Advanced Strategy: What you can learn from a hair salon about winning and keeping patients

by Susan Keane Baker

Organizations that have created a culture of service excellence, one where responsive service is expected and routine, are challenged by how to keep the gains they have made. New ideas for taking a service excellence program to the next level can often be found by examining best practices in other industries. For example, Amy E. Lemen wrote in the Austin Business Journal about what the owners of the Jackson Ruiz Salon in Texas did to create consistently impeccable service for their customers and extraordinary services for their employees:

1) They eliminated tipping, often an uncomfortable and annoying aspect of a salon visit. If a tip is given, the money is spent on beauty products that are given to the client, or a credit is recorded for the next visit. Their philosophy: “A referral is the biggest tip a client can give us.” What’s your major customer dissatisfier and what will you do about it?

2) They offer hand massages to waiting clients. What will you do this year to reduce waiting/access times or to make the waiting experience more pleasant?

3) They regularly invite guest speakers to meet with their associates to share new ideas. How do you plan to invest in your associates this year?

4) Their top 100 clients receive a gift package of a certificate for a service, a gift certificate for a friend, and lunch at a restaurant. How do you identify and recognize your major referral sources?

5) They transferred responsibility for answering the telephone away from the reception desk, where clients are welcomed. Future plans call for setting up a remote call center so that no one in the salon is distracted by phones ringing. Can you improve by reducing noise levels and distractions? While you and your staff may be immune from distractions, patients rarely are.

6) Jackson Ruiz leaders articulate and demonstrate their commitment to their values often. They value integrity, education, passion, balance and compassion. Select ten employees at random and ask them to talk with you about your organization’s values. You’ll know immediately whether you are articulating and demonstrating them enough.

You Are Welcome To Reprint This Article

Please include the following text on your reprint:

Copied with permission of the author, Susan Keane Baker.
Source: www.susanbaker.com.

If You Are Going To Publish This Article at Your Website

Please use the following html code for the reference to our website:

Copied with permission of the author: Susan K. Baker - <a href="http://www.susanbaker.com">Speaker on Patient Satisfaction and Handling Patient Complaints</a>