If you want a hard-working staff with customer service skills, refine your interviewing process with these three, effective steps!
Everyone puts their best foot forward during a job interview, but once they’re hired, some can’t live up to that image. Salon owner Shelly Michelbrink experienced this, and didn’t like the effect it had on customer service and staff morale at BramaSolé Tanning Salon in Prescott, AZ. In response, she developed a three-step interviewing process that helps find professional people willing to provide solid customer service.
First impressions are important, as is the initial step of Shelly’s interview process. “I ask my current staff to share their impressions of applicants,” she said. “If someone doesn’t make a good impression, they take note. They also let me know how applicants treat them when they come in; if they’re rude to my staff, they will likely be bad for morale and rude to tanners.”
Nothing tests a candidate’s improvisational skills better than the “handbag test,” which is step two in Shelly’s process. “I ask them to reach into my purse, pull out an item and then try to sell me that item,” she said. “Since improvisational skills are part of the job, I observe how they perform under pressure. I’ve had many interviewees who have risen to the occasion and impressed me.”
The “working interview” is Shelly’s last and most crucial step. “Before we hire anyone, we ask them to come to work at the salon for one hour,” she said. “They’re trained to clean rooms between sessions, and we make note of whether the person is willing to jump in and help, or if they’re content to watch my staff clean for an hour. This is a great way to determine who has a good work ethic.”
After a highly-successful career as a nail tech, Shelly Michelbrink opened BramaSolé Tanning Salon in 2008. Today, the business offers five tanning levels with 11 UV units and sunless tanning. She is currently considering opening another BramaSolé facility.
