For 17 years, the service vision for John Robert’s Spa was “To enhance the quality of lives around us.” I loved that; I was so proud of it. However, I realized that it was too big, too aspirational for my team members. If a guest called and scheduled an appointment, did the call-center personnel enhance the quality of the customer’s life? Or, when our concierge checks a guest in upon arrival, do we really think it is possible to enhance life in that moment? Highly doubtful. It could happen over the course of many experiences, over a long period of time; however, it doesn’t happen on a single interaction.
You see, a service vision statement should really be called a service action statement. It is what each employee is responsible to deliver on EVERY interaction with EVERY customer. So we moved the original statement, “To enhance the quality of lives around us,” up to our purpose statement and worked on a new service vision that a customer facing team member could realistically understand and execute with each guest encounter.
We realized we couldn’t change what had happened or what was going to happen to the customers outside of our four walls, but we could help them get rejuvenated so they could return to their lives better prepared to take on the world as a result of their experience. John Robert’s Spa’s new service vision became “To be the best experience of our guests’ day.”
One of the rules of thumb when creating a service vision statement is that it can’t be too aspirational. When you first see that vision—“To be the best part of someone’s day”—you may think that certainly it is too aspirational. However, if you think about the typical day in a customer’s life, if a visit to the spa isn’t the highlight of your typical day, we are doing something really wrong. We can measure it; it is actionable. On the phone, we want to be the best, most friendly phone call they have all day. When they enter the salon, we want their greeting to be the warmest, most sincere hello they get other than the one they get when their kids run into their arms when they get home.
The 5:30 Haircut
All businesses battle with going on autopilot and, from time to time, becoming numb to their customers’ conditions. At John Robert’s Spa, our service providers can look at their next guest as a “5:30 haircut.” However, we have guests who ask their family members to purchase them a gift certificate to our spa for their birthday. After they get it, they request a day off from work, have it on their calendar, and are counting down the days until they can get away from work, relationships, kids, and all the other stresses in their lives. They look forward to coming into the one place where they can relax and be rejuvenated, so they can leave and continue giving to everyone in their world. I can’t have my service providers looking at their next customer as their 5:30 or their third-to-last appointment of the day, before they can go out or home. I need them to be present with each and every guest.
The Bounce
We get to give our guests the bounce in their step. This is why I like to tell my team members we have one of the coolest jobs in the world. We have the unique privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to have our guests leave John Robert’s Spa feeling like they are a “10,” whatever their “10” is physically, emotionally, and psychologically. When a person feels their absolute best, in every way, they have higher self-esteem. As a result of higher self-esteem, they are more likely to get the job, sale, promotion, date, or whatever it is they are going after. There is a myth that people who are more successful end up with higher self-esteem. It is totally the opposite: people with higher self-esteem become more successful. That is why we have an obligation to be the best part of each and every guest’s day. When we do that, focus on that, they walk out with the bounce in their step, and we have just made price irrelevant.
How can you get every person in your organization focused how they can provide a positive experience on EVERY interaction, whether it is face-to-face, click-to-click, or ear-to-ear?
John DiJulius is an international consultant and best-selling author of three Customer service books, including, The Customer Service Revolution (Greenleaf Books 2015), which instantly hit #1 on Amazon. John isn’t just talking about it, he lives it, as a very successful entrepreneur of two businesses. John Robert’s Spa, a chain of upscale Cleveland locations, has been repeatedly named one of the top 20 salons in America; and The DiJulius Group, a consulting firm focused on changing the world by creating a Customer service revolution.