Sunday 5 April 2009

Yesterday I got my hair cut and within a period of five minutes experienced one example of great customer service and two examples of poor customer service.

The great one: A regular customer came in and announced that she had "the hangover from hell" and was greeted with a cup of strong coffee. This loyal and regular customer was treated like she was a beloved family member. I expect that she'll be a loyal customer for many years to come.

The first bad one: A customer arrived and was asked whether this was her first visit. She replied that it was and nothing more was said. When the stylist sat her down she repeated the question (because the receptionist had not passed on this information) and responded with a tone that implied that this was an inconvenience - I guess as she'd now have to spend more time figuring out what the customer wanted: something that wouldn't be required with an existing customer.

The second bad one: My appointment was 9.00am - the first one of the day - and yet my hair cut didn't start until 9.10am because the stylist was too busy chatting with her colleagues.

The morals of the story:
  1. Treat your existing customers like beloved family members
  2. Treat your new customers like beloved family members
  3. Induct your new customers - find out what they like, what they don't like, and why they've left their existing supplier (you don't want to repeat the same mistakes)
  4. Don't keep you customers waiting - we're more important than your colleagues

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