Alex Shalman.comPractical Personal Development

How horrible is it that when we discover a business that operates with the utmost attention towards customer service that we recognize it as the exception to the norm?

I have a dream that every business will be so customer centric that walking into a business that doesn’t give it their best shot will be unheard of. I’m talking about a world where everyone, and every business, “gets it.”

I first found Euphoria Salon when searching for Hair Salon and Spa in East Brunswick, NJ. I called them to inquire about waxing my back, and told them that my previous two attempts, in the years prior, had led to my back breaking out. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of comfort that I received over the phone when speaking with Michael, the manager of Euphoria Salon.

He explained the lengths in which they would go to prep my back, use the most sensitive skin wax, and then seal the pores after the procedure. He offered to do a spot for free to see how my skin would react. When I came in to Euphoria Salon I was again pleasantly surprised by the level of attention and customer service that I received from both Michael the manager, as well as Natacha the salon specialist. I decided to just do the whole back, and was very pleased with the attention to detail that Natacha showed me as she waxed my back in tiny segments for best results.

I even got a haircut while I was there, because I was already impressed by this full service salon. Unfortunately, a week after the wax, my back broke out as it had in the previous years. I called the salon, which they recommended I do if this occurred, and they had me come in to speak with the owner/skin specialist Richard.

Richard looked my skin over very carefully under a light. Then we spent well over half an hour in an unrushed and very informative conversation discussing all the things that could have affected my skin. Richard recommended several techniques and products that I could use, and went out of his way to get me free samples of everything that I needed. He also made himself available, for as long as I needed him, to pinpoint which one of the thousand things affecting my skin was the real culprit.

On my way out I stopped to talk with Michael. It’s not everyday that I experience a business that has everything going right for it. In fact, I’ve been to most of the salons in East Brunswick and always switched because of either an inadequacy in price, service quality, or customer service. Euphoria Salon gets my highest ratings in all three of these categories.

For about half an hour I interviewed Michael on the philosophy that goes into this salon business. I wanted to know exactly what it was that made them go above and beyond, since I’m planning to be the owner of a service business in the future and want to learn as much as I can. It turns out that they’re not just in the beauty business, they’re in the business of making people feel good in and out. Michael’s key trait is to listen quietly and attentively in order to better understand what someone needs both as a customer and as a human being.

We went on to talk about Michael’s mentor Jon Atchison, who was the first African-American male to own a salon on 5th Ave. NYC. This is the man that shaped Michael’s ability to make the customer feel like a million bucks for over 30 years now, and this is the philosophy that Michael instills in the staff during their weekly staff training sessions.

I don’t know too many small business that take time each week to make sure their employees are the best that they can be. Each Tuesday evening Michael and his staff get together to train a practical technique such as cutting, coloring, waxing, etc., but that’s not all. At the beginning of every single training session, Michael takes the time to repeat and review the philosophy that made me, for one, feel like a million bucks during and after my appointment.

As you can tell, I not only recommend Euphoria Salon, but I also recommend that you look into running your business the way they run theirs.

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