You all know I like going down memory lane. I am so old that I remember when you patronized a business or service regularly that they gave you a gift at Christmas. Is there anyone else out there that remembers when you went to a business that you used all of the time and they gave you a calendar or perhaps some type of token that had their location and phone number on it? I’m so old I remember my hair stylist giving me a bottle of lotion or a tube of hand cream at Christmas. After all, I was a weekly client; weekly clients are the bread and butter of a hairstylist. From what I know of “Business 101,” it is hard to replace long-time repeat customers, and these are the customers that a business wants to keep and satisfy. The customer gift was so popular back in the day that the salesperson from the beauty supply used to sell special items just for the stylists to give as gifts. You see, I was always watching and listening when I was getting my hair done. I know that times have changed a lot and that many women prefer wigs, weaves, and sew-ins and no longer visit a hair salon each week, but those old days were pretty cool. This is how old school I am: back in the day, people would cook dinners at their homes and then sell and deliver the dinners to the hair salons. Let me clarify: on Saturdays, the salon would be so busy the hairstylist could not go and get lunch or dinner, so some industrious person would make chicken dinners or fish dinners and sell them to the hairdressers, and sometimes if the customers knew that the meals were being delivered, they would order one as well. Yes, everyone was an entrepreneur. In short, I’m suggesting that people in business who rely on customers to keep the door open give their regulars a little something at Christmas, even if it’s a candy cane or a Christmas card. That expression of appreciation goes a long way.
Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com
Click Here to View All “Lifestyles with Debbie Norrell” Articles
