Q&A

Nergish Wadia-Austin launched PHAB Service Stars – a register of top performing beauty professionals – earlier this year. We quiz her on how to keep standards high in your salon

What is a five-star service compared to a normal service?

“This is simply a way of saying you’re giving the customer more – it’s about creating long-term loyalty. If your five-star service doesn’t explore what your customer wants and needs, and doesn’t deliver it, then you’re wasting your time and spending money for no reason. If you’re not making sure that the customer enjoys a five-star service so much that they come back, then you’re wasting your time. It should apply to everyone that frequents your business; you want them to all spend more as a result.”

Is it important to find out about the demographic of clients in your area?

“It’s less difficult than that. Simply call up your top 10 customers, those who have the highest spend in your business, and ask, ‘If I said that money was no object, tell me what would make your visit to us even better than it is now?’ Ask open-ended questions and always make sure you’re making notes. A record of your conversation is also important because, at the time of decision making, you need facts in front of you.”

How can you maintain a five-star service while following Covid-19 restrictions?

“Your service should encourage trust. There is a reduction in the number of people visiting businesses at the moment because of a lack of trust in the way Covid-19 is being handled. Your hygiene levels have to be at the top end of the scale – the more you talk about how vigilant you are about your hygiene standards and publicise it online, the more successful you will be. Many salons and spas are grasping that and making creative videos about sanitisation and wearing masks. Suddenly five-star hygiene is today’s priority.”

To what degree should sustainability be a factor, particularly during this pandemic?

“Nowadays, people want you to be careful about the waste that exists in your building, the water that’s going down your drains, and so on. Because a lot of people are determined not to do further damage to the environment, you can make your business’s environmental policy a core part of your five-star offering and your marketing message.

“In order to deliver a superior service and not drop standards of five-star practices, perhaps think about charging a small surcharge, separate to the bill, for the personal protective equipment and extra steps being taken, and explain that the surcharge will disappear when these steps are no longer necessary, so as to not lower your five-star service.”

What are the steps salons should take to create a bespoke five-star service?

“Every aspect must meet one of three criteria: is spending the money going to bring customers back more often? Is it going to bring you long-term loyalty from them? And lastly, is it going to encourage further spend in your business? Start by speaking to your customers and then to your team, and write everything down. Through your lists of ideas, you should see a pattern forming.

“From there, select one part of your service to improve and then write out a step-by-step guide of what a five-star service will be for your business and what your staff must do.

“For four weeks, it should be a topic of discussion in morning staff meetings and briefings, because that’s how long it takes to form a habit. Once everyone has got into the habit, you will see the plan start to generate money.”