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Salon Management

Oct 11
3

5 Simple Steps To Having SKY HIGH Customer Service

By | blog, Customer service, Salon, Salon Business, Salon Management | No Comments

Salon customer service

As salon consultants we always get asked what makes one salon better than another, what services do I need to implement to be on top, how do I outshine the competition? The answer is an easy one…. Dazzle your customers with great customer service. It sounds simple doesn’t it? 

The concept of great customer service is a simple one, but unfortunately it seems to be difficult to implement because so many places have a really hard time being consistently great at it.

We believe that investing in training your staff on how to properly service your clients is a better investment than the latest technology or even re-decorating your salon. 

Elevating your customer service standards means going beyond being the order taker. It means you have to go above your customers expectations and set an impression that they will talk about for years after. 

In this article we will address 5 steps towards achieving great customer service. The key is to manage this philosophy each and every day.

5 Simple Steps to having SKY HIGH Customer Service:

1. Treat Every Customer as 10 Potential Customers:

Always remember the multiplier effect the minus 30 rule, plus10 rule. What this means is people who have a bad experience are likely to tell 30 other people about that experience, but if they have a good experience they will likely spread the news to 10 other people. In the spa world word of mouth is the biggest form of advertising, so it is important to remember the 10 multiplier. Remember for every customer that walks through your doors, you are not just serving them you are serving their friends and family that they will tell about their experience.

Therefore make every interaction count and make it exceed all their expectations. Address this multiplier affect in your next staff meeting. By bringing it to your teams attention, they will be more aware of their actions when servicing your salon clients.

2. Training and Education is Key:

Do not expect your staff to know your standards through osmosis. You need to continually train your salon staff on what exactly your customer standards are but also give them specific examples of how to deliver it. For example: be specific regarding the ways in which to greet a customer when they walk in the door. Greet the guest before the guest greets you. Have a standard welcome. Many times spas have a standard greeting on the phone but they don’t have a standard greeting when the guest walks in the door. In fact many times when the customer first arrives we notice the standard fall apart. How many times have you walked into a salon and the receptionist was too busy to greet you right away? Don’t get caught having this happen at your salon.

Education is also essential. Your staff needs to be aware of all the products and services you offer. This means that they should be able to talk with confidence about every product you sell, right down to the benefits and some key active ingredients of each.

Your staff should have experienced all the services you offer so they can talk to your guests about them fluently. Could you properly describe a fabulous meal if you had never eaten it? Your staff can make your menu sound delicious if they have had a chance to experience it.

The better educated your staff is, the better they can serve your customers. When your staff is properly versed concerning all the ins and outs of your salon, it builds customer trust and loyalty. Your customers will feel like their needs are being met and they will feel safe.

Set up training with your product reps at least every quarter to ensure all team members are up to date with the lines you carry. Also have the product Reps perform frequent and regular training on the treatments you offer and make sure there are protocols to follow so there is consistency. 

Remember training is not a one time thing and should not only be for new hires. Especially in the salon business with changing technology and trends, it is so important to keep a head of the game. This means that all team members, service providers and reception team members, and even the most seasoned veterans, need to be continually trained and educated. This will give them the tools to best service your customers.

3. Set Sky High Standards and then Evaluate your staff

Take time to go through your operation and set standards for each and every instance where you team comes in contact with the guests. When setting the standards make sure you understand what a good standard is and then decide what a SKY HIGH standard is. You can differentiate your salon from the competition by doing the little things better than everyone else.

Once you have set the standards you want to insure that customer service a part of your staff’s job performance evaluation. It is essential that your team is constantly reminded of how performing sky high customer service is an important part of their job. Having this as part of the evaluation process will keep them on track and consistent. 

Make sure you encourage customer feedback in order to give your team tangible feedback. The best way for your salon staff to know how they are doing is to hear it from the customers.  Make your customer feedback forms easy and attractive to fill out. Have a monthly draw for your customers to win by participating in giving feedback.  The more advice and feedback you get from your customers the better you can evaluate your team. We always recommend having evaluations set every six months. This is a manageable time for managers and it gives a good period of time to make a detailed assessment on the team member’s performance.   

4. Reward their Performance:

Recognize outstanding customer service performance amongst your team. This can be through verbal praise in private or at a team meeting.  You can also give rewards such as gifts, products or dinners etc.

You can also join the team member’s exceptional performance to their pay. Once an evaluation is done you can give them a customer service bonus that needs to be re-earned every evaluation period. This will keep your team motivated and act as a constant reminder regarding the importance of providing excellent service. 

Score Evaluation System:

You can have a score system in place where they need to achieve a certain score in order to earn a pay bonus. You can set these standards and decide what this pay bonus is going to be. We recommend it being anywhere from $0.50- $1.00 or 2-3% service commission, in order to manage your labour cost and it must also be significant enough to make a difference in their pay. 

5.  Service them out of the treatment room:

Sometimes we forget that the customers salon experience is not just what happens in the treatment room but also the before and after. This means we need to service the customers from the first phone call before they book their service, to making a follow up call after the service is long over and they have gone home. 

In order to leave lasting impressions it is important to show the customer you really care and appreciate their business. Give them the time they deserve when making a booking and then show them you care by contacting them to see how they enjoyed their services, or even to inquire about any post treatment questions they may have.

Have a customer service checklist provided for your staff that informs them in detail how every interaction with the customer should be outside the treatment room:

Example:

  • Standard Welcome greeting when the guest arrives. Greet the guest before the guest greets you.
  • Taking them on a tour of the salon before the service
    • Make it part of your policy to show the guests around on a mini tour so they are aware of the facilities and where they are required to be after they get dressed. At this time it is also a good idea to ask them if they have any questions.
  • Greeting them for a treatment in the waiting room
    • Have a standard greeting with a hand shake and make sure they look the guests in the eyes. 
  • Escort them back to the waiting room
    • Always offer and serve them water or tea
    • Indicate that it was your pleasure to have them and you hope to see them again
  • Checking out and paying their bill
    • Ask them how everything was and look them in the eyes
    • Ask if they have any questions about products
    • Thank them for their business and say you look forward to serving them again
  • Follow up calls the next day
    • This is a great way to show your customers you care after the visit is over. Ask them how everything was and if they have any questions.  State again how it was pleasure to have them.

Dazzle your customers with SKY HIGH service and you will not need to worry about the competition.  Customer service does not cost money, but it does take commitment and dedication from the whole team in order to ensure its success. Every team member needs to be on board because you are only as strong as your weakest link. Make sure you make this a priority in your interview process. Hire people based on their customer service skills, it is easier to train them on the technical part. 

When you give your full effort towards creating and sustaining a culture of SKY HIGH customer service you will see the smiles on your customer’s face and SKY HIGH bottom line.

Need help with training your salon staff in this area or others? Email [email protected]

Oct 04
0

Inspect What You Expect: Salon Team Evaluations Part 2

By | Salon, Salon Business, Salon Management | No Comments

Salon Team Evaluations

Evaluations are key to the success of your salon business. Making time to review and do evaluations of your salon staff can help you take your business to the next level. As we saw in Part 1 it is key to make the time for this to guide your team to success! Here we have the ‘How To’ of getting your staff evaluations done.

Scheduling Evaluations

Have a formalized procedure for evaluations. Scheduling should be consistent. You might determine that evaluations for different categories of team members need to occur with different frequency. For example: a new employees would be evaluated after a 1 month of a 3 month probation period, and then either every 3 or 6 months thereafter.

Tips for conducting evaluations

  • Schedule the evaluation in advance so the team member knows it is coming. Do not schedule it more than two weeks ahead otherwise they could stress about it.
  • Avoid cancelling or changing the day or time of the schedule evaluation whenever possible. This adds more unnecessary stress into the process.
  • Provide the team member with a blank copy of the evaluation in advance of the meeting. Ask them to fill it out. This will provide you with an opportunity to compare how you think they are performing with how they see themselves performing. This is very worthwhile as it can help to uncover discrepancies in expectations.

Reward the Right Behaviours

A great way to make use of the employee evaluation data is by having the evaluations tie into compensation. Evaluations should be an important part of the daily rewards, compensation, and overall recognition strategies. It is important to make sure that the rewards are in line with actual performance and that the performance that is evaluated ties into the core company principles. For example: If pay is entirely based on individual sales performance, then there is less motivation for teamwork. Create ways to tie together results in financial and operational performance with incentives or bonuses in both cash and non-cash rewards systems.

Genuine & Sincere Praise

Some leaders employ encouragement as a manipulative device. They say what their staff want to hear in order to get them to perform as desired.  Eventually, inauthentic encouragement rings hollow, as people recognize that it’s a management tactic rather than heartfelt affirmation. Over time, people learn to differentiate feel-good platitudes from actual praise.

When standards of evaluation are well-defined and known, recognition and praise can be offered in a completely genuine and sincere way.

Encourage Teamwork

One way to encourage teamwork is by instituting a policy of recognizing the entire team together for overall positive performance evaluations This will motivate the staff to encourage and support each other. For example, the team might need to achieve a minimum average ‘grade’ on evaluations, or all team members team members may be required to achieve a minimum standard in order for there to be a team reward.

Celebrate Success!

Praise and recognition should be given proportionately, with more lavish compliments, rewards, and recognition reserved for outstanding performance. It should also be given in a timely manner so that people know immediately the value of their contribution.

Your team is your most valuable asset in your spa or salon business. Make sure you value and recognize their important contributions.

Need help getting results in your salon business? Contact Salon Prophets at [email protected] 

Sep 27
1

Inspect What You Expect: Salon Team Evaluations Part 1

By | blog, Salon, Salon Business, Salon Management, Uncategorized | No Comments

teamwork

In my role as a business consultant to salon owners, my clients frequently tell me about the many issues they experience in dealing effectively with their staff’s performance. There are countless different and specific situations I help business owners and operators deal with but, in general, I guide the leaders in establishing a system for staff evaluations. This is critical for setting standards, managing them consistently, helping to prevent future problems, and rewarding success.

Here are some guidelines you can use to start managing your salon staff more effectively.

As a  salon owner, your team is critical to your success. Whether you have a team of one or of dozens, their performance is a key factor in the overall performance of the business.

There are many categories of team members – from service providers to reception staff and cleaners. Each position has unique demands and therefor unique performance expectations. Most employees are genuinely motivated to do a good job. But what does that mean exactly? When the definition and expectations of a role are clearly defined, each person can more easily chart their own course to success.

Guiding Your Salon Team to Success

A great way to help your team stay motivated and be successful is by conducting evaluations. They are most effective when done in a formal setting: a sitting down, one-one-one discussion. It’s a useful way to give constructive feedback on how to improve, and also an opportunity to let them know what they are doing well. Evaluations help to keep the staff in line by making them aware that you are looking at their performance. This keeps them ‘on their toes’. Often, employees cut corners if they feel no one is watching, or if they think they can get away with it. Evaluations are a great way to do checks and balances on the staff and also a great way to coach them and help them improve. It also shows that you care about them and their performance. Formal evaluations result in decision making based on facts and data – not emotion.

Why Evaluations are Good for Your Salon and Your Salon Team Members

Evaluations are a critical process in your business practice. They assist both the operation and the spa or salon team members in following a path to success.

Why evaluations are good for the salon

  • They keep lines of communication open.
  • They recognize excellence.
  • They document areas that need improvement.
  • They offer a consistent method of setting and measuring goals.
  • They can be used as a measurement tool for compensation.

 

Why evaluations are good for team members

  • They keep lines of communication open.
  • They provide a different, permanent means of communication rather than just talking.
  • They demonstrate to the team member that the company is interested in their growth and success.
  • They celebrates areas of success.
  • They provide goals.
  • They give team members an opportunity to give feedback.
  • They give guidelines and structure on current and future performance expectations.

How to Not Make a Mess of it All

The information in an evaluation should NEVER come as surprise to the team member. If you are effectively communicating with that person on an ongoing basis, they should – at the very least – have a good idea what you will be talking about regarding their performance. This process should never be used as an opportunity to ‘beat up’ on a team member. 

 Enable the Success of Your Salon Team

In order for your salon staff to succeed, they must have the right support and training. Make sure the standards and expectations of the evaluations have clear definitions. Your staff will have difficulty achieving a goal they don’t understand. Incentives are also important to give your staff motivation to do well on their evaluations.

Be available to your team. If you are available and in communication with them, everyone will have the opportunity to discuss and clarify standards, and to share advice on how to achieve success.

Do you want to take your skills as a salon owner and manager to the next level? Book a consult at [email protected]

Sep 13
1

Leading Your Salon to Success: The Role of the Salon Owner Part 1

By | blog, Salon, Salon Business, Salon Management | No Comments

Salon owner

Who’s in Charge Here?

Who or what is ultimately responsible for a salon’s success? Is it the manager? The marketing? The staff? The location? The clients?

It’s the owner. Because the owner has influence over all these factors. The owner determines the overall direction of the salon. The owner—who is also often the manager—sets the tone and standards for all the elements that go into creating and running a salon.

There are many duties and responsibilities the owner must oversee for a salon to be successful. Let’s examine the key areas where the owner can lead a salon to success.

The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and Core Values

An important opportunity for an owner to show leadership is by developing a vision and mission statement. But’s that’s not enough: A leader’s role is also to communicate, and reiterate that statement, and make sure everyone understands its value.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
-Peter F. Drucker

What is a Vision Statement?

The purpose of a vision statement is to tell the people what you want to become, it defines the desirable or idealistic future state and it is meant to raise the bar. As well, it should inspire and challenge everyone to do great things.

What is a Mission Statement?

A Mission Statement is what you do: your fundamental purpose or your business. It represents the defining focus of your skills, judgment, energy and creativity. When you undertake your mission with conviction and diligence, you will eventually realize that Vision.

What are Core Values?

Core values are the essential principles that will govern your behavior and guide your
day-to-day decisions and actions. As such you’re going to be evaluated on your willingness to embrace and demonstrate these values.

Hiring and Delegation

To have a successful salon, an owner cannot play the ‘blame game’ if that owner is not involved in the day-to-day running of the spa. An owner can achieve success through good hiring, delegating, training, and ongoing supervision of the management and staff. 

People are your greatest asset, greatest expense and the single most time and energy consuming part of any salon business. That said, it is important that there is a clear strategy on how to best select, inspire and recognize the people that will determine the success of the salon.

In order to delegate effectively, good hiring decisions are essential. The owner must hire a salon manager to fulfill their vision and expectations. In turn, the person hired must pass that on to those they supervise.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
– Ronald Reagan

These are key areas that need to be addressed to ensure the success of your salon business. Book an appointment at [email protected]