Does customer service really matter?

Have you ever had a bad customer service experience from a business in the service industry? Almost all of us has at one point or another.

Think back to an experience you had that was particularly bad. I'm sure you can still remember that experience pretty vividly, even now. You probably didn't even go back to that business for a while--if at all. You even made it a point to tell your friends about it.

Well, the same thing applies to your strip club, or chain of clubs! What if a customer was treated rudely by one of your employees? What happens to the money he was going to spend? Is he going to tell others about it?

Today's topic is going to detail the importance of customer service. Being in the service industry, upscale gentlemen's clubs should have a mission of providing the best possible experience for guests, employees, and talent alike. But is customer service all that important in the world of strip clubs? Does it really matter? After all, having a cabaret license is almost like gold in many jurisdictions--you can get away with a lot if you're the only game in town.

Here are just a few good reasons why customer service matters:

Competition. It is important to understand that your club is selling essentially the same thing that your competitors are selling, and you need every method of differentiating your product as much as possible. You never know if that 30-something guy you were rude to last night is looking for a new place to have bachelor parties for him and his friends, or perhaps a new home for after work happy hours for clients. Don't miss out on lost revenue just because someone had a bad night!

Reputation. Many clubs erroneously believe that by virtue of being a strip club, they can address guests any way they'd wish. But the strip club sub-culture is rather small. Most of your customers have visited competing clubs in your city, and these customers share information with each other about which clubs to avoid. Fortunately, the reverse is also true--customers tend to look out for one another and will share information on good clubs as well. Certain upscale clubs even have guests make dedicated trips to fly in just to be entertained at their specific club. This is the type of clientele you need!

Perception. Customer service is very much applicable to the way your coworkers and clients interact with each other. No one wants to be around negative coworkers, and especially negative strippers! This energy does eventually transfer to the guests. Your staff members are a direct reflection of your business, so keep this in mind when hiring new employees and recruiting new talent. Having a good attitude is half the battle!

Branding. Corporate chains need to be especially wary of their customer service practices. If you run a nationwide chain of strip clubs and a guest has a bad experience at one of your clubs in, say, California, that customer is going to avoid every other club around the country that's affiliated with yours because your chain will be associated with bad customer service. Maintain a strong brand image by doing it right the first time and every time.

In our next blog post, we'll give you some simple customer service tips you can use right away at your club!