FIRST PERSON

Sometimes in life, we have eureka moments; times when things fall into place; when something just finally makes sense. Laura Daly knows all about that

Ihad such a moment last week and it really got me thinking about how fragile we can be, as customers, when we’re going through life’s many varied unpredictable episodes and how, as service providers, with a well-timed word, a caring action or a smile, we have the power to transform lives, quite literally.

So, I’d like to take a moment, if I may, to talk about customer service.

In the world of bridal retailing – it’s a given that we all offer excellent customer service. I don’t believe any of us would still be in business these days if we didn’t.

But when was the last time you stopped to consider the important effect on your customer of your words and actions? You can genuinely change someone’s life for the better. Or, with one misjudged word, a soul can be crushed, a shopping experience marred and a wedding ruined even before it’s taken place.

Until I found myself in just such an emotional life moment, I don’t think I’d ever really appreciated the degree to which this maxim is true.

My lovely Mum has Alzheimer’s, a wicked disease that is slowly stealing her from me and the family. She lives in an altered state of

reality, in which every new situation she encounters is a source of confusion and frustration.

As her only child, it’s heartbreaking to watch, and extremely difficult to expect others to understand. She’s developed an impressive ability to get entirely the wrong end of any stick and has also taken to voicing her opinions, loudly, wherever and whenever she feels the situation demands.

So, when she told me she wanted her hair dyed in a proper salon, rather than a home visit, I have to admit my level of trepidation was somewhat high. I’d had no real chance to warn the unsuspecting stylist who saw us, and no opportunity to explain that Alzheimer’s is so much more than ‘just’ memory loss.

I was close to tears for most of the time we were in the salon because, as I’d feared, my Mum was unintentionally rude, loud and argumentative.

She cried, she sobbed, she exclaimed that colour was awful (it was perfect) and that the stylist didn’t know her job (she was the salon’s top talent).

I could feel the attention of the other clients upon us and I managed, finally, to catch the eye of the poor hairdresser to mouth the word ‘sorry’. And here’s where the difference was made.

This angel smiled, leaned in further and continued to treat my mother like the Queen of England. Once it had become clear to her what she was dealing with, she made it her mission to educate, distract and explain everything to my poor Mum, eventually calming her enough to get her over the finish line, with a top-notch colour and cut.

Although I obviously left a glowing review online, this young stylist will never really know the difference she made in my life with the kindness she showed. And Mum only remembers that we had fun.

So, the next time you’re faced with what seems to be the motherof-the-bride from hell, or the bride who’s lost the plot, remember to lean right in, listen, and try to understand.

You never know quite what else that person is dealing with in their life or what truly lies behind their reactions or behaviour.

When giving really excellent customer service, our own feelings and thoughts are not important. What matters is creating positivity from confusion, and light where there was darkness.

We are privileged to share such delicate moments with our customers and we owe it to them, to ourselves and to our businesses to remember just what power our words and actions can have.