It was my birthday a couple of months back. For one of my presents, my wife and kids bought me vouchers for what’s known as ‘The Daddy’ at a local barbers.
This is more than your standard barbers. There’s no sign of a striped pole, for starters. And ‘The Daddy’ is more than a standard haircut.
Part of what’s included in ‘The Daddy’ is a wet shave. I’ve never had the experience of being shaved – as opposed to shaving – before, so I was both slightly apprehensive and feeling a little lordly when I sat in the chair recently.
But barber Brent Walsh asked all the right questions. Not only did he find out a lot about my shaving habits but he also made me feel at ease by so obviously being an expert. We got the haircut part of the deal out of the way quite quickly. I’ve had haircuts before – as you can imagine – and there’s not a lot in the process itself that can change. Even here, though, barber Brent Walsh talked options and gave advice. Not a lot of options but then there’s no longer a lot of hair, so that was fair enough. He convinced me to try something a little different and I liked the result. (For the record, my wife liked the result, too.)
The shave was a different experience entirely. Different from the hair cut and different from any previous experience in a barbers. In the space of 30 minutes, Brent had won himself a new regular customer: I shall be booking a monthly shave and treating myself to an experience that manages to be simultaneously soothing and invigorating.
So you had a shave – big deal!
All well and good, you may be thinking, but why should you care about my depilatory thrills? The answer is in why I’m going back for a wet shave and why I’m going back to Brent Walsh for that shave.
Brent made the wet shave experience so pleasant that I immediately thought of it as a treat and something I could enjoy on a regular basis. I’m sure I could go anywhere now and expect at least some semblance of the same experience. So why will I choose Brent Walsh rather than another barber, whenever possible? Well, for starters, like a truly good salesman, he took me from a customer who didn’t know I had a need to one who recognised the need. But he didn’t stop with the sale. He also:
- Gave expert advice at all times, based on my preferences and his experience;
- Showed a personal interest in my needs, such as my type of skin;
- Asked me what I thought about the experience;
- Handed me a small leaflet about shaving as a take-away;
- Shook my hand, gave me a genuine smile, and made me feel he would be pleased to see me again.
This is a great example of building customer loyalty from a level of customer service that makes no distinction between passing trade and long-term clients. Is that a waste of effort? Sometimes, perhaps. But often it is the determining factor that gets the customer to do repeat business with you.
So, if you’re passing through east Surrey and feel like treating your face, give Brent a call. Or check out the web site, at least.
I must make it clear that I have no connection with Brent Walsh other than as a satisfied customer. No offers of free shaves or other tonsorial treats have been made to me and Brent Walsh is not aware that I am writing this post.
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