Page 275 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

256 The Disney Way

salon was off to a great start. But John and Stacy soon discovered that these
employees simply did not deliver the “secret service” (now the credo for
John Robert’s Spa and others who practice the customer service methods
in John’s book, Secret Service) principles John and Stacy were attempting to
instill at the new salon. Stacy told us that one day, one of the hairdressers
was running late and told her client she didn’t have time to blow-dry her
hair. Stacy overheard the comment and announced that she would take care
of drying the lady’s hair. Once the lady had left, the hairdresser came over
to Stacy and shouted, “Don’t you ever take one of my clients again!” Stacy
lamented, “This is exactly how a lot of people in this industry act. They feel
very threatened, but the client unfortunately is the one who suffers. The
client did nothing wrong. She came in on time and expected great service.”
After this incident, the lady switched her allegiance from the self-centered
hairdresser (who, by the way, is long gone from John Robert’s) to Stacy, to
whom she remains loyal to this day.
After the first six weeks of business, John Robert’s’ original hairdressers
quickly disappeared; they were either fired or they left. As John remembers
them, “They wanted nothing to do with our dream. They wanted to do things
their way.” John and Stacy wanted no more stereotypical hairdressers at their
shop. Other salons put up with staff who might not show up for work, might
come in late, might have a hangover, might leave the shop between clients, and
would never think of helping their coworkers. People who treated their careers
in such a cavalier fashion would never fit into John and Stacy’s dream.
John and Stacy wanted to create a unique environment where they could
provide and serve as a model for legendary customer service. To achieve such
a feat, they must stay the course. As John told us, “If that meant going out
of business, so be it. I’d rather go broke than compromise our standards.”
Stacy said she thought the world was going to come to an end, “I was young,
Nana’s stocks were up for collateral, and I thought I would be disowned by
my family and have the Italian curse put on me.”
But, fears cannot deter those who are passionate about their dreams. Like
all of our featured organizations, John and Stacy decided to buck traditional
wisdom. Instead of hiring experienced hairdressers from established salons,
they would hire cosmetology school graduates and train them to be “mini-
Stacys.” John says, “Before Stacy was an owner, she was a great employee. She
was always concerned about the salon and about the client.” Delivering first-
class service is never the easy way to run a business, but John and Stacy knew
it was the only way to achieve the long-term success they dreamed of.