I’m All For Training, but…

There are two kinds of hair cut people:

Those who meticulously schedule their salon visits every 4-6 weeks, always with the same stylist and usually at the same time and day of the week.

And then there’s me:  I wake up one morning, look in the mirror and scream “I need a hair cut RIGHT NOW!’ 

That day was today.  I was out and about running errands and drove by a salon.  I noticed the sign in the window “We Welcome Walk-Ins.”  It is a local salon, not a chain and I’ve been there on occasion.  They are reasonably priced and have skilled stylists. 

I walked in at 10:42 this morning.  They opened at 10am.  I could see that the salon seats were empty and the only customer was paying after having received his cut. (Before he left, he pre-scheduled his appointment for next month – clearly the first type of hair cut person.)

I was greeted pleasantly and I asked if I could have my hair cut.  She smiled and said “All of our stylist are going into a meeting.  We’ll be happy to take you this afternoon.”

I said no thank-you and as I turned I heard her snigger “WELL!”

When I was a store manager with Pearle Vision we also had meetings with our entire staff – Saturday morning BEFORE the store opened.  Team meetings are a great opportunity for:

• Communicating current goals
• Motivating employees
• Sharing recent successes
• Asking for feedback and suggestions for how to make the customer experience better
• Training on new products and services
• Discussing challenging customer situations and how they might have been handled differently

I would bring doughnuts and coffee and by the end of the  meeting we’d be pumped for our busiest day of the week and all be on the same page – a great outcome of staff meetings.

But during the work day?  Choosing a meeting over paying customers?

Let me ask you – do you think this is the only salon in town?  Of course not.  There are six pages of beauty salons in the local phone directory.

Will I wait until they are available to get my hair cut?  Not me, remember I woke up screaming at my reflection.  I’m going to one of the other myriad of salons in the area.

So what is the learn? 

Tell me – do you have staff meetings?  When do you have them?  Which would you chose:  a meeting or a customer?

Here’s an article about conducting effective staff meetings by Susan Heathfield.