SERVICEWISE CSA (Customer Service Analyses) - Making My Hair on a Budget

I was desperate to make my hair but did not have much money. Any woman that has ever been in these shoes knows that a lack of finances is no excuse for bad hair. The key is to look for a hairpiece that is nice, durable and of course, cheap, a hairstyle that looks good with the hairpiece and on your face and a good hairdresser.

I was directed to a salon in one of the halls in University of Lagos. I had high hopes because University hairdressers have to keep up with trends in order to satisfy their clientele. There, I was met by a young man who escorted me to the washing area.

Now I’ve been making my hair for a long time so I can tell when someone is experienced. This guy was green, and it showed even in the way he washed my hair. I was really hoping that he was not going to be the one to make my hair since the other two ladies in the salon were busy with other customers. From the conversation flowing around me, I was able to determine who the person in charge was and wondered why she was not making more of an effort to satisfy me since it was my first time there.

My suspicions about my hairdresser were confirmed as he wove my hair and attached the weave-on and I was hard pressed to stop myself from getting angry. Apart from the fact that it would leave them a bad impression about me, it might antagonize them into not doing a good job on my hair. I remember vocally expressing my concerns once but was reassured by the same inexperienced guy that he would do a good job.

I had told him that I had an appointment and had to leave by a certain time. He did his best but his lack of confidence made him slow so he would not make a mistake.

My fears blossomed when he began to cut. I don’t know if my panic showed on my face but the lady in charge came to take over and finished up the job. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the work done but I received a lot of compliments, so it couldn’t have been all that bad.

Customer Service Analysis

Positives

·      Reassurance: The male hair stylist sought to reassure me when he saw that I doubted his competence. True, I was justified but he made the attempt and that’s important.

·         Courtesy: He was courteous and desirous of giving me a positive experience, as much as he was able.

Negatives

·         Perception: With a new customer, you always want to make a good first impression. Letting your most inexperienced worker take care of a first time customer is probably not the best idea.

·         Customer Satisfaction: When your customer alerts you to the fact that they are pressed for time, getting them out on time is more important than cutting your teeth or gaining more experience.

·         Customer Appreciation: On entering the salon, though I was welcomed by the male stylist, I was ignored by the other ladies.

·         Customer Importance: Even though the stylist in charge took over after a while, I didn’t get the impression that it was either to save me some time or make me comfortable. Rather I was left feeling that the male stylist was doing such a bad job that she just had to intervene. I guess I should be grateful that the only complaint I had was that my hair did not turn out exactly the way I wanted it to.

My Verdict

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give them a 2. This establishment will not enjoy further patronage from me. Even if I did not get less than what is normally expected in a typical Nigerian salon, I am happy to say that the salons that I usually frequent whether on purpose or by chance usually treat me better.

Ignorance is no longer an excuse for poor customer service and training might not be as readily available but common courtesy is not something you need to go to school for and I could have received just that in this instance.

What do you think?