by
Jessica Chaffee
| Feb 07, 2012
Getting Consistent with Your Customers
They’re probably expecting the service they had last time. Make sure they get it!
My salon experience
Last month, I went to a salon that did not exceed my expectations… at all. I had set an appointment with a certain level stylist, to find out in the chair I got the wrong level and had to pay more than I expected. Not cool. Granted, two months before at this SAME salon, I had to wait 45 minutes past my appointment time for my stylist. I did get a discount, but was it worth it? I have a life to live, people.
Creating expectations
The question is why did I bother to go back when just a few months earlier I had a pretty poor service experience? It comes down to where the salon had exceeded expectations earlier in my relationship with them. I remember going in, getting offered a glass of water, being ushered in to a stylish space of stylists clipping away, and then getting details on every product going into my hair. At the end, a basket was promptly presented with all of the delicious goodies I had available at my grasp. This happened smoothly and magically for a period of 6 months. They had provided service that created EXPECTATIONS for me as a customer. Now, there is no goody basket, no special greeting, no same products (they have them, they just didn’t use them).
Make it the same
I’m not trying to bore you with my salon story- here’s what I am saying: consistent service is key. You want your business to operate the same for each person, every time. You want your business to run like a franchise within itself- the same no matter which angle you look at it. When it runs like this, it runs itself, and both you and your clients are better off!
What can YOU do?
You write it down. Write down every detail of the different points of contact with your customers. Your employees should have set guidelines, even general scripts, which make every experience for the customer consistent. For example, the hair salon, should
- CONFIRM not only the date and time of the appointment, but the level stylist.
- The greeting into the salon should be the same.
- The offering of water should be the same.
- The offering of products should be the same.
- The products used for the client last time should be the same, or at least offered.
- Offer the new products, the same way (goody basket, please!)
If you do make changes, that’s ok- but be consistent with those changes as well. One key to meeting expectations? Consistency!
Content contributed by Jessica Chaffee, SourceLink Tulsa,
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