Intimidating first impressions...

I stepped into the crowded room looking for the unfamiliar face of the hair stylist I didn't know but held on to his name as I looked around asking anyone who looked at me "please can you lead me to Mark?" They told told me to walk straight ahead that I would soon reach him. I got to another room and with a smile I asked a very unfriendly guy, " hello, please are you Mark?" He looked at me with that sort of look that simply said " yesss! and who are you?" Well , I introduced myself and told him that a colleague of his recommended him to me, he asked what I wanted to do to my hair, I told him, he looked at another guy who he nodded at, and the guy offered me a seat and started to do my hair. I was irritated by his gesture.

So Mark's assistant or apprentice started doing my hair, he was the most pleasant person. He listened to every instruction that I gave him and did everything just as I told him I wanted it done. I concluded that Fred was sent to me by God because I didn't think Mark would have been able to dance to my tune like that.

Now, this is where I would add that first impressions really matters as we tend to judge a book by its cover all the time. Just like when we see a dress that looks very decent only to wear it and it appears to be a tempting and seductive attire. That was the case of Mark the Stylist and I

Anyway back to Mark. At the end of the day Mark wasn't as bad as he portrayed himself, in fact by the time I was leaving he gave me his number and told me that I could always call him when next I needed my hair done. But trust me to have quickly built a nice relationship with Fred, he even helped me with my salon bag to my car. I gave him a little tip.

By the time I went back to style my hair the following day, I was glad that I had met Fred and given him that tip the day before. His customer service was exceptional, he got me a nice seat and even offered me a drink while I waited my turn. In my days of going to the salon I cannot remember ever meeting a stylist as nice, well except for my dear friend Abbey who is more like family now( I would write a post about Abbey my fantastic stylist soon).

Okay, to conclude my story, guess who ended up styling my hair? Yes! Fred! When he started styling my hair I was seriously keeping my fingers and even my toes crossed. "I hope I wouldn't get into an argument with this guy" I thought. It was very surprising when he started styling my hair in a nice way and listened to every instruction I gave (well not every, but almost every instruction). He did my hair very very well, I couldn't even ask for more. When he finished and I thanked him, he promised that next time he'd even be more prepared for me.

Here was I smiling and giving a guy who I thought his attitude really sucked a generous tip. I mean, this guy used alot of his energy to make sure my hair turned out good. I left the salon smiling and my hair looking beautiful, couldn't wait to show it off :) But why did he react in such a negative manner when he first met me?

First impressions really matter, have you been put off by first impressions? did you wait to see if it would have a happy ending?

Do you have a customer service experience or a review you would like to share? If so, Contact me by sending a message to spynaija@gmail.com