Taking Care of Your Customers... How Far Do YOU Go??

[Nicki-Marie]

I never ever want to feel like my clients are on a conveyor belt. Ive worked other places where sadly this happens.
Theres a very chilled and relaxed atmosphere in my salon, even when fully booked, there is no rush. I believe this to be important hence trying to keep time between the one client and the next one. I dont want anyone to feel 'hurried' away.

One of the reasons I went on my own was to try and improve customer service. Sadly theres a serious lack of it these days. And its often heard about by clients talking about their past experiences.

I like to think I set myself apart, by doing all that I can for my clients. And more importantly, I thoroughly enjoy myself doing so!

 

[jrobinson]

i would say everyone on this site wil be customer orientated as we are all dedicated to our trade enough to come on here everynight and discuss it! i would like to stick up for salons customer service though as even though some salons have a reputation for a 'conveyor belt' my salon is a big and very busy salon but we fgocus so much on customer servce and going that extra mile which is why we have many many regulars. i completed my customer service level3 last year, and also go one futher than the textbook customer service, as do al the other staff in the salon
:hug:

 

[Mrs Geek]

i would say everyone on this site wil be customer orientated as we are all dedicated to our trade enough to come on here everynight and discuss it! i would like to stick up for salons customer service though as even though some salons have a reputation for a 'conveyor belt' my salon is a big and very busy salon but we fgocus so much on customer servce and going that extra mile which is why we have many many regulars. i completed my customer service level3 last year, and also go one futher than the textbook customer service, as do al the other staff in the salon
:hug:

Sounds like your salon has it covered too and it's great that you go the step further than what college tends to teach.

Personally speaking, I have never used a book to teach me how to deal with customers... hell I lived in the USA for 4 years, worked at a very fabulous Tennis Resort and that was the best customer care training I think I could ever experience!!

The point is, the BEST customer service comes naturally from the heart... you don't have to think, you just do it! Does that make sense??

 

[jrobinson]

of course the best comes straight from the heart, its because we're kind and generous people in our trade! hehe. i in no way learnt my customer service from a textbook, i meerly mentioned this as it is related to the topic, i totally agree it should come from the heart:hug:

 

[hippy-chick]

it definetly has to come from the heart.
majority of people that get into this work is doing it because they love it, you will then get good service.

you will also get people that are in it for the money (although they soon find their isnt any) or because it is a job! I think a lot of therapists that are on minimum wage and have clients stuffed in can't help but 'go through the motions'.

I've had loads of treatments in my time (see, told you I was dedicated to this job) and you know IMMEDIATELY who is going through the motions and who is living it!

I do believe though (and no offence meant to anyone) when it is YOUR business, you do give that little bit extra soul.

 

[Mrs Geek]

it definetly has to come from the heart.
majority of people that get into this work is doing it because they love it, you will then get good service.

you will also get people that are in it for the money (although they soon find their isnt any) or because it is a job! I think a lot of therapists that are on minimum wage and have clients stuffed in can't help but 'go through the motions'.

I've had loads of treatments in my time (see, told you I was dedicated to this job) and you know IMMEDIATELY who is going through the motions and who is living it!

I do believe though (and no offence meant to anyone) when it is YOUR business, you do give that little bit extra soul.

I think you are right... it's probably natural to feel that way, but those that go the step beyond who work for you are worth their weight in gold!

 

[1999judy]

Yes I see what you are saying here...sometimes I am accused of doing too much for people but that only happens when people appreciate me. I don't get any complaints and it makes me happy to do it.

 

[Susie H]

I hate rudeness. Just outside Victoria coach station there is a little kebab place that does the most amazing fried chicken and salad is made up fresh all day long, the guys in there are not English but have obviously learned their English in London:lol: They are friendly, helpful and the place is spotless, I am always careful to say please and thank you, it costs me nothing and makes someone else's day.
Many times I have sat in there with my lunch and listened to people say give me that, I want this and not a word of praise or a thank you anywhere, and yet these guys never let it lower their standards.
The first time I was there as I left I said that was lovely, thank you. I meant it, and was more then repaid by the beaming smiles I got from them.
Its the kind of customer service I always try to give, so when someone gives me such good service I always repay it in the same way I like it to be paid to me.

 

[Bagpuss]

when i worked for a large retail chain that does home shopping we had it drummed into us that customer service was paramount...i soon found out that this was only when it suited them.

We would have our supervisors listen and score our calls....(it was actually good for feedback, and if your doing everything right you have nothing to worry about) but i got marked down for the time the call took....thing was she was ordering swimwear....she told me she was going on holiday in 2 weeks, i asked where she was going and wished her a great holiday. I was told i was to just say , "thats nice, next item number please".....i think thats horrid, i know there are other customers wanted to place orders, but i believe that the most important customer is the one you are serving at the time.

to many targets and forgetting the important stuff !!

Great thread Samantha xx

 

[Mrs Geek]

when i worked for a large retail chain that does home shopping we had it drummed into us that customer service was paramount...i soon found out that this was only when it suited them.

We would have our supervisors listen and score our calls....(it was actually good for feedback, and if your doing everything right you have nothing to worry about) but i got marked down for the time the call took....thing was she was ordering swimwear....she told me she was going on holiday in 2 weeks, i asked where she was going and wished her a great holiday. I was told i was to just say , "thats nice, next item number please".....i think thats horrid, i know there are other customers wanted to place orders, but i believe that the most important customer is the one you are serving at the time.

to many targets and forgetting the important stuff !!

Great thread Samantha xx

Wow... isn't THAT interesting Bag-of Puss... I couldn't imagine marking someone down for that so it just goes to show!!

BTW Suzi H lovely way to bring it back full circle. I bet they always take care to make you a lovely lunch (heaven knows what they do to people's food who are rude)... there was a film about it... and I gotta tell you... be nice to the waiters...

 

[sodabubble]

I reckon my customer service is pretty good - I am not called a beauty 'therapist' for nothing! And I also believe that the psychological benefits of my treatments outweigh the phsyical ones, my girls leave me looking and feeling fab, , and that to me is a real fuzzy feeling!

 

[Mrs Geek]

I reckon my customer service is pretty good - I am not called a beauty 'therapist' for nothing! And I also believe that the psychological benefits of my treatments outweigh the phsyical ones, my girls leave me looking and feeling fab, , and that to me is a real fuzzy feeling!

:lol: I left the salon this morning and beleive me... I didn't look fab, I looked fresh faced and blotchy!! That's why I love nails so much... generally :smack: your hands come out looking far better then they ever did when you went in!! :lol:

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

Understood... but I guess my point is... there is a way of saying or doing something. Had I been THAT waitress I would have gone to a manger and asked if we could do 'the cheese'... if he / she had said NO to something so measly... then I would have wanted the manager to say something because my totally 'customer care' instinct tells me this type of behaviour and customer care is wrong!

Loving the comments though... looks like you all go above and beyond with your own customers! :!:

LOL I would have and did this when working as a waitress for "Beefeaters" and yes before you all start, I did wear that funky(not) uniform lol..........

I went into the kitchen and just pinched a little bit of what they wanted, put it on a side plate and said "Compliments of the house"........

My policy is to never say no, but "let me see what I can do" and if I can't then they know, its really impossible, but at least I have tried.....

Its supposed to be customer care, not customer I don't give a fig.....

 

[Chameleon]

:lol: I left the salon this morning and beleive me... I didn't look fab, I looked fresh faced and blotchy!! That's why I love nails so much... generally :smack: your hands come out looking far better then they ever did when you went in!! :lol:

Blotchy...???....what the hell happened there???:lol:

Anyway....back on to the subject....i agree with alot of others ....the way you treat your clients just comes naturally....from the heart

It is just little things...but these little things keep in peoples minds...

I had a client today....a long standing one of 4 years...from when i started out as a business....it was her 70th birthday today....so i set aside 2 and a half hours of my time,on a saturaday afternoon to do her a CND spa manicure,an eye las tint and a Lifting and firming treatment from Academie....free of charge on me....now you may think....hey that is a lot of time....well maybe...but i loved every minute of it...we chatted,we laughed....we gossiped...and she came out feeling better,looked better....her skin was AMAZING...her hands were 10 years younger instantly,thanks to the treatment...

She did spend over a hundred pounds on retail,and slipped me a tenner and a bottle of Coteaux de Languedoc....but i came away from the salon knowing how good she felt...and the reccomendations she has forwarded on have been ten fold...my clients are my babies...:lol:

Maybe i will never be a rich person...but i know i will die with many more richness in my life... Striving to be the best at what you do is so important in this line of work...Bagpuss said that she thanked her clients for having treatments...this is a good and positive way of letting clients know how appreciative you are of them...this is a really good thread:hug:

 

[Mrs Geek]

Blotchy...???....what the hell happened there???:lol:

Anyway....back on to the subject....i agree with alot of others ....the way you treat your clients just comes naturally....from the heart

It is just little things...but these little things keep in peoples minds...

I had a client today....a long standing one of 4 years...from when i started out as a business....it was her 70th birthday today....so i set aside 2 and a half hours of my time,on a saturaday afternoon to do her a CND spa manicure,an eye las tint and a Lifting and firming treatment from Academie....free of charge on me....now you may think....hey that is a lot of time....well maybe...but i loved every minute of it...we chatted,we laughed....we gossiped...and she came out feeling better,looked better....her skin was AMAZING...her hands were 10 years younger instantly,thanks to the treatment...

She did spend over a hundred pounds on retail,and slipped me a tenner and a bottle of Coteaux de Languedoc....but i came away from the salon knowing how good she felt...and the reccomendations she has forwarded on have been ten fold...my clients are my babies...:lol:

Maybe i will never be a rich person...but i know i will die with many more richness in my life... Striving to be the best at what you do is so important in this line of work...Bagpuss said that she thanked her clients for having treatments...this is a good and positive way of letting clients know how appreciative you are of them...this is a really good thread:hug:

How lovely Gabi... wish you were closer... we'd pay you in wonderful bottles of French Red as opposed to real money!! Then we'd help you drink it!! :lol: ... hmm I am thinking thins would not be condusive to helping you make your millions... but it sounds fun!! Sounds like you had a lovely day though and that your client had a wonderful one too.

If this thread and all the great responses helps anyone reading it become more pro-active with their own customers, it can only be a good thing - once again for all of us and our industry! Thanks all for the responses! :hug:

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

Well I am reading all of this thinking hmmm...have I ever gone the extra mile i wonder ???

I think mabey I have,
Little things like
when I was a leaflet distributer...I would always shove a few extra of the "good samples" through the nice peoples doors...the ones who always come out and greeted me with a hello, and a thankyou..for the crappy leaflet i had to give them...like I was a human being !

when I worked in the shop...if it was someone polite, id slip an extra 10p off their reduced item or something..never much but a little "here you go shhhh!"

Now in my business..
I have done the working at times im not ment to be etc...but i see this as just part of the job..

what I do think may class as "the extra mile" is for the last 3 or 4 days (and nights)
I have spent hours and hours making these bloomin acrylic teeth !
I have neckache...have had a headache all day from stooping and focusing etc..
And I mean hours and hours...if i added it up...including the nails I did to go with all these teeth today, we're probably talking 10 hours altogether if not more ..
I didnt do it for the money...infact I havent charged her at all...but asked if she would like to cut my daughters hair instead (I'm skint atm funnyly enough )

She offered then to cut and blow dry all of our hairs....and then when she came to collect them today..she had bought me a present,
It was a glitter eyeliner that she was wearing the otherday and I fell in love with it lol,....
So I was chuffed to bits with that...she had really thought of me !

I also had a text off her a few hours ago..giving me a MASSIVE thankyou
for all my hard work...bless..

sometimes I dont think it hurts one bit to do something for someone...just for the sake of it..
I belive in help others and you will be helped too.

 

[sian1979]

hi all

having worked in retail for the last 10yrs and being a team leader for most of that i think i am very good with my customer service, even if i am getting shouted at, lol, i can control myself and diffuse the situation, and i am confident i can teach others:green:.
Now this is not meant to offend anyone or say that all are the same, but here goes.....i do have a problem in both industries with young teenagers (NOT ALL), if someone complains....its oh well...what do you want me to do about it attitude....not oh dear...sorry your upset...how can we resolve it, if we can. i have witnessed before clients ringing to book appointmentsand rather than checking with the person that actually does the treatment to see if there is space available its sorry we are fully booked...bye!!.....not let me see if i can find out for you...or appologise....no sincerity what so ever.....so that client will definatly not be coming back...is what i was thinking...i wouldnt!!
I do not feel that i am a push over either though....people know when they are trying it on....and i think they tend to back own when they realise they are nt getting anywhere. I just treat people how i wish to be treated myself.....and get very annoyed with 'jobsworths' who talk to you like they are reading out of a manual...not like a human being.
i really appreciate it when i get good customer service and always thank someone in return.

i hope i havent offended anyone...it wasnt meant to.:hug:xxxxxxx

 

[dee]

:lol:i just think in general england does not have good customer service skills at all , sorry if this offends peeps but the only places i have ever been where the people in shops, resteraunts etc.... are helpful are in different countries , never in the uk ! if you even complain in a nice way you get looked at as if you have committed a crime
ie. went for a meal yesterday and my mashed pot had been made with crushed black pepper now it didnt say it on the menu and i hate the stuff ...hence i gave it my mate :lol: and the veg was greenbeans which i dont like either , but i didnt dare ask em to change it
whereas i should have felt comfortable enough to be able to say would you mind changin it please
so the only thing i ate of my meal was .... carrots :lol:

by the way i think i do well in customer service , i try go the extra mile sometimes to the point people are trying it on (am getting better at knowing when tho:green: )

 

[clara doon]

:lol:i just think in general england does not have good customer service skills at all , sorry if this offends peeps but the only places i have ever been where the people in shops, resteraunts etc.... are helpful are in different countries , never in the uk ! if you even complain in a nice way you get looked at as if you have committed a crime
ie. went for a meal yesterday and my mashed pot had been made with crushed black pepper now it didnt say it on the menu and i hate the stuff ...hence i gave it my mate :lol: and the veg was greenbeans which i dont like either , but i didnt dare ask em to change it
whereas i should have felt comfortable enough to be able to say would you mind changin it please
so the only thing i ate of my meal was .... carrots :lol:

by the way i think i do well in customer service , i try go the extra mile sometimes to the point people are trying it on (am getting better at knowing when tho:green: )

I'd have to agree with you their dee, and its something I'd not noticed til after my first Holiday to the USA, where people in the service industry can't do enough for you,(and make you feel that they DO mean it) maybe alot of 'chains' over here could learn a thing or two.

I always try to make my clients feel appreciated, and I do think I 'give' that little bit extra. it doesn't cost anything to be nice, I always try to remember things from their last appointments (if they've been out, or had a birthday, been unwell, and the names of their family etc) to and show them that I am interested and have listened !! I think people do appreciate the 'little' things that makes a service more personal and friendly x
I guess we are becoming like counselors in a way listening to all their problems.

 

[soriminah]

I heard that Little chef weigh their food and staff are severely told off if they go over.

My local McDonalds has an electric scale at the drive thru door so that the food is weighed before they hand it to you. I'm assuming each meal must have to weigh a certain amount because they weigh the bag of food just before they give it to you.