Changes

We have a new office manager here at Continental. Her name is Mary and she is terrific. She has had a lot of experience doing this, and doing it for surgeons, so she is fitting right in very quickly. She has quite the demanding job. She not only handles what I call the ‘front desk’ with the phones and the scheduling and the register. But she also takes care of the ‘back bar’ (me), and the mid-section (the stylists). She has us all on track. And that is a very good thing.

I sat down with her last week to go over stuff and she said something to me that I thought was surprising. You must understand that I only see my new clients back in my consultation area. I talk with them. Answer questions that they, or their friends and family, have. Try things on and really get to where they want to be with their hair.

But Mary told me something that because I have such a limited view of my client’s experience here that I had not seen before. She said that these women come in so scared and upset. They go back to see you, and they come back out looking so happy. The change is remarkable.

I understand that Mary is new to the job and would like to make a good impression on her new boss. That aside, it was a very nice thing to say. And the feedback I get from many clients supports this. But you know what? I do not try to make any of my clients feel better. I try to make my clients feel better about their hair. There is a difference. I am not anything more than I guy that designs wigs and hairpieces. And my clients are not coming to see Dr. Phil. But that does not mean they are not going through a terrible time. My job, and evidently I’m getting good at it, is to show my client what the possibilities are with their hair. And that is what puts a smile on their faces.

I spend a serious amount of time making sure that my clients have the best possible hair choices to choose from (see previous post). And that is what really makes them happy. I have done all the hard work long before a woman has come to see me. I realized long ago that my job is seeing hundreds of women every year that do not want to see me. So I better have something that is going to make them smile.