2.1¢ : Aveda's TLC

Hair is woman’s second face. Just like all the wonderful ways to pamper our faces, most of the women wash their hair, condition it, color it, reshape/style it and even a hair 'facial' is no uncommon. There are so many choices out there: from Suave "Don’t you look smart" (by spending less but looking just as good) to high-end celebrity brand: L'Occitane en Provence or Rene Furterer. I have been loyal to a brand called Aveda ever since I visited one of the stores.

The Aveda boutique locates in Highland Mall and its layout gives a very "Zen" atmosphere which allured me to walk in at the first time, even though I wasn’t shopping for any type of body/hair products that day. The sales woman kindly welcomed me to Aveda and offered me a cup of herbal tea without trying to sell me anything. While I walked around the shop for 5min, sipping the 10cc botanical liquid, the same girl came up to me again. And I thought 'for sure, she is going to start the usual selling spiel', but on the contrary, she surprised me again. She asked if I would be interested in getting a free hand or neck massage. Eventually, the massage relieved the tension on my neck and shoulder from shopping all day (and also seamlessly advertised their latest aromatic massage oil), making me an Aveda customer without me knowing it.

Even though I did not buy anything from Aveda that day, the lady was still very kind while I walked off. Her non-aggressive attitude was such a refreshing experience to me that I returned to the store the next time. After making several purchases, I learned that Aveda keeps the sale history of regular customers (those who allow Aveda to have their personal info), so the sales person can better assist the customers when they return, either by surveying the user experiences or recommending products that suit the customer’s new hair color or style. It is such an important customer service particularly to me since I shop a lot but I could not remember what I have purchased previously.

As far as the merchandises themselves, the obvious reason to continue to use Aveda is the product does achieve the results it claims. More importantly, Aveda carries a complete head-to-toes product line of hair/body care with environmental consciousness, which is a compelling selling point to me and to many other people who care a little bit more about our Earth. Although there are several brands on the market have similar brilliant vision, such as Body Shop and L'Occitane, Aveda is the one that goes beyond the retail and differentiate itself by franchising the salon service business. The bonus is Aveda and their professional stylists become their own end-users to understand its customers more and create the products to fulfill the needs., Just like what Rubbermaid's rep suggested in the article One Nation under Wal-Mart: "You need to be your customer" to achieve a marketing success. At the end with Aveda, I have learned first hand not only about how product performs from the professional service, but also learn about how to use product post-service and try to replicate it at home.

"Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it" once said Publilius Syrus. Personally, I spend more money on Aveda than an IPod on an annual basis. The relaxing shopping environment and the total customer care package make higher-priced-than-average Aveda worth every penny. After all, I am worth it. :-)