“I want to share a story with you. I was at our Pennington, New Jersey studio, where I teach on Saturday mornings. I was at the front desk preparing for class, looking over the day’s detailed notes that Mare (owner) prepares for the day ahead.
On that list was a client, “Jill” who would be coming in for her first Flow style class. There was a note that she was nervous, that she had a health condition we should be aware of, but that she was excited to be taking this next step in her practice. When Jill walked in, I greeted her by name, smiled, made eye contact and said “you are here for your first flow class, awesome!” Her face instantly lit up, she smiled back, and asked “How do you know?”
“I know everything about you!” I answered with another warm smile. We talked about her hesitations and concerns, a little about the challenges she had faced, but also about how she was ready for this! Jill cried. She cried happy tears of relief with the knowledge that she had been recognized, supported, and cared for as in HER yoga practice and in the community at Honor Yoga.
This is what sets Honor apart and it is also what makes us successful. It is taking time to up front so we’re prepared to create a meaningful conversation. As one of my favorite business mentors, Stephen Covey, says “Begin with the End in Mind. Begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.” This is what we do.
Why we do it? It leads to success but it is more. That smile from Jill, that point of contact and interaction. We’re making real difference with this approach to business. Because we make people feel accomplished and connected, because we take the time up front to make that possible, we have a 90% or higher customer satisfaction consistently at ALL Honor Yoga studios. And who knows, it might even mean a longer life. My gut tells me yes, Jill’s smile tells me yes, our customer satisfaction tells me yes. This is true health and wellness.
