Why is customer service so important?
Studies show that the average business loses 15% of its customer base each year.
And why do they leave?
- 68% of customers who stop buying from one business and go to another do so because of “poor or indifferent service”
- 15% leave because of an unsatisfactorily resolved dispute or complaint
- 9% leave because of price
- 5% go elsewhere based on a recommendation
- 3% move
- 1% die
82% of customers who leave do so because of service related issues
Good customer service doesn’t just happen.
- All staff have to understand that nothing less than exceptional customer service is acceptable.
- If this was your salon – would accept anything less than exceptional customer service
- The hairdressing industry is very competitive, there are lots of salons working hard to take your clients away from you.
- Clients are very informed, aware of alternative salons & have high expectations when it comes to customer service.
- In today’s marketplace, it is no longer enough to deliver good customer service, it has to be exceptional.
- It is no longer enough to meet clients’ expectations, you have to exceed their expectations
Here’s a little exercise you can try which we think is a fun one.
Firstly make a list of all the places, shops, restaurants, holiday destinations, service providers or brands that you return to time and again and next to each one give a key reason.
- How do they make you feel special?
- Do they know your name (or at least pronounce it correctly)?
- Do they really listen to you?
- Are the staff efficient and friendly but not over the top?
- Are you made to feel welcome?
- Do you forgive them their mistakes?
- Do you get that indefinable extra?
We all have reasons for liking something or someone or some place. They don’t have to be logical or make sense to anyone else. We worked with someone years ago who, when we did this exercise, said there was one Greek restaurant he always went back to. Not because the food was any better than another Greek restaurant near-by (indeed it was probably worse), but because on Friday nights he got to smash plates and dance around.
Or is it simply because, when you phone or show up in person, you really feel taken care of and that your custom (large or small) counts?
Now make an opposite list.
Places, companies, shops, etc., you’ll never, ever go back to, not in a million years.
Hotels like Fawlty Towers. Shops with untrained staff who enjoy chatting amongst themselves rather than serve a customer.
People who DON’T LISTEN are people who you can tell are:
- Just reading from a script and aren’t hearing a word you’re saying
- Places or people that never keep their word – they wouldn’t know what exceeding expectations looked like, let along ever try to have a go at achieving it.
You’ll find as you do this list that there will be a lot of energy around it. You’ll re-visit old frustrations and angers, even if they happened years ago. You may even have a lot more emotions thinking about the negatives than about your positive list.
That’s how potent bad customer service can be: it seems to stay with you forever.
Re-visit your client journey at regular intervals to ensure, all your team are delivering wow factor customer service to every client at every visit
Checkout our Salon Mystery Shopping Service – one Mystery Shopping Report could change your salon business for the better
