Preparing for your client when you don’t work alone

For most of my career owning my business, I have worked in a private salon space—alone. Since moving to Boulder I have actually never had a space where I wasn’t sharing with others in an office suite. Because of this there are different personalities and different views on what is acceptable in terms of how the public areas are kept up and tended to—or not. For me, I like things a certain way before a client comes in so I know she will not be scrambling for a sheet of toilet paper or she’ll have plenty of soap to wash her hands with while in the bathroom.

If you find yourself in a group sharing situation and you are the type of person who pays attention to detail, you may run into others who have their sites set on other things. You might, therefore, find yourself taking more care in keeping things stocked in the public areas as well as cleaned and organized. I would recommend simply taking on these minor “chores” as part of your job so you don’t feel as though you shouldn’t always be doing them. You are in charge of what battles to pick in life, and this certainly shouldn’t be one of them.

One of the first things I do when entering my office area is look at all the places the client will be and be sure everything they will need is there. This is mainly the bathroom. Is there enough toilet paper on the roll? If not, is there a backup? Are paper towels plentiful, or in some of my own salons I used individual washcloths for clients to dry their hands—are there enough? Is the area clean? Any odd things that shouldn’t be there ought to be disposed of before your first client of the day arrives. And you’ll need to check these areas before every other client comes in for their treatment.

I have been to many establishments where this kind of detail was overlooked. Not having toilet paper in the bathroom certainly isn’t a reason to stop frequenting a particular business, but even the little things can add up. Keeping your space “user-friendly” and fully stocked is an important aspect to your daily life at the office. Get into good habits early on, then they don’t feel like chores but just part of your every day.

Also see:

• Preparing for your client’s arrival 
• Client Preparation: Part I