How to Deal with Complaints As A Salon Owner

In the hair, nails and beauty industry complaints are not uncommon. It is never nice to receive a complaint, it can really knock your confidence or make you feel defensive, but complaints can be helpful tools to help you to understand what you can improve on and make you even better at what you do.

Complaints about an injury or property damage that you feel could turn into a claim should always be reported to your insurance company as soon as possible so that they can guide you or take over the handling of the complaint to keep the loss to a minimum.  However, general complaints can usually be diffused quickly by using the following guidance:

Don't keep them waiting
Always respond to a complaint as soon as possible, even if it's just to acknowledge their feelings and say you will look into it and get back to them.  No one likes to be kept waiting and if they feel ignored they will be less receptive to solutions and it will make them more aggressive.  Thank the client for their review/feedback, apologise and tell them how you are going to fix the issue.  It is better to keep the response friendly and caring, being defensive will not help matters.  

The Customer is always right
We know that this isn't really true but you will get their co-operation if you can make them feel like they are correct and respected, whilst also educating them.  Their feelings are valid but there may be a good reason that the treatment went as it did.  For example a customer could be unhappy that they paid for lash extensions and has noticed that some of their natural lashes are falling out and think that you have damaged their eyelashes.  In this situation you can educate the client on the lash cycle and the importance of proper aftercare and that losing lashes is completely normal and happens with treatment or without and is nothing to be concerned about.  You could respond to this by apologising that they are unhappy, explain the process and reiterate the aftercare they should be following and offer them an infill.  You could do this for free or at a discounted price if you felt that would be appropriate.  

Poor Reviews Online
If you get a poor review online you can contact the client to see what you can do to resolve it.  Never get into an argument in the comments but do reply to show your exemplary customer service.  You can say "thank you for your review, I am glad that after speaking we have now resolved the matter" or if you haven't been able to get hold of them you could say "I am so sorry to hear this, we want to sort this asap but can't get through to you. Please could you give me a call.”  This will show your professionalism and in some cases the customer may even take the review down.

Share with your team
If you have staff make sure you share the reviews and feedback with them.  You may feel that you don't want to embarrass them or knock their confidence but we only get better by learning and feedback is a key element of this.

Great customer service is vital when handling complaints.  Remember that someone who is happy with their treatment may not tell anyone but a client who is unhappy will tell anyone who will listen about their bad experience.  Use every complaint as an opportunity to turn a bad review into a loyal happy customer.  
 

18/12/2023