We love getting good reviews. No, I mean we REALLY love getting great reviews. It’s amazing when someone really gets what we do at Urban Waxx, and then takes the time to sit down and eloquently write it out. It is such a pat on the back. When we get a positive review, I print them out with a little Woo Hoo note attached, and put them up in the back room so that all the girls can give each other high fives. It’s wonderful to see such validation in print. That is when we love Yelp and Citysearch.

However, with the good, unfortunately, there is usually the bad. When we get bad reviews, or reviews where there is either an unhappy client, or one who didn’t click with a waxer or Urban Waxx as a whole, well, it pretty much stinks. I read the review. Then I reread the review. Then I read it again, just to be sure. It’s such a bummer when someone leaves and isn’t thrilled with us. Our clients’ happiness is what we value most at Urban Waxx, and the absolute last thing we ever want is an unhappy or unsatisfied client. Unfortunately, on rare occasions we have clients that are unhappy with some aspect of their service. This is so hard for us because we strive for perfection and we nail it almost 100% of the time and when someone feels that we don’t, it’s just heart wrenching. I talk to whichever waxer the review is about, and try to figure out where we went wrong. The curious thing about what we do is this: It’s completely personal. Someone who complains about we do at Urban Waxx isn’t complaining about a huge corporation. They are complaining about us as individuals. It’s like being in the 4th grade and having the popular kid tell you that they hate you right to your face. There aren’t talking about the kid behind you, they are talking about YOU. Sigh.

So, what do I do when we get a harsh review, or a complaint? I try to make it right. Our motto is “It’s the best wax you’ll ever have. Seriously.” There isn’t much room for gray area in that statement. If someone doesn’t think we are the best then I will either invite them back to see another waxer, complimentary, or I will refund their money. That’s it. No hemming and hawing. I’m a huge advocate of taking accountability for your actions. Nothing reveals a person’s character more than seeing how they react when they have done something wrong. Our goal at Urban Waxx is to make every client love us and love waxing, but if they don’t, well, then I’m not going to force them to pay!

An experience can be so subjective. I always tell my team that even though I know them and love them all, if someone else tells me that they didn’t have a great experience, I can;t tell them that they did! I have to honor their opinion. It is pretty crappy though, to hear that someone doesn’t love one of my team. I find it almost shocking, as if someone was telling me that they didn’t like my daughter! I mean, I handpicked these gals! I trained them, and have gotten waxed by them. I clearly see something special in each of them, so it’s always shocking when someone doesn’t swoon over them. But, then again, that’s why there are 9 of us, with 9 different personalities.

I think that Yelp and Citysearch can be amazing forums. We have gotten a TON of new clients from these websites. And, part of owning a public business is understanding that have opened us up to public praise and criticism. So, we will bask in the praise, for sure. And the criticism will keep us humble, and help us to remember that we are only as good as our last wax.