A welcoming customer environment is an area that the client
feels comfortable in. The first impression a client receives of
the salon environment largely depends on the efficiency of the
trainees who work there, as they are often responsible for the
day to day maintenance of the salon environment.
You can help to maintain a welcoming salon environment for
customers and clients by:
Minimising excessive noise- loud, thumping music and shrill
voices will detract from what should be a relaxing experience
for the client.
Maintain a clean and tidy working environment- an untidy
salon gives the impression that the quality of services provided
is below standard.
Maintain a temperate climate- an environment that is too hot
or too cold is uncomfortable.
Minimise distractions- having conversations with friends,
colleagues and other customers while providing services to a
client is unsettling and may create a barrier to communication.
You will communicate every day with your colleagues,
customers, and clients.
Communication plays an important role in customer service and
teamwork and effective communication directly relates to the
success of a beauty business.
Creating an effective service environment includes sending the
right verbal and non-verbal messages to our customers.
This may include following store policies and procedures in
regard to your personal dress, presentation and conduct in the
workplace.
Working in the beauty industry, you have to deal with people
with a range of attitudes and beliefs, personalities, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and people with varying
physical and mental abilities. It is important that you adjust
your behaviour to maximise your ability to communicate with
customers and clients. Broadly speaking, customers can be
divided into two main groups.
Internal customers - People who work with you.
External customers - People who work outside your
organisation.
Good communication involves more than just the exchange of
information. It consists of several parts. These are:
1. Sender the person giving the message
2.
Receiver the person who is getting the message
3.
The message the information being sent. This can be written
or spoken
4.
The channel the method the message is given eg fax,
telephone or conversation etc.
5.
Feedback used by the receiver and sender to show they have
understood the message
6.
Interference the barriers or things that can stop the
message being understood e.g. noise, the way the message is
decoded
Audience awareness is your ability to understand the needs,
experience and level of understanding of the receiver of the
message you are trying to send, for example; the public,
colleagues, employers, and stakeholders. You must be able to
display sensitivity to your audience in the way you organise and
present ideas, and respond to feedback (for example, favouring
plain language over jargon when communicating with the
general public).
Understanding the particular perspective of your colleagues and
clients and communicating appropriately with them (for
example, discussing information about clients or tasks) will help
you to tailor the way that you communicate to suit their needs.
An understanding of and ability to use gestures, expressions and
non-verbal cues to help communicate a message (for example,
changing the tone and volume of your voice to convey emotion
and feeling, or controlling posture and nervous gestures to
present confidence to your audience will help to get your
message across easily.
Body language is communicating with parts of your body, usually
your eyes, face, hands/fingers, arms, and body position.
It can be both positive such as: smiling and nodding or negative
for example: frowning with your arms folded. We often
underestimate the input of body language in the communication
process.
During communication, both the sender and the receiver are
unconsciously evaluating and interpreting the body language
being used.
One of the most crucial steps in the process of customer service
is the initial contact with the customer. You must create a
positive first impression. To do this you must communicate the
impression of being:
•
Alert
•
Friendly
•
Helpful
•
Interested
•
Responsive
Remember you only have one chance.
•
Let the customer know that you realise they are there.
•
Smile - your facial expression will denote your mood.
•
Make eye contact - this lets the customer know that you
know that they are there and ready to serve them.
The procedure for greeting customers varies between
workplaces. You should know your workplace policy for greeting
customers. In general you should:
•
Speak clearly - the clients will not understand you if you
mumble your words or are too quiet in your approach, ask
the customer how you can help.
•
Introduce yourself- clients will feel more at ease if they
know your name.
•
Be patient and polite- sometimes it will take a period of
time to determine the clients’ needs. If you are impatient
or impolite, you may lose a client altogether.
•
Call the client by name- familiarity is comforting, if you
know the customer’s name, use it.
Listening is one of the key ways members in a business are able
to understand the needs of their internal and external
customers. Listening carefully to your customers at all times
will enable you to determine their needs and develop a rapport
with them.
Becoming an effective listener rather than someone who just
hears what is said will enhance the quality of your personal and
professional relationships, you will improve your productivity, as
well as your ability to influence, persuade, negotiate. What’s
more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings – all necessary
for workplace success. An effective listener is characterised by
their ability to:
•
Listen carefully
•
Use empathy
•
Have an open mind
•
Not interrupt the speaker
•
Ask questions to confirm their understanding
•
Summarise the information they have been given
•
Repeat the information back to the speaker
The key to receiving messages effectively is listening. Listening
is a combination of hearing what another person says and
psychological involvement with the person who is talking.
Listening requires more than hearing words. It requires a desire
to understand another human being, an attitude of respect and
acceptance, and a willingness to open one's mind to try and see
things from another’s point of view.
Listening requires a high level of concentration and energy. It
demands that we set aside our own thoughts and agendas, put
ourselves in another’s shoes and try to see the world through
that person’s eyes. True listening requires that we suspend
judgment, evaluation, and approval in an attempt to understand
another’s frame of reference, emotions, and attitudes. Listening
to understand is, indeed, a difficult task!
Active listening has four steps:
1.
Attending to the message.
2.
Interpreting the message.
3.
Understanding the message.
4.
Indicating your understanding
Using effective questioning techniques will enable you to listen
more effectively and determine customer and client needs and
build rapport.
There are three (3) questioning techniques that are commonly
used.
They are:
•
Open ended questions
•
Closed questions
•
Reflective questions
The use of open ended questions allows you to articulate the
meaning of what is being communicated and are used in direct
and indirect questioning to request information. Open ended
questions start with:
•
What
•
Where
•
Who
•
Why
•
How
•
When
•
Which
Closed questions are used to get specific information and usually
receive yes/no or single word answers. This information should
supplement the information gained from open-ended questions.
Closed questions usually start with:
•
Is
•
Have
•
Do
•
Did
•
Does
Reflective questions are used to show you have been listening,
and to clarify what you have heard.
They are formulated by turning a statement the customer has
made into a question.
You collect a range of information from customers and clients
regarding their contact details, personal lives, service history
and preferences.
To comply with the law and maintain the trust of your customers
and clients you must always display discretion, tact and
confidentiality concerning client information.
Confidentiality is important in the running of the salon. Clients
take the opportunity to relax and will often tell things to their
beautician that they wouldn’t normally talk about. Sometimes
these topics are very personal and could be damaging if
repeated outside the salon. For this reason, client
confidentiality must be maintained at all times. If
confidentiality is broken this could result in the client taking
their business elsewhere, and the salon getting a bad
reputation. Confidentiality means that customer information is
treated like a secret. It is not in your interests to divulge
information about a client to anyone that is not directly involved
in providing goods or services to the client. Under no
circumstances should you give clients personal details to an
unauthorised person and personal issues that a client may
discuss are not to be discussed in the public arena.
Tact is the delicate perception of the right thing to say or do
without offending - it is a skill in dealing with people.
You are in contact with people constantly for the delivery of
products and services. You should try to remain focused on
topics that involve the products and services that your
workplace provides. Inevitably, there will be some conversation
that includes details of the customers’ personal life, but keep in
mind that it is inappropriate to discuss: your personal life,
politics and religion. These topics can be a source of heated
debate and should be avoided.
Know how the telephone system works. There are basic
functions which you will need to be able to perform such as:
•
transferring calls
•
putting clients on hold
•
retrieving messages left on answering machines
You may be able to find the manufacturer’s instructions for the
telephone system. If you can it is important that you read the
instructions about how to use the basic functions of the system
so that you can use the telephone efficiently.
If there are no manufacturer’s instructions, another member of
staff will be able to instruct you about the use of the telephone
and its functions.
Most workplaces will have policies and procedures for answering
the telephone that you will have to follow. This will include how
quickly the telephone should be answered, how you should
answer the telephone (usually with the name of the salon) and
how you should handle the call. Fundamental to developing the
correct telephone technique, there a few things that you should
learn about your workplace:
•
Know how the telephone system works
•
Know your organisation and its telephone policy
•
Know who you work with
•
Answer the telephone warmly
Check with your supervisor about how the phone should be
answered and make sure you know the names of your colleagues
and their positions in the organisation.
This will help you to assist callers who wish to speak to a
particular person and avoid confusion.
Using the appropriate manner to answer the telephone will
create a good impression of the organisation.
The telephone policies of many organisations include how
quickly you should answer the telephone. For example: before
the third ring. Leaving the telephone to ring for too long may
cause the caller to think that no-one is there or that they are
not an important customer to your business.
To make sure that you sound welcoming on the telephone, here
are some tips:
•
Smile when you answer the phone. This will change the
tone of your voice. Try not to sound preoccupied or
annoyed.
•
Don’t interrupt. Allow the other person to get the
message across. If you must interrupt, make sure you are
polite, e.g. “I’m sorry, excuse me Miss DeVries, Did you
say that you were looking for Simone?”
•
Be attentive. This may involve using word or sounds to
indicate that you are listening for example: “mmmm”,
“yes” or “ok”.
As you cannot see the person that you are speaking to on the
telephone, the quality of your voice takes on extended
importance. Tone, volume and speed all affect the meaning of
what you are saying to the listener and how the listener
interprets your message.
Speak clearly. If you speak too fast it will sound like you are
nervous or hurried; too slow and your listener may think that
you are not interested in them.
Hold the telephone at a reasonable distance from your mouth.
Too close and you will distort your voice, too far away and the
caller will not be able to hear you properly.
To identify the caller and accurately establish and confirm
requirements you must remember to use the questioning and
active listening skills that you have learnt in the previous
Section.
Use open ended questions to find out who the caller is and what
they need and reflective or closed questions to confirm their
requirements.
When you have identified the caller, write down their name and
use it in your replies.
You will often be required to take messages or pass on
information. Whenever you answer the telephone you should be
prepared to take a message. You should always have a pen and a
message pad by the telephone.
It is important that any information that you record is accurate.
The following points will help you to take messages properly.
•
Write down the caller’s name
•
Listen to what the caller is saying
•
Take notes if the message is complicated
•
Use your listening and questioning skills to help the caller
articulate the message clearly
•
Read the message back to the caller to ensure that the
information you have recorded is correct
You should also:
•
Make sure that you have correctly spelt the name of the
caller
•
Record the time and date of the call
•
Record the name of the person that the message is
intended for
•
Ask the caller for a contact telephone number (and write
it down)
•
Ask the caller what time it is convenient to return the
call
•
Record a brief outline of the purpose of the call
When providing information to a caller, relay it clearly and
slowly.
Allow the caller time to understand or write down the
information.
If you do not have the information, make all attempts to find it.
If you must leave the telephone, explain to the caller why and
give the caller the option of waiting or being called back.
When you have received a message or information for a
particular person in your organisation, you must pass it on as
soon as possible.
Make sure that you are giving the information to the appropriate
person.
Messages should only be passed to the person who the message
was intended for.
If a message has been received for a person who is not at work
at the time of receiving the call, you do not need to call that
person at home if it is their day off, but ensure that they are
given the message as early as possible on their next day at work.
Occasionally there will be a problem with the ability to meet the
requirements of a customer. For example: a product that they
have asked about is out of stock; the person that they wish to
speak to is not in the salon that day or no longer works in the
organisation; or you are unable to process a request because the
issue is not within your limitations. When this happens there are
steps that you must follow to ensure that our customer can
make an informed decision about what to do next.
Informing customers about problems and the action being taken
to rectify the issue is a way of exceeding their expectations and
in this way you will encourage repeat and loyal customers.
In simple terms, cultural awareness is about realising that not all
people are the same. It is about knowing that different people
have different values, different behaviours, and sometimes
fundamentally different approaches to life.
So why do we need to be ‘culturally aware’?
Perhaps the most important reason we all need to be culturally
aware is because awareness and knowledge is a first step to
understanding. Watching a game of football is much more
rewarding if you know the rules of the game! A friendship where
you know and understand the other person is more satisfying
than a superficial first meeting with a stranger. It’s the same
with cultural awareness - the more we know and understand,
the more we gain from our relationships with people from all
cultures.
Wherever you live and work in Australia today you will be in
constant contact with people from a huge range of cultural
backgrounds. In any industry this includes both co-workers and
customers.
The one thing that every business has in common is the reason
for its existence - customers! And everybody working in the
business must provide the best possible service to those
customers. This is why the Tourism and Hospitality Industry
emphasises customer service.
Think about the customers that come to your establishment:
•
Where do they come from? Are they from your local area
or region or do they come from interstate or overseas?
•
Are they individuals, couples, families or groups?
•
Do they come by car, bus, train or by air?
•
Are your customers from a particular age or social group?
•
What are the different needs of your customers - limited
time, foreign language interpretation, special individual
or group facilities?
•
Do you have ‘industry’ customers, ie. those people that
book your services such as travel agents or tour
operators?
All of your customers expect you to be sensitive to and
respectful of their needs. These needs could be based on:
•
age
•
family status
•
culture
•
country of origin
•
type of group they are travelling with, etc.
•
As a person providing a customer service industry your
role is to meet the needs of the many different customers
you serve.
Misunderstandings and conflict arise between customers and
workers or between workers and colleagues, for many different
reasons - often just because people are different. Wouldn’t it
be a boring world if we were all the same! Let’s look at conflicts
that can arise as a result of a lack of cross-cultural
understanding between people from different cultural
backgrounds.
Difficulties can occur because of poor communication, a lack of
patience or because people make judgements based on their
own cultural values. English translations or the use of slang and
colloquialisms can be stressful to people from other cultures. So
can speaking too quickly or at too low or too high a volume, not
listening actively, not asking questions, using offensive body
language and gestures, and/or inappropriate humour.
For example:
•
did you know that ‘taco’ means ‘idiot’ in the Japanese
language?
•
in the Philippines it is perfectly good manners to close a
conversation by saying, “You go now”, and that ‘See you
later’ can sometimes be misinterpreted literally by people
from other cultures
•
you might serve quite a few meals to Chinese people before
you realise that they thank restaurant waiters by
unobtrusively tapping the table with their fingers. How easy
it would be to jump to the conclusion that Chinese restaurant
goers never acknowledge good service and therefore to think
the Chinese are rude people
•
in most Asian countries it is considered polite and respectful
not to look a person in the eye during conversation; such a
mannerism in Australia usually implies a guilty conscience
•
in Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern countries, hugging and
kissing on the cheeks among men is a common occurrence;
this may be totally inappropriate in Australia in some cultures
You may come into contact with customers or colleagues from
non-English speaking backgrounds. They may not speak English
at all or not speak it very well.
In cases where language barriers exist, attempt to communicate
through the use of gestures or simple words in the other
person’s language. Some areas to which this would apply
include:
•
greeting and farewelling customers
•
giving simple directions
•
giving simple instructions
•
answering simple enquiries
•
preparing for service
•
serving customers
•
describing products and services
When we are unable to verbally communicate with a customer,
several alternatives are available: we can use pictures, diagrams
and body language.
Body language/ non verbal communication- we can gesture with
our arms reassure people with a smile/nod and we can indicate
acceptance or understanding by nodding
•
precaution: lack of universality of body language- we
must not use too many gestures without understanding of
the customer’s cultural influences as to avoid offence.
We can draw pictures and diagrams that give directions and
explain thoughts, as well as a range of graphic signals that aid
understanding. We must use a range of gestures that are clear,
concise, directive, courteous and culturally sensitive. Signs with
a corresponding diagram can include toilet, first aid, phone,
toilets, disabled and no smoking. Gestures that are universally
understood include applause, stop and bill please. Despite lack
of artistic ability when communicating, our customers are likely
to be appreciative and relieved that they’re not the only ones
having trouble communicating.
•
Body language says a lot more than a spoken word
•
First impressions are lasting
•
Positive signals: smiling, nodding, relaxed body posture,
appropriate eye contact, appropriate hygiene and manner
of dress.
•
Negative signals: rigid posture, crossed arms, blank stare,
cold stare, frown/scowl, yawn, being fidgety or pointing
at someone.
Next to speech, the face is the richest source of information. The
face can adopt 250,000 different expressions! It rarely sends a single
message at a time, instead sending a series or a blend of messages.
For example, when you meet a customer or friend whom you have
not seen recently, your facial expression may show anxiety,
recognition, hesitation and pleasure in rapid succession. It has been
suggested that there are six basic facial expressions - surprise, fear,
disgust, anger, happiness and sadness.
Because we have greater control of the muscles in the lower part of
our face and, therefore, can more voluntarily manipulate facial
expressions in this section of the face, we involuntarily use our eyes
for a great deal of communication. For example, when an individual
is excited, aroused or disturbed, the pupils of the eyes involuntarily
dilate. Our eyes can 'give us away' more easily than other parts of
our face. In addition, research shows that people's eyes generally
approach what they like and avoid what they do not like. They
usually maintain more eye gaze and mutual eye gaze with people
whose approval they want and with people they like. However, as we
often find with non-verbal communication, cultural differences must
be considered. For example, in some Asian cultures it is impolite to
look directly at a superior even if you would like their approval.
Most of the communicative movement of the limbs is
unintentional but it serves to illustrate, emphasise or punctuate
speech and to show emotion.
The way that we sit, walk or stand reveals whether we are
timid, defensive or aggressive.
At an interview, for example, the posture may be rigid and
formal, but when at home and entertaining, we will probably be
more relaxed and informal.
Touch is the first non-verbal experience we have in life and
through it we learn to relate to people and objects. It is critical
to our sense of well-being. Each person will respond to touch in
a personal way and that response will be based on values
affected by age, sex, role, cultural norms, background and the
situation itself. Australians of Anglo-Celtic background are
sometimes reluctant to touch publicly, and especially reluctant
to touch strangers. In fact, apologies are made when someone is
touched by mistake. Touching is seen as acceptable in courtship,
in greetings, especially in handshakes and sometimes women
may kiss each other or men may kiss women to indicate
friendship or intimacy. In some European cultures men may kiss
other men as a sign of friendship or kinship.
Touching is an important human activity. However, we need to
be aware of the cultural implications of a touch (forbidden
between men and women in some cultures) and, in the
workplace, of the implications of touch that can lead to sexual
harassment issues.
Lines of communication involve how employees communicate
with each other, management, and other departments within the
organisation.
It determines who makes the final decisions and who takes the
role of “boss” if that person is unavailable. Lines of
communication may be horizontal, vertical or open.
Vertical communication is indirect communication between an
employee and management either upward or downward.
It involves following a formal process of only going to the “next
level up” to raise issues, concerns or suggestions or the “next
level down” to deliver instructions and decisions about policy,
processes, issues, concerns, and suggestions made.
Horizontal communication is direct communication between
individual staff members and may include senior operators,
trainees and salon assistants.
This includes full time, part time and casual employees.
This is often used in conjunction with vertical communication
and relies on team members informing each other of changes in
policy, processes and decisions about issues, concerns and
suggestions.
Open communication means that all team members are
encouraged to discuss issues with all staff openly, they do not
have to follow a formal protocol to have their ideas, opinions,
suggestions and concerns heard.
Often a company that has an open communication policy will
have regular meetings to discuss a variety of issues and
encourage team members to participate in decision making
processes.
Your workplace may have communication standards included in
their policies and procedures that you must follow. These
standards may include:
•
Lines of communication
•
Modes of greeting and farewell (colleagues and clients)
•
Personal conduct when communicating (with colleagues
and clients)
You should make yourself aware of your workplace
communication standards by reading your workplace policies and
procedures.
If you have any questions about your workplace communication
standards you should ask your employer or a senior member of
staff.
As a member of a team, you should always display a positive and
helpful attitude whenever possible. Here are some tips for
displaying a helpful attitude:
•
Smile! When you smile you send a message to your body
that you feel good and your attitude creates a positive
impression.
•
Be approachable. Avoid negative body language such as
crossing your arms, hands in your pockets and leaning on
counters
•
Avoid clustering. Customers and colleagues tend not to
interrupt two or more staffers involved in a conversation.
Your colleagues and customers will need your help and
you should be sure that you are available to them.
•
Be attentive. Pay attention to what is happening around
you. You should be able to step in when a colleague or
customer needs assistance.
If you are unsure how to carry out an allocated task you must
seek assistance from your colleagues to ensure that mistakes are
not made. You can do this by:
•
Approaching the team member that you intend to ask for
help
•
Politely excuse yourself for interrupting if the person is
talking with a customer or another staff member
•
Ask your teammate for assistance
•
Listen intently to your teammate’s response and watch
carefully how they have do things
•
When the task is complete thank your teammate for their
help.
Conflict is something that you will occasionally encounter in the
workplace. Conflict involves direct or indirect confrontation
between groups or individuals, usually arising after a ‘trigger’
incident which sets off a reaction. It is important to identify
signs of conflict in the workplace, how to avoid conflict and
understand resolution procedures.
Often the causes of conflict in the workplace are avoidable, but
none the less, irritating.
Trigger incidents may be an event, action or something that is
said; anything that stimulates unpleasant emotions between two
or more people (conflict).
Conflict is usually caused by:
•
mistakes or accidents
•
misunderstood communication
•
judgemental attitudes
How do you react in a conflict situation? Do you get tense? Are
you ‘on your guard’? Behaviour changes can be a sign that things
aren’t going well.
Emotions are a key indicator of conflict in the workplace. A
person’s behaviour will change if they feel disappointed,
misjudged, or angry about something.
Indicators of conflict in the workplace may include:
•
Irrational behaviour
•
Avoidance
•
Decreased productivity
•
Absenteeism
•
Defensiveness
•
Speaking louder than usual
•
Clenching their fists or jaw
•
Speaking softer, trying to control their emotions
If you notice signs of conflict in the workplace, you might use
the questioning and active listening skills that you learnt earlier
to help you identify the problem.
Gentle questioning may help you to identify and clarify the issue
and gives you an opportunity to explain your view, if you are
directly involved in a conflict situation.
Questioning in the early stages of conflict can minimise
misunderstandings.
The second stage of conflict resolution is the confrontation; it
often takes a while for situations to evolve before confrontation
is attempted.
Conflict can simmer for a long time before people get to the
point of confronting each other, this may be because one person
does not realise that they have contributed to a trigger incident
or because one person has been contemplating a situation where
they were unsure of their feelings at a given time.
Confrontation does not mean that the situation has to be
aggressive.
Confrontation involves resolving the issue and the way that this
is done affects the outcome of the process.
There are guidelines that you must follow if you feel the need to
confront a conflict situation.
1.
Define the issue
2.
Set procedures to be followed
3.
Each person speaks for itself
4.
Acceptance of another’s statements
5.
Beware of assumptions
6.
Keep to the issue being discussed
7.
Avoid emotionally charged language
8.
Be able to stop
9.
Try to reach consensus
10.
Try a new approach
Conflict in the workplace affects the whole team. You can avoid
causing conflict in your workplace by:
•
Cooperating with team members
•
Understanding your role and responsibilities
•
Showing respect for other people and their beliefs
•
Assisting your colleagues when asked
•
Showing initiative- if you know what needs to be done;
don’t wait to be asked to do it.
•
Asking questions about what is expected of you and using
questions to clarify instructions
•
Not making judgements about other people
Problem Solving means dealing with anything that isn’t routine.
Imagine you are having a bad day. You go to have breakfast and
your favourite cereal is finished, so you think about what else
you can eat. You put on your shoes and find that the lace in one
shoe has broken. You have to think about other shoes, or
perhaps a whole different outfit. You go to get the train, but
it’s cancelled – so you have to think about a bus or maybe trying
to get a lift. You are having a very bad day and you have only
been out of bed for an hour, you have already solved three
problems. You decided what the problem was, you thought about
possible solutions and you chose the best one.
These documents, to be effective, must contain a clear message
that is easy to understand. To interpret retail documents you
must ensure that you read them correctly. Some documentation
in the workplace requires you to complete forms or give
information. It is essential that you complete workplace
documentation accurately.
Retail documents may include:
•
Price lists
•
Retail product range information
•
Internal promotional materials
•
Telephone message pads
•
Timetables
•
Staff record forms
•
Lay buy slips
•
Credit slips
•
Product return slips
Price lists are used to quote the cost of products and services
offered.
Retail product range information identifies the features, benefits
and instructions of the products you sell.
Internal promotional material means the ‘sales’, ‘offers’, or
‘packages’ that the organisation is offering to customers and clients
on an occasional basis.
Timetables are used to manage productive time in the salon; these
may include the appointment book and staff rosters.
Telephone message pads are used to record messages.
Staff record forms are used to record the time that a staff member
has spent in the salon each week.
Lay buy slips are used to record the lay buy purchases of customers
and clients.
Credit slips are used to record customer credit details.
Product return slips are used to record information about when and
why a product has been returned.
As an employee it is your responsibility to read documents carefully
and complete them accurately. Take care and double check details to
see they are correct before signing off on the document. The best
way to become familiar with retail documentation is to practice
filling them in.