Business
Welcome back to the Business Over Beer Podcast for part 2 of our interview with Don Lovell, Owner of The Barbers. In this episode, Don talks candidly about the challenges his business is facing due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and we learn about his Customer Service DNA and how hard they work every day at providing a legendary customer experience. Prost! In this episode: When the pandemic hit, it felt like after 21 years, it was just boom, you're out of business. It was a shattering and crushing feeling to have no revenue, to be unable to pay rent and feel like you have nothing. To open back up was in some ways more difficult than being shut down due to the extra protocols and safety requirements, combined with all the added expense, such as increased laundry, sanitizer, and signage, for a fraction of the normal business volume. During the pandemic it feels like now all they do is shorten hair because they can't do so many of the things that make The Barbers unique. Tough decisions had to made because the reality is you have to get payroll in line with volume of business. In order to succeed in this business, you don't technically have to be the best barber in the world, but your customer service has to be a 10 everyday. You have to create a relationship that is worthwhile for the customer to return. In 4 weeks when those guys need another hair cut, do you come to their mind? If you do, you win. If not, you didn't win. How do you define great customer service: Exceeding customer expectations on a daily basis. It's not meeting, it's exceeding. It's not every once in awhile, it's daily. If you can do that you win, at whatever business you're in. But it also has to be worth it for the Barbers to do it. Everything has to marry up. You systemize and track customer service and then show the team what it means to their paycheck. Angie's Mystery Beer: Lost Coast Brewery - Eureka, CA Fog Cutter Double IPA, 8.7% ABV, 70 IBU "Fogcutter is our first true double IPA, and it’s quite the work of art. Yeah, it’s bitter, but it’s supposed to be. And the variety of malt flavors and aroma help balance it all out, as any good DIPA deserves. The bright, citrusy nose is born from the extra dry-hop from Cascade, Centennial, Crystal, Chinook, and Citra hops." Episode Links: The Barbers Not Soft - NW Escape Experience on The BOB Taps Growler House Magnum Opus The Best of Uncle Rico