You Might Be Busy — But You’re Still Losing Customers

I’ve lived here for three months now, I barely go anywhere. Why? Because every place I walk into forgets the one rule that still makes or breaks small businesses:

First impressions close more business than your pricing ever will.

I walked into a haircut place (Jamestown needs a barbershop!!) this week around 5:30 p.m. Two stylists were cutting hair. Neither of them looked up. No greeting. No eye contact. Not even a nod. Just silence. No biggie. I'm an adult...it's later in the day. "Maybe they didn't even notice me" - don't be upset at what you can't control.

I stood there for 7–10 minutes with another guy waiting. A third guy walked in after me. Still nothing.

Finally, one stylist finished up, walked over, glanced at the computer, and said: “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, do I need one?” (online was going to let me book - 3 min in advance)

Her answer: “We have two ahead of you, and time for one more.”

That was it, the line "time for one more" holding more weight than 4 words -

-That's 6-8 hours of the Matrix talking -

In my head - "I'M THE FNING ONE MORE"

She wasn’t rude. But she wasn’t inviting, either. No “Have a seat.” No “We’ll be about 15 minutes.”

No “We’d love to take you before we close.” Just a "I want to go home, sweep and gossip in peace the last hour"

I've been that employee, till i started training them.

What I heard was: "We close soon. We don’t really want to take you. But technically, we could."

She was genuinely surprised I politely said I'd come back tomorrow morning. I'll admit I'm a bit petty in these situations. Last thing i was going to do is tip this person. So i made my appointment and came back the next day -

Different barber. Totally different experience. She was great. Skilled. Ambitious. Wants to open her own shop. I didn't tell her about the day before. "Never complain, never explain" is my 2025 motto. (Although I am guilty of it, but aware!!) The contrast spoke for itself.

This isn’t about barbershops. It’s about broken front-of-house training in every small business.

You don’t need a computer to tell customers what time you close. You need people who make customers feel like they showed up at the right time.

When I worked in hospitality, we followed the Cornell School playbook. We called "customers" - guests. We weren’t allowed to say “you’re welcome.” We said:

• “My pleasure.”

• “Of course.”

• “Absolutely.”

Why? Because the guest should always be welcome. Period. I thought this was so dumb when I was in my twenties. Till a women pulled me aside and told me how special, and resort like, it made her feel.

If someone walks in at 9:45 and you close at 10, the answer is still: “Of course, we’re open.” That's it. They don't care when you close. They care about eating. Not because it’s convenient — but because that’s the job.

This isn’t fluff. It’s conversion science. Human psychology is half the sale. It’s brand perception. It’s the difference between someone feeling like a customer/guest, and someone feeling like an inconvenience. - for the service business, could be a 50% tip -

And it costs nothing.

Hospitality isn’t dead. But most places act like it’s optional.