How to Deal with Customer Complaints in Beauty Salon

How to Deal with Customer Complaints in Beauty Salon

In an ideal world, all your customers would be happy with your services all the time, and all of them would give you the best possible reviews and bring in more clients through word of mouth. But the truth is – we don’t live in an ideal world. Not by a long shot. Although we do our best to make sure our customers leave our salon happy and give us positive feedback, every once in a while we have to face the seemingly unfair and harsh criticism, which is perfectly normal.

In times like these, you need to remain calm, maintain your dignity, learn how to deal with the situation, and make sure you don’t lose your client. Dealing with praise is easy, but complaints are a whole other story. This is why we at  Artesian Tan decided to give you some useful guidelines.

Here are 5 basic steps that will hopefully teach you how to deal with customer complaints:

  1. Listen Thoroughly and Never Interrupt the Customer
  2. In order to be able to address this newfound problem properly, you must first know exactly what the customer’s issue is, and the best way to do that is to listen carefully without interrupting your client. Listening is crucial in this type of scenario, as that way you will be able to glean all the necessary information about the issue, while the customer in distress will know that you truly care about what they have to say.

    So, when a customer turns into a complainant, you must:

    1. Listen
    2. Never interrupt them
    3. Look at the problem from their point of view
    4. Collect all the information, so you have a clear insight into the issue

  3. Show Empathy and Clarify the Problem
  4. Once the client in distress has told you everything they intended to, it is time for you to show some empathy. It is important to make clear that you:

    1. Understand why they are upset
    2. Understand exactly what the problem is
    3. Willing do your best to sort things out

      Also, try asking further questions about the issue in order to show them that you care, and – more importantly – calm your customer by making legitimate suggestions about possible solutions for their complaint. 

  5. Admit it is Your Fault (but only if it truly is)
  6. Once you are completely positive that you fully understand your customer’s complaint, make a rational and unbiased decision whether your salon is at fault. If it is, admit it early on and accept responsibility right away. If it is not, don’t. It is important not to automatically take the blame just because “the customer is always right.” 

  7. Find a Solution to the Problem
  8. Talk to the customer and try to solve the problem together. If you cannot come up with a proper solution on the spot, explain the situation and tell them that you will work on it and get back to them in a timely manner. Emphasize the fact that you want to resolve the whole thing just as much as they do.

    Once the whole ordeal is over, offer discounts or a complimentary spray tanning session for your client or their friend. 

  9. Assure them that the Problem Won’t Happen Again
  10. Make sure you do everything in your power to prevent the problem from reoccurring in the future, and more importantly – keep in touch with your client about the whole matter.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Take it too Personally

Spray tanning business may sometimes be a tricky one as your customers won’t always get what they were expecting, and in many cases, it won’t be directly your fault. Maybe your equipment malfunctioned, perhaps the tanning solution wasn’t good enough, or maybe it is all about their skin type. So, make sure you don’t take it personally, and – this is crucial – make certain your equipment, and all your tanning solutions are of the highest quality. For this last one, contact us at ArtesianTan.com! 

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