Alright, time for a story…

A guest, who we’ll call Sara, books a haircut at your salon. Her first visit is absolute magic. A shampoo experience is provided before her haircut, where her stylist slows everything down, massages her temples, and gently lifts her head to massage her neck (cue relaxation goosebumps!). Meanwhile, there is a cooling and depuffing eye mask perfectly placed over her eyes, and essential oils diffusing around her. Sara can tell her stylist is totally locked in and focused on her and her experience. It is 10 minutes of total calm and relaxation before her haircut. After her haircut (which is great!), she checks out, pre-books her next appointment,  pays $70, and leaves thinking, “That was worth every penny. I can't wait for my next haircut!”

Four weeks later, it’s time for that pre-booked haircut appointment, and Sara could not be more excited. That morning, she receives a call from the salon: the stylist that she originally saw and prebooked with is out sick today, and her appointment could be moved to another experienced stylist to allow her to keep her appointment time.

Sara remembers her stylist talking about the team atmosphere and how everyone has a lot of training and has been there a long time, so… she agrees.

Except, looking back, she wishes she hadn’t. You see, Sara still received a flawless haircut that was technically sound and easy to style. In fact, everyone asks here where she gets her hair done. Except, here's the thing: that shampoo experience? The one that she was looking forward to? Yeah, it was a different story this time.

The stylist was casually chatting with a co-worker during the wash. The massage seemed rushed and a little light, and the cooling eye mask was handed to her, and she was told that she could put it on if she wanted to. She checked out, paid the same $70, but this time…. She didn’t pre-book. Not because the haircut was bad, but because she was left feeling confused about the experience. She felt like just another number, a task checked off the list. Definitely not like she received an intimate $70 service like she did the first time. She started questioning: Well, which one is the standard for this business? What will I receive next time? Am I really able to only see the one stylist to receive the type of treatment that I got on my first visit?

Here’s the thing, friends: both services were technically sound. Both stylists were talented. But the guest experience? Completely inconsistent. In this industry, inconsistency is the fastest way to erode trust, lose loyalty, and watch your brand become a roulette game of “it depends who you see.”

So, what causes this gap? They are not lazy stylists. It is not disinterested new hires.

The problem is a lack of systems and standards.

Here is how this usually shows up, and is more than likely what happened in the case of Sara’s shampoo experience:

• A new hire shadows a team member who shows them “their way” to do a service. 
• Another team member, who they shadow on a different day, adds in their own two cents and provides a slightly different variation.
• Then they watch the service and see something that is sort of like the first service, but takes a bit longer.
• Finally, they sit in on a class with you, the owner, and you give them yet another variation.

By the end of their onboarding, training, and shadowing experience, they have seen half a dozen ways to do almost every service in your business. Everyone is teaching what they know, the way that they know it. None of it lives in a clear, unified system. Your “standards” are scattered across conversations instead of being documented all in one place. This leaves the guests guessing which version of your business they are going to get this time.

When your business depends on personalities instead of processes, your business stops being a brand and starts being a collection of individuals. Guests start becoming loyal to people, not your company, and that is exactly when retention begins to slip.

Inconsistent guest experiences are not just an annoyance. They cost you deeply.

Emotionally:

• Guests start second-guessing whether to pre-book (like Sara, for example).
• Owners feel frustrated and burned out from playing “quality control” and constantly telling people to "don't forget to massage the neck on shampoos.” 
• Team members feel confused or even competitive instead of United.
• New hires learn quickly to just “do what works” instead of following brand standards.

In the business:

• Retention drops when guests can’t count on consistency.
• Your brand reputation suffers; people refer to individual stylists and not your brand as a whole.
• Growth stalls because every new hire waters down the experience or puts a new spin on it instead of strengthening and growing your company. 

Inconsistency can unravel months or even years of brand-building. Guests don’t separate their haircut from the experience. They remember how they felt in your chair. When that feeling changes from visit to visit, trust erodes.

Here is the good news: inconsistency isn’t inevitable. It’s fixable. 

Think about Starbucks or Chick-fil-A, or even your favorite local restaurant that somehow nails your order the same way every time. The magic is not in the individual making the sandwich or drink; it is in the system. The recipe doesn't change just because a different person is cooking that day.

Your salon or spa needs that same foundation. That exact recipe that doesn’t waver depending on who is working that day.

A training manual takes your expectations out of your head and out of random, inconsistent conversations and turns them into clear, repeatable systems. It’s not about stripping away artistry and taking away individual creative freedom that happens in our industry; it's about making sure the essentials are delivered consistently, no matter who is behind the chair or at the bowl or in the treatment room.

With a strong manual, your team doesn’t “guess” what great looks like. They know. Guests don’t have to cross their fingers, hoping they will get the same experience as last time. They trust that your brand delivers. Every. Time.

With a training manual that clearly states the systems and procedures that make your brand great, and a company culture that upholds those standards, Sara would not have received two drastically different versions of the same experience.

Experiences like Sara’s are so relatable, and that is exactly why we created the Training Manual Program. To help owners like you stop training by memory and in passing conversations, and start training with clarity.

The last thing you need is another messy binder collecting dust. You need a system that works. You need a program that will deliver consistent results, every time. One that your team will follow and your clients can count on.

Consistency fuels the growth that you are looking for in your business.

• Consistency is more than nice-to-have; it's the engine of your growth. 
• Guests stay loyal when they trust what they will experience. 
• Teams gain confidence when expectations are clear and unified.
• Owners gain freedom when they are not the only source of training and quality control.

Imagine walking into your business knowing every stylist, therapist, or provider will deliver the same guest experience you envision. Yes, even without you hovering over their shoulder. That is so much more than peace of mind; that is scalability.

Talent builds a great service. Consistency builds a great brand.

If you are tired of watching guests bounce between stylists and receive different experiences depending on the day, some of which don't reflect the standards you want for your brand… or, even worse, tired of watching guests leave because they don’t know what to expect from your business? It's time to take inconsistency off the menu.

The Training Manual Program was built to give you the clarity, structure, and confidence your team needs to deliver the same excellent experience every time. A brand that is trusted and consistent is a brand that is ready to grow.

Explore the Training Manual Program and see how it can transform your team and your guest experience.

- Jessica Tergesen
Director of Education at Strategies