Why Good Hospitality is the Key to Successful Salon & Spa Business Sharing your knowledge is not only good for the customer but for your Salon & Spa as well as it creates trust and confidence in your capabilities.
By Milan Sharma
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Stress has nowadays become a part of people's lives. To relieve this stress, people have greater than ever expectations from personal care services they get. If you are a Salon & Spa owner and think that your customer is coming to your place only for a haircut, skin treatment, or just a manicure, you are wrong. People now consider their visit to the Salon & Spa as not just a beautification process but a spiritual getaway. You don't know which customer entered your Salon & Spa to get a pedicure and their only intent was to uplift their soul and feel good about themselves.
For making this experience truly serene you need to connect with your customer; a connection where every miniscule detail matters. The moment that they enter the door, the experience starts. How your staff greets them, ambience of the waiting room, how well you understand customer requirements, and then precisely delivering what they wanted, everything is an experience.
Hospitality is a very wide field to talk about, so in this article I'll share few tips, small things that will make a big impact on your customers' experience.
- Have you met the architect? The ambience of your Salon & Spa is crucial in making the first impression. The initial vibes that your customer feels when they enter is what stays with them. It's important that you make these vibes as positive as possible as it has a sub-conscious effect on the customer. Take help of a professional architect before designing your place. Knowledge of Vastu or Feng-Shui will be an advantage as you can use the combination of modern ways and ancient art to create a little magical place of your own.
- Humans not Robots: Train your staff to treat customers like family. Take special care that their interaction with the customer isn't robotic and the overall interaction is as human as possible. Basic entrepreneur tip: A happy employee will create a happy experience for the customer. Keep in mind!
- A Transparent Glass: Don't wait for your customer to ask details of the service they want. Be proactive and explain them everything about the process – the products you will use, their advantages (or limitations), time taken, aftercare tips – everything. Sharing your knowledge is not only good for the customer but for your Salon & Spa as well as it creates trust and confidence in your capabilities.
- Know your customer: It's advisable to gather as much information about your customer as possible. This not only acts a precaution (for eg. if someone is allergic to any product ingredient), it also makes your customer feel that you care about them. Keep in mind that your customers understand why are you asking these questions so as not to irritate them. Explain the reason why you are asking these questions. Remember what I told earlier? A transparent glass.
- Remember "The Name': Regular customers don't like to enter a Salon & Spa and explain all their preferences again. Remember what they like, remember their dislikes, and most importantly, remember their name. Personalization is the key.