Go to a Five Star hotel or restaurant and you expect the very best in every way.

A Five Star rating is all about no compromise.

A Five Star rating is beyond a status symbol.

It is a commitment by an entire organization to flawlessly execute the highest levels of customer service and expertise every time … all the time.

No salon/spa owner sets out to be less than the best. No stylist, esthetician, massage or nail technician wants to intentionally be less than the best. Life and circumstances have a way of pushing the best intentions off course.

But, being the best is hard work … and it's always worth the effort to get there.

The Ultimate Salon/Spa Team Meeting

When it comes to the execution of customer service systems and technical work, salons and spas can be notoriously inconsistent. So, to consider your salon/spa a Five Star organization, the inconsistencies have to go away. For most, that means it's time to rock the boat.

The rating system is pretty simple:

• One star sucks.
• Two stars suck less.
• Three stars is consistently average … nothing special.
• Four stars is impressive and demonstrates effective leadership, well-designed systems and a culture committed to quality.
• Five stars is simply … no compromise across the board.

If you're bold enough to reset the excellence bar, lead a team meeting that is focused on how many stars you and your team would give your salon/spa.

The meeting's intent  To be constructive … yet brutally honest … about the overall performance of your business.

The meeting's process: To define the gap by having all team members agree on how many stars your salon/spa rates today … and how many stars the team would like to represent them.

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The meeting's objective: To fill in the gap by creating a team action plan to address the top ten factors that stand in the way of achieving that coveted Five Star rating. Those top ten factors should include things such as:

• Your company’s culture
• Decor/atmosphere
• Cleanliness
• Front desk
• Phone skills
• Dress code/appearance
• Client handling procedures
• Technical skill development
• Consultation skills
• Teamwork/team service
• Employee attitudes
• Pre-booking
• Product knowledge and recommendations …
• And any other factor capable of eroding a Five Star rating.

Here are five No-Compromise Leadership “gotta do’s” to achieve your Five Star rating:

1. Gotta start with you … the leader: Salon/spa owners are notorious for pointing the finger at all the stuff employees are doing wrong and need to do better. All that stuff you don’t like is happening under your leadership … so own your role in creating what you don’t like.
2. Gotta get your team on the same Five Star page: Going for a Five Star rating is a bold and worthy initiative that will require each and every member of your team to push in the same direction. That just won’t happen unless everyone is on the same Five Star page. And getting and keeping everyone on that elusive “same page” is the true work of leadership. Here are a couple of vital factors about getting everyone on that same Five Star page:
3. Gotta address what’s behind the curtain: Every salon/spa has a curtain to hide its ugly stuff. Until a leader and those he/she leads are willing to pull back that curtain and confront the ugly stuff … your change initiatives don’t stand a chance of succeeding.
4. Gotta be serious about accountability: As the leader, you cannot tip-toe your salon/spa team to a Five Star rating. Likewise, you can’t inspire, coach and empower your team by being a relentless drill sergeant. Leading your salon/spa from where it’s at to being the best, means that new and better systems and processes are going to replace the inefficient ones that everyone is comfortable with.
5. Gotta make Five Star appear effortless: The one factor that makes all Five Star companies so impressive is how they make doing and delivering the extraordinary appear so effortless. The appearance of “effortless” is the end result of finely tuned systems and relentless practice to get it right. It’s when the team truly becomes a team. It’s when the hard work pays off. It’s when a whole new world of opportunities reveals itself.

Here’s my challenge to you: What I outlined here is a truly bold initiative to lead your salon/spa to an extraordinary place.

The Five Star rating system is simply a mechanism to assist you in communicating your resolve to make your salon/spa the best it can be by engaging your employees in the process.

Do not underestimate the work and time this initiative is going to take.

Do not begin the process if you’re not committed to go all the way.

Want some help? Schedule a free 60-minute strategy session with one of our Certified Strategies Coaches and we'll map out a plan to get you there.