You have only one chance to make a great first impression on new clients. From the first phone call to the first visit, everything influence how your client will ultimately feel about you. First impression can make or break an ongoing relationship. Here are some tips courtesy of Star Nail president Tony Cuccio to ensure clients will come back for more.
Initial Phone Call. Be sure to answer the phone within the first few rings, if you have no receptionist and are unable to get the call in a timely fashion, let an answering machine take the message. The most important thing to keep the experience positive is to return the call with an hour or right after you’ve completed your last service. Don’t leave in a middle of working on a client to answer the phone. This is not fair to the client in the chair, plus you’ll need to wash your hands again to prevent any cross-contamination. Be sure the phone is in a quite area so that there are no distractions when you speak.
Initial Salon Visit. Greet your visitor immediately as they enter the salon, if no one is manning the reception area, consider using a clearly marked sign-in sheet so newcomers know what to do. Make sure that the waiting area and retail shelves are clean, neat, and well-maintained. Use comfortable chairs and supply current magazines in good shape.
Show Clients You Care. Always begin your service with a consultation to open up dialog with your client and help building a solid relationship. It demonstrate that you truly care for the health and well-being of the person as opposed to looking at her with dollar signs. By taking the timer to really examine the hands, nails, and feet you’ll be able to recommend a series of treatments and home-care to help combat any problems and maintain health. Asking the clients questions also helps you to determine if you need to be extra careful due to diabetes or other illness that can cause skin sensitivity. Learning what environments hands and feet are exposed to daily will allow you to customize treatments for each individual client.
Be Sanitation-Minded. Demonstrate to clients that you take salon sanitation seriously. With recent news media attention fostering negative toward salons due to sanitation issues, you want to show clients that you do everything possible to keep them safe and free from the potential dangers of infection. Explain your scrupulous procedures to each new clients and offer her an individual implement pack, such as Star Nail Client Guard.
