Ageing Gracefully - Customer Service And Trends To Shift Gears

The Beauty and Wellness industry of India broadly caters to three sections – the youth, who is super excited and wants to try out every service on the menu, the mid-segment of professionals, who know what they want and go for it, and a smaller, oft-ignored demographic of ‘baby boomers’ or simply put, those above 55 years of age, who are aware, mature and moneyed, yet stick to the tried and tested for reasons pertaining to either lack of confidence in the hairstylist to execute the desired cut or colour, or an indifference to the brands that the salon itself endorses. Salon India realises that while offering a bouquet of ‘trends’ is key, a paradigm shift in skilled, yet restrained, customer service should be the focus when addressing seniors, who make up much of the purchasing population

- Aradhana V Bhatnagar

Yashwant is a young hairstylist with a renowned salon chain. Most of his customers fall in the age group of 16 to 45, however, he also balances a dozen regular customers over the age of 55. So, the first question I asked him was, “How is it working for this percentage of customers, who may not like to deviate from their set requirement and use only a few products?” His answer was quick and smart. He said, “I simply use human psychology and listen hard to what my client has to say.” With this anecdote, I gathered that human psychology, indeed, is the best tool to assess a customer and the requirement, and even improve the relationship by changing gears when it comes to lending the perfect customer service.

Customer service explained

While it is a fact that offering exceptional customer service in a salon or spa may pose to be difficult, but it is less of a task when the team has been trained to ‘understand’ a query and then comply to execute it to the best of their abilities. When it comes to providing exceptional customer service at a salon and ensuring a satisfied experience, management needs to keep service standards in perspective and customers in the centre of the business.

An experience for the experienced