Customer Service: 911: Customer Service Emergency

Have you ever been to a business and had an employee deliver great service, exceed your expectations and create an all-around wonderful customer experience only to have it ruined by the owner of the business? Often it’s the employees who fall short on providing the quintessential customer experience. But I recently had a misguided business owner undermine the time, effort and care of his staff, effectively digging his own grave.

Let me set the stage. The day before my recent marriage, my matron of honor and I went for the obligatory manicures and pedicures at a salon on the west side of town. Much to the surprise of incredulous co-workers and friends, I had worked half the day and then rushed over to keep the appointment. It was going to be a fun and restful afternoon, visiting, laughing and preparing for the exciting experience ahead.

I had picked this particular salon because I had a gift certificate I’d been meaning to use.

Trying to fit too many things into too little time, I was running behind for the appointment. Yet, when I arrived, the staff graciously waited while I changed out of my suit. The young woman assigned to provide my services, I’ll call her Jane, put the suit on a hanger so it wouldn’t wrinkle. I could see from her consideration this was going to be just the relaxing afternoon I had hoped for.

To say Jane was good at her job would be doing her an injustice. She had the passion and focus of an artist. She even passed another patron to a co-worker in order to do an outstanding job for me.

However, we hit a bump in the road when we went to pay. The woman behind the counter sheepishly informed me she could not accept my gift certificate. It seems the document was a couple of years old and she had been directed to not accept ones more than 12 months old. This came as a surprise to me. Nowhere on it was there any reference to an expiration date. Needless to say, I was a little annoyed at being told it was no longer good. She suggested I speak to the owner and proceeded to reach her on the phone.

Obviously, the owner and I were approaching the situation from opposite corners. She explained that she and her husband had recently bought the business and were upset about the influx of gift certificates that pre-dated the purchase.

My position was that without an expiration date or some other type of notification, it was really her duty to accept the document and that it was poor business practice to refuse at this point in the transaction. I explained to her that, since I had a guest with me, my purchase would substantially exceed the value of the certificate and she would still be making money on the transaction; I simply expected her to honor the certificate. She finally agreed. I completed my transaction, making a $128 payment to the salon, and we left. However, before I was out the door, members of the staff thanked me. I guess they were tired of being asked to enforce a policy they thought was wrong.

The next morning, my wedding day, I was at the office working. How better to settle the nerves and be a calm, collected bride? What I didn’t count on was a phone call from the salon owner’s husband and co-owner. He began by telling me he had contacted the Better Business Bureau and there was not a complaint entered against the business. I suppose this was in response to a comment I had made to his wife. Businesses that distribute or advertise offers they do not fulfill should be reported to the Better Business Bureau, and I would have had no hesitation in doing so, had the female owner been unreasonable. But she wasn’t, and I didn’t.

The man was another story. He informed me that he contacted his attorney and was told he did not need to honor gift certificates older than one year. I countered with a suggestion. If the business was encountering on-going problems with this issue, why not post a sign on the door for everyone to see. That way, if a guest planned to use a certificate that, according to the owners, was no longer valid, the customer would have the option of canceling services prior to incurring the costs. The man roughly told me signs were posted in the massage area and he wasn’t about to put tacky signs on his front door.

Finally, tired of his confrontational manner and tone, I asked if he really wanted to make this into a bad experience. After all, it had been a win-win situation. My certificate was honored. He made money on the transaction. We had a good experience overall, and in fact, had committed to sharing that positive experience with people we know.

And then, here’s the amazing thing. He told me, “Don’t do that. You don’t have to tell folks about us. In fact, I’d be happiest if you just never came back.”

Keep in mind, when an individual buys a business, he buys its debt. And the vast majority of gift certificates never get redeemed at all. Plus, since I told the gal booking my appointment that I had a gift certificate, she could have addressed a newly imposed expiration date up front. Or it could have been brought up when we checked in. Or there could have been signage in places patrons would actually see it. Instead, a short-sighted owner chose to call a guest, start a fight and lose two clients, all over $50.

They say an unhappy customer tells ten others. I hope at least that many people read this column.

Does anyone have a good salon they can recommend?