Upon returning home from work last week I was greeted by my glowing 8-yr old son, "Dad, I just got the best haircut ever". Mom took him to Sports Clips and as it was his first time in they gave him a free "MVP Haircut". He talked about it all night and giggled every time he described the massage and special white towel treatment.
Needless to say he sold me. On Monday for lunch I went to SportsClips to see what the hype was all about. The greeting was appropriate, the wait time was 5 minutes. My new stylist "Bern" noticed I was well dressed for work and she expressed that she didn't want me to go around all day with pokey hair in my neck. She said, "If you are okay with it I'd like to cut your hair and then do the hairwash". I thought it was a great idea and so we proceeded.
After the cut Bern seated in me in the chair where she would wash my hair. Before proceeding she asked, "Mr. VanNatter, are you comfortable?" After confirming I was she wrapped a clean warm towel around the back of my neck. She then asked, "How does that feel?" I told her it felt wonderful. She then slowly and gently wrapped it around the front of my face (and made sure I could steal breathe). The towel was clean and smelt fresh. Bern's magical hands washed my hair and left me feeling like a million bucks. When finished Bern again asked, "Mr. VanNatter, how are you feeling right now?" I replied, "like a million bucks" to which she replied with a great smile, "I'm happy to hear it."
This type of experience continued with Bern as she gave me a neck massage, made some final touch-ups to my hair and then styled it. Before letting me go she asked if there was anything else she could do for me. "Nothing at all" I replied, "That was awesome."
I've thought about my experience at SportsClips all week. Though I often believe that I'm providing my customers great value I know that I don't ask them nearly enough, "How are you feeling?" Do my questions prove to them that I am more interested in them than the tools to which I am providing?
Today I am a loyal SportsClips fan. More than that, Bern has earned my business. She is almost guaranteed 4 cuts a month between my boys and I. This blog alone proves how invaluable her service and care meant to me.
Next time you're helping a client take the time to ask, "How are you feeling?" I promise that it will help to make them know that you are truly interested in them, not just the transaction.
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