Can you make me look pretty please?

The truth of the matter is most employees are really not concerned about how you find your payroll every week.  Come pay day, whether rain, shine, snow or sleet, they expect to have their weekly wages.  Most employees are not concerned about how you finance your overhead; they just show up to work expecting that electricity would be on, supplies would be in place and customers would just wander in.  As a company owner, your expectation might be that your employees have the interest of your company as a priority.  Business owners expect that employees would be dedicated to helping them to achieve the company goals.  Most employees however don’t. Today, I don’t want to focus on the 80% of employees who do not deliver on a company’s promise of superior customer service but instead, I would like to tell you a story about two young ladies who fall in the 20% of employees who will buy into a company’s goals and objectives and who given continuous training and development, can increase profits and customer loyalty.

Here’s the story:

As I entered the make-up studio, I was slightly anxious.  The customer service representative greeted me as I walked through the door and asked how she could help.  I told her I’d come in for my 9am appointment for a professional make over.  “Ahh, Ms. Dean, we’ve been waiting on you.  Thank you for choosing our services today.”  This exchange immediately put me at ease.  These are nice people I thought and even though I’d only interacted with one of them so far, my expectation was that all of them were pleasant and professional.

A few minutes later, I was seated in a private vintage designed dressing room.  The make-up artist introduced herself and started to ask me questions; “what look are you going for, what are your favorite colors, what color are you wearing to the event, what is the event you are attending,” etc.  I stared at her with a blank look.  I am certain she thought I was insane.  When I did reply, I asked – “you mean I can choose a look?”  I know she must have found this as hilarious as I do now while reflecting on it. She kept a straight face and explained that she wanted to know if I was interested in something dramatic or more of a natural look.  This fact finding expedition made me very comfortable as the make-up artist was doing her best to ensure she had enough information for me to walk away as a satisfied client.

As she worked her magic, she conversed lightly with me.  At one point she stopped to ask me if her chatting was bothering me or if I preferred quiet.  How considerate of her to ask!  I’m a talker so we continued our chat but I was impressed that she was so thoughtful of her clients.  Mid way through the makeover, she asked if I liked the way it was looking.  I told her I wasn’t certain.  She explained that the finished look would be better however if I didn’t like it, she could redo it.  I was impressed yet again.  She was willing with no attitude displayed to start the entire process over.  Now, because she seemed confident, competent and was being so nice I decided to trust her expertise and go with it. At the end of the experience, I looked in the mirror and wondered who was looking back at me!  She had done a marvelous job of enhancing my features in a way that was natural and comfortable for me.

This was my first time at a make-up studio and certainly it won’t be my last.  Anytime a company takes time to ensure their customers greet me by name, thank me for using their business, care about my needs, be flexible enough to change as my needs change and make me feel important to them, I will continue to patronize.   It was clearly evident that these employees were the right fit for a make-up studio and the right fit for their individual roles.  While they may not have necessarily given any thought to the helping the business to increase profits or any thought to creating loyal customers, what they did do was show that they loved their jobs and they were concerned about pleasing their customers.

Hiring the right fit for your business is one of the most important steps you can take towards meeting your customer’s expectations.  I can assure you of one thing – anytime there is a special function I need to attend, this particular make up studio will get my business.  Why? For 3 reasons:

1. It was obvious that these employees loved their jobs. They certainly fit the roles they filled.
2. First impressions are lasting impressions. They did the job right in this first encounter and will be my first choice when I need this type of service again.
3. They certainly delivered on the promise of me walking away from their studio looking like eye candy.