Your clients’ beauty experience begins long before they step into your salon. Perhaps they found you through Google, your social media, or a friend’s recommendation, which does carry some weight. But, it’s the first visit to your website where they can see your team, what the salon looks like, your prices, and a sampling of your work that starts to form an impression on them.
Next comes the phone call to set the first appointment. Was the person greeted warmly on the other end of the line? Perhaps the receptionist was impatient or in a rush, or the phone rang, and rang, and rang before anyone picked up. All these little things add up – good or bad – and lead to the guests’ expectations when they arrive for their appointment.
However, that initial step over the threshold and the first sights, scents, and sounds in the salon solidify first impressions. Everything they take in with those first few moments is essential in setting the stage for the rest of your client’s journey and, ultimately, how they feel walking back out the door after their services.
So, how do you make the most of that client’s experience as a guest in your salon? The best way to do that is to experience your salon from your guest’s perspective. Yes, you can (and should) ask your guests for anonymous feedback, but to get into the fine details, you need to experience it firsthand.
One way to get brutally honest feedback is to hire a mystery shopper. That’s where a person pretends to be a client to evaluate their customer service: Many large chain stores, restaurants, hotels, and banks engage in the practice. In larger settings, there’s usually a camera hidden in the shopper’s glasses, hat, or jewelry so the owner can witness the interaction. However, a camera’s a little hard to conceal in a salon. Instead, you may have to rely on the mystery shopper’s memory and how detailed their report is coming back to you.
Instead of spending the money to have a pro “shop” your salon, consider recruiting a friend, swapping salons with another owner, or experiencing the salon’s services firsthand as if you were a first-time client. It’s not easy to get into that frame of mind in your own salon, but if you set the stage with your team by telling them that you are not the owner during that visit, you can stay in character and immerse yourself in the experience.
Whether it’s you or someone else acting as the mystery shopper, it’s essential to have a detailed plan; that way, you or they know what to look for during the appointment and can stay on task.
To help you do an objective walkthrough and grade how your business is doing on the customer side of things, we’ve assembled the following checklist:
Mystery Shopper Checklist
Visit the salon’s website
- How appealing was the site?
- Was it easy to navigate?
- Did you quickly find the pricing, stylists’ photos/bios/specialties, services list, and work examples?
- Did they have a booking link?
- What questions were you left with?
- What was your overall impression of the site (and the business based on just that)?
Visit the salon’s google listing
- Did they have one?
- Was the information complete?
- What questions were you left with?
- What was your overall impression of the listing (and the business based on just that)?
Visit the salon’s social media
- Did they have a presence on the channel you use?
- Was enough information listed to answer any questions?
- What questions were you left with?
- Were there recent/frequent posts?
- Were the posts interesting?
- Did you follow/like the salon and any of the posts?
- DId the salon offer an online booking link?
- What questions were you left with?
- What was your overall impression of the page/profile (and the business based on just that)?
Call to ask questions and make an appointment
- How many times did the phone ring?
- How were you greeted?
- Was the receptionist knowledgeable? Helpful? Friendly?
- How was the booking process?
- Does the salon offer online client scheduling?
- How could this step have been improved?
Before the appointment
- Did you get a confirmation for your appointment?
- How did it come (text or email, or both)?
- How did it look?
- Was the information helpful?
- Did you get reminders?
- How did it come (text or email, or both)?
- How did it look?
- Was it helpful?
- How could the confirmation and reminder process have been better?
When you arrive for the appointment
- Was the salon easy to find?
- How was parking?
- Would you feel safe walking to your car at night?
- What was your first impression when you saw the salon from the outside?
- When you walked through the door, what was your first impression?
- Upon glancing around, how did the salon look?
- How did it smell?
- How did it sound?
- How were you greeted?
- Describe the condition of the front desk, retail and waiting areas.
- How busy was the salon at the time of your arrival?
- How did the first part of the experience make you feel?
- How could the salon have made your experience better?
Ask to use the restrooms
- How did the restroom look?
- Was it clean?
- Was it well stocked: toilet paper, paper (or other) towels, soap?
- Were you comfortable using the facilities?
Rate the service
- When the stylist was ready for you, what happened next? Were you shown where to change? If so:
- What was the condition of the changing area?
- Were there plenty of clean smocks?
- How did they look, feel, and fit?
- Were you shown where to set your things?
- Were you offered a beverage?
- How were you introduced to and/or greeted by the stylist?
- What was your first impression of the stylist?
- What was the condition of the styling station?
- How long/thorough was the consultation?
- Do you feel they really got to know you, your hair, and your lifestyle?
- Did they offer cut, color, or style suggestions?
- At the shampoo bowl:
- What was the condition of the bowls, chairs, and general area?
- Was the chair and headrest in the bowl comfortable?
- Did the person shampooing your hair make conversation during the service?
- How would you describe their touch/technique?
- Did they massage your neck and or head during any part of the service?
- How was the water temperature?
- Did you like the scent of the shampoo and conditioner used on you?
- When reclining and looking up from the chair, what did you see, and how did it look?
- How could your shampoo bowl experience be better?
- How was the conversation during the main hair service?
- Did the stylist ask about you or talk about themselves?
- Did the stylist explain what they were doing with your hair at any point?
- Did they show you how to prep and style your hair at home?
- Did they recommend products and tools to do so?
- How did you feel during the reveal?
- Did they offer you a mirror to see the back and sides of your head?
- Did they suggest general hair care or other ways to style at home?
- How did your stylist end the service?
- Did they or an assistant walk you to the front, or did someone come to you for checkout?
- Did anyone ask if you needed products before checking out?
- Did the stylist thank you for coming in and/or remark about meeting you?
- How did this part of your journey make you feel?
- How could it have been better for you?
Checkout and pay
- Did you have to wait in line to check out?
- Did the receptionist ask how your service was?
- Did they ask about products?
- Did they tell you how to purchase retail after you leave the salon?
- Did they ask about scheduling another service?
- Was the payment processing smooth?
- Was it easy to tip your stylist and other service providers?
- Would having a credit card on file have made the checkout faster for you?
- Did the receptionist say goodbye?
Leaving the salon
- How do you feel about yourself right now, and how you look?
- What did you think about the hair services?
- What did you think about the customer service overall?
- What did you think about the salon overall?
- Would you come back for more services?
- Would you recommend the salon to a friend?
- What would you improve if you owned the place?
After the service
- Did you receive a Thank You from the salon?
- Did they remind you to make your next appointment?
- Did they send a product recommendation and a link to their online store?
- Do they offer regular communications about their products and services?
Yes, this is a seriously comprehensive list, but there are so many things to consider regarding your clients’ experience in your salon. Dive in deep and do what you can to make all of the little things come together into one incredible experience for every single guest – every time!
Ways to Make Improvements
Ensure all of the little details have been carefully planned and maintained for every guest. Here are some pro tips to help get you there:
Pro Tip: Audit your website, social media, and Google My Business listings to ensure they are up-to-date and answer most questions your clients or potential clients might have.
Pro Tip: Make sure anyone answering the salon’s main line is well trained to deal with multiple clients at once and knows how to control their voice not to come off panicked or rushed. A simple, ”Thank you for calling XYZ salon, I’ll be right with you,” will suffice until they finish the current checkout transaction with another client.
Pro Tip: Not everyone knows how to give a proper consultation, so make it a part of your training and salon culture.
Pro Tip: If you’re the first person arriving at the salon in the morning, and as you open the door, the sunlight catches the layer of dust on your shelves, or you smell anything short of aromatherapy, you’ve already failed. Nobody wants to take in a whiff of mustiness or cleaning or treatment chemicals, so invest in a sound HVAC system to clear out any unwanted scents and keep dust to a minimum. Plus, a good aromatherapy setup might be a great idea – just don’t overpower your guests with too many or too strong of scents.
Pro Tip: The music you play in your salon does help set the mood, but it’s hard to balance the different genres with a diverse clientele. Just remember that the music enhances the surroundings and makes the client experience that much better – not necessarily the stylists (although it does help). Consider joining a music streaming service with multiple options for commercial-free music that covers various styles. That way, you have the opportunity to change the tempo based on the time of day and the clients in the salon.
Pro Tip: Keep an eye on the temperature throughout the day. As the number of people in the salon changes, adjust the temperature accordingly. That way, no one gets chilled with too much air conditioning in the summer or not enough heat in the winter, or melts when the place is just too hot.
Pro Tip: Keep your bathroom and changing rooms clean and well stocked. Have the receptionist or assistants check in regularly to tidy up, stock up, and ensure facilities are ready for the next guest.
Pro Tip: It’s easy to miss cobwebs in the corners or dust on the top shelf, so have your cleaning crew go the extra mile with dusting.
Pro Tip: Invest in new smocks and cutting capes every once in a while, so clients know you care how they look during their services.
Pro Tip: Make the booking, confirmation, check-in, and checkout processes smooth and stress-free by using salon management software with integrated payment processing.
Discover how salon management software can help your salon provide concierge-level service.
This article is part 2 in a four-part series:
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