working on my nails. He was polite to the new customers, and yet didn't forget that I was sitting in the chair in front of him.
2 - If you can't accomodate someone immediately, tell them when you can. A saturday afternoon is busy in a nail salon. Yet, the technician still calmly let each new customer know when they would be serviced. The rude people darted away -and who wants them as customers - but the majority of people thanked him and sat down, waiting their turn.
3 - Never talk badly about your customer. There are many nail salons where the workers don't speak english and you fear that they are talking about you. In this salon, there were many opportunities to talk about a customer and yet, they all resisted. They were professional in front of all customers. You never get the impression that someone is making fun of your legs or clothing selection.
4 - Hot towels. There's no need for a hot towel after the pedicure but boy, it feels good. Invent something in your business that just makes the customer feel pampered. In fact, we could all paint our own toe nails yet women line up to have someone do it for them. Why? Because it feels good to be pampered. Come up with something in your business that your customers could do but heck, why should they when you have the "hot towel."
5 - Appreciation. A lot of young high school girls frequent the same nail salon. To them, a $2 tip is a big deal, when the norm is $5 - $7. Even though the technician is fully aware that there are only 2 dollar bills being handed to them, they still are extremely thankful and polite to the customer. The customer walks away feeling good about the experience. Sure, the technician deserved more but in all likelihood, retaining a faithful customer who enjoys coming there is more important than a few dollars.
I think I could go on and on. There were many things in the nail salon that made me think, "Wow, why don't all businesses do that?" Think about ways you can use these simple techniques in customer service to enhance the experience your customers have with you.
- Jan Luongo, wearing "All Roads Lead To Rome" hot pink toe nail polish and pink and white fingernails
1 - Make every customer feel like they are the only one in the room. While I was getting my nails done, several people came in. The technician acknowledged them all and told them when they would be served but never stopped working on my nails. He was polite to the new customers, and yet didn't forget that I was sitting in the chair in front of him.
2 - If you can't accomodate someone immediately, tell them when you can. A saturday afternoon is busy in a nail salon. Yet, the technician still calmly let each new customer know when they would be serviced. The rude people darted away -and who wants them as customers - but the majority of people thanked him and sat down, waiting their turn.
3 - Never talk badly about your customer. There are many nail salons where the workers don't speak english and you fear that they are talking about you. In this salon, there were many opportunities to talk about a customer and yet, they all resisted. They were professional in front of all customers. You never get the impression that someone is making fun of your legs or clothing selection.
4 - Hot towels. There's no need for a hot towel after the pedicure but boy, it feels good. Invent something in your business that just makes the customer feel pampered. In fact, we could all paint our own toe nails yet women line up to have someone do it for them. Why? Because it feels good to be pampered. Come up with something in your business that your customers could do but heck, why should they when you have the "hot towel."
5 - Appreciation. A lot of young high school girls frequent the same nail salon. To them, a $2 tip is a big deal, when the norm is $5 - $7. Even though the technician is fully aware that there are only 2 dollar bills being handed to them, they still are extremely thankful and polite to the customer. The customer walks away feeling good about the experience. Sure, the technician deserved more but in all likelihood, retaining a faithful customer who enjoys coming there is more important than a few dollars.
I think I could go on and on. There were many things in the nail salon that made me think, "Wow, why don't all businesses do that?" Think about ways you can use these simple techniques in customer service to enhance the experience your customers have with you.
- Jan Luongo, wearing "All Roads Lead To Rome" hot pink toe nail polish and pink and white fingernails
posted by Jan at
1:15 PM
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