CUSTOMER CARE MADE SIMPLE THE DO'S AND DON'TS

My first page pitch for CUSTOMER CARE MADE SMIPLE THE DO'S AND DON'TS.
BY STEVEN SMITH

With more than three decades' experience in the hair and beauty industry, I've learned that it's not just technical expertise that counts - you also need to know how to put your clients at ease and make them feel special.

It's important to know how to talk to them; what to say and, perhaps more important, what not to say.

So many people are setting themselves up in the industry these days without any real training; apprenticeships are disappearing and customer care is increasingly a thing of the past. 

Some people seem to think that simply being friendly and chatty is enough to make clients comfortable, but really good customer care is so much more than that. 

My book, The Dos and Don'ts of Customer Care Made Simple, will guide you through the minefield of the service industry, giving you a much better understanding of how to treat your clients. And relaxed, happy clients will, of course, keep coming back. 

Don't                                                                     

1 Ask your client what they do for a living

2 Do not ask if they are going on holiday

3 Never ask their relationship status    

Do

1 Meet and greet with a smile without being intrusive

2 Explain in a professional manner how the service or treatment works

3 Answer any questions asked by the client about the service 

I AM HERE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISE NOT THE THIRD DEGREE .

Why? It's simple - so many people dread going to salons, clinics and the like as they loath  these sort of intrusive personal questions. If they want to chat about personal things, they will introduce the topic themselves. Take your cue from the client; otherwise stay off personal topics.

And there are many far more subtle and professional ways of finding out what you think you  need to know. For example, if you explain a procedure to a client, they might ask if it is high maintenance, perhaps telling you that as they are, say, a nurse, they have a limited budget , or that they don't have much spare time to spend on a high maintenance style.

A client may tell you that she wants to look good because she's going on holiday, or she has a new partner, in which case, that's fine. But it's not your job to bring the subject up - or to follow up with unnecessary questions.

    

For several years I blow-dried the same client on a Tuesday morning. Apart from the usual pleasantries, we never really talked and she read her paper. 

One day she decided to have a facial before she had her hair done, so I made an appointment for her with the beautician. But my client was furious when she came to see me - and only stayed long enough in the salon to say: "If I wanted to discus my marital status, it would not be to a beautician!" Then she turned on her heel and walked out.

It became apparent that the beautician had asked her if she had a boyfriend or was she married - totally inappropriate, particularly with this client. 

Not only did the beautician lose a new client, I lost a long-standing client. Did the beautician need to know that information? No, she did not.

DO NOT ASK YOU CLIENT  HIS OR HER  RELATIONSHIP STATUS

Contact Steven Smith 07969106222 

SKINADE FUEL FOR THE SKIN ?

FUEL FOR THE SKIN 

BY STEVEN SMITH 

https://skinade.com

SKIP THE MORNING ORANGE JUICE and instead why not try the latest health craze Skinade to kick start your day.

The multi award winning natural peach and mangosteen flavoured drink aims to boost your body's natural production of collagen and hyaluronic acid and claims to makes your skin feel and look better in just 30 days. 

We all know real beauty comes from within so I thought it would be worth giving it a try. 

Skinade tastes good and is best kept in the fridge, as it tastes better cold. It comes in two containers - a rather stylish plastic bottle ready to drink and plastic vials you simply mix with water. Being environmentally conscious, I would opt for the small vials, as it’s a lot of plastic to be disposing of if Skinade were to be a regular part of your daily routine. 

I’ve looked at numerous products over the years I’ve been writing about the aesthetic and beauty industry, and it’s my belief is that unless you’re injecting a product directly into the skin or sucking/ cutting something out, then they don’t make much of a long-term difference.

Many of these lotions and potions may only have a psychosomatic or short-term effect, and can be hugely expensive. They often contain similar ingredients to one of my favourite skin products, Baby Bottom Butter from Waitrose, which costs a fraction of the price of some of the leading creams.

Skinade contains pure Hydrolysed Marine Collagen Peptides, sourced from skin or fresh water fish, so it is unlikely to appeal to vegans or vegetarians. However, for someone like me, with high cholesterol, the  Omega3  and vitamin c  it contains may be what the doctor ordered.

Collagen peptides may also trigger the body’s own natural process of collagen by stimulating the proliferation of fibroblast. The effect is similar to the injection of mesotherapy treatments but is certainly a much easier and less painful way to trigger collagen. 

Clinical studies show that, taken over a 12-week period, Skinade improves skin hydration and smoothness and is also likely to boost cell turnover. It claims to reduce fine lines and prevent the formation of deep lines. 

I’m lucky in that my skin is pretty good so over the first week of taking Skinade I didn’t notice any difference. But around the third week I noticed that my skin felt less dry at the end of the day – and I seemed to have a little more spring in my step after taking it.

It’s a refreshing drink and a nice way to start the day. It soon became part of my morning routine and I’d happily take it instead of my morning juice. 

It is important to remember with all these vitamins and drinks to talk to your doctor before starting. Results will vary and you should not expect miracles. It’s also well worth getting your blood tested to find out what vitamins you’re lacking – you can get it done privately for what you’d spend on an expensive cream and would probably get more out of it.  

Steven Smith https://skinade.com

END 

 https://skinade.com

GUEST WRITER DR PAM SPURR'S FIVE BEAUTY TIPS.

Self-help expert Dr Pam Spurr’s Five Top Beauty Tips –

Let’s face it, what’s most important is what’s on the inside. But it lifts your mood when you look after yourself on the outside too!

Here are my five top beauty tips:

1/ Always carry your eye cream in your bag. I apply mine multiple times per day - especially being a ‘smiley’ person it helps keep that delicate area moisturised.

2/ Exfoliate once a week – I alternate between an exfoliator with granules and an exfoliating mask. It can overstimulate your skin if you exfoliate more frequently than this. But leave it too long and your skin will lack lustre with the build-up of dead cells.

Dr Pam with Rylan on the set of #CBB http://www.drpam.co.uk

3/ Always use sunblock, even on a cloudy day! (I wish I’d started this sooner!) The sun’s rays can penetrate cloud cover and damages your skin.

Dr Pam out and about with Steven Smith http://www.drpam.co.uk

4/ Change-up your face products every few months. I absolutely believe that just as with shampoo, your skin gets ‘used’ to having the same products applied. Good to shake things up and try a new range.

5/ After damage to the back of my hands from a serious skin infection (after being bitten by spiders) I found that mesotherapy treatment on them from Dr Iryna has helped smooth out the damaged tissue. The great thing about this treatment is it can be applied to all sorts of areas like your décolletage and facial skin.

info@aestheticartacademy.com
Iryna Stewart 

Dr Pam Spurr is an award-winning radio presenter, TV guest/pundit, self-help and relationship expert, and life coach. She can be found on Twitter @DrPamSpurr and online at www.DrPam.co.uk.

http://www.drpam.co.uk

She regularly appears as a contributor on countless TV programmes including, for 13 years, being one of the main resident experts on the Big Brother spin-off shows, she is a regular phone-in expert for This Morning, Loose Women, LK Today, Daybreak, GMB, The Wright Stuff, BBC Breakfast, etc.
Pam is doing a run of Saturday night talk shows the Talk Radio at present and has previously presented shows on Heart FM London for five years and LBC 97.3 for four and a half years. She can be heard on radio weekly as a freelance contributor and presenter – most recently having presented a month long special for BBC radio western regions on Saturday and Sunday nights, a week-long daily special contributing to BBC regionals across the regions, and she has a weekly slot on a Heart FM region.
Dr Pam writes on a weekly basis for national newspapers and has had, for five years, a highly successful online sex and relationship column with the Sun, but also gives quotes and writes feature articles for the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, the Express, and The Times.
Pam also writes for a variety of magazines giving quotes to outlets from Heat to Take a Break, from Cosmo to Glamour, and more.
She writes about everything from celebrity behaviour analysis, dream analysis, sex, love, dating and relationships, to anxiety and phobias. Pam is regularly on radio talking about these types of topics and more.

End 

DOCTOR GABRIELA 'S MAGICAL BEAUTY PRODUCTS.

Could it be Magic ?
By Steven Smith

Christina Estrada and Doctor Gabriela

Late last year my friend Rhea Elliot Jones invited me to the glittering opening of Doctor Gabriela’s new aesthetic clinic at 56 Harley Street.

Rhea Elliot Jones and Doctor Gabriela

Dr Gabriella is a favourite among the society, celebrity and showbiz crowds, and prides herself on her eclectic clientele. She can even lay claim to having royalty among her clients. Whether royalty or a commoner, everyone is catered for with the utmost confidentiality, enjoying treatments that are specially tailored to each individual case, but still affordable.

Me at the launch http://www.drgabriela.co.uk

Originally from Poland, she is a leading light in the anti-ageing medicine field and is responsible for introducing some of the most innovative non-invasive treatments into the UK. These include the GloToxT injectable facelift and MoonlightDustTM, the molecular water facial. She is also a member of the select group of master injectors. 

Among the clients and friends at the glitzy opening night was former model Christina Estrada and Raef BJayou, a former candidate on The Apprentice. They mixed with Hollywood agents and even a prince.

Event organiser and socialite Rhea Elliot Jones with celebrity guests

One of the highlights of the night was being serenaded by the operatic tenor Andrew Amdur and his brother Maurice, clairvoyant to the stars, was on hand to give readings too.

Everyone was eager to try Dr Gabriela’s skin care range, which looked very impressive. When she heard I was a former celebrity hairdresser, she was keen for me to sample the men’s hair products, as well as the skin care range.

http://www.drgabriela.co.uk

1. Magic Rain Molecular Hydra Mist - Moonlight Dust

2. Anti-hair loss Serum - Moonlight Dust 

3. Beauty Facelift Serum - cosmetic line for men

Doctor Gabriela being interviewed by the press

Although I am in my fifties, I am lucky not to be follically challenged. But at this time of year, like many other people, my hair starts to fade and shed so I was happy to try it out.

After washing my hair and using my usual conditioner, I applied the Magic Rain, followed by the Anti-hair loss serum, which I gently massaged in. I was concerned at first as my hair, which has some highlights in it, felt a little dry. However, once I started to dry my hair it looked very shiny and full and kept its style longer.   

As I used the products over the next few weeks my hair seemed to grow faster. My friends noticed and one asked if I was taking anything for it. Using the combination certainly kept the style in place and my hair felt thicker. 

Of course, being a man who's always out and about, I loved the Beauty Facelift Serum – a few drops and I was ready to go.

 It’s the perfect present for the man in your life – or for yourself! I wish Dr Gabriela the very best of luck with her clinic and can’t wait to try more of her skin care range.

To order: Skin Care Cosmetic Products by Harley Street Dr Gabriela

--http://www.drgabriela.co.uk

http://www.drgabriela.co.uk