My youngest son kept bugging me,” When are you going to get a haircut?” My hair had grown to that stage where hair cowlicks would make the hair flow in all directions. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I decided it was time for a haircut.
“Now that’s a good haircut. Your hair came out great looking,” words from my barber.
I joke with clients if I want to get a compliment about my balloon-twisting skill. All I need to do is find a stranger and interact with them while making balloon figures. In this incident, the stranger’s name was Tom.
Tom was dining at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park with his family. Restaurant management hired me to stroll the restaurant, entertaining families during dinner hours.
At some point during my balloon entertainment, Tom became enamored with my balloon-twisting skills and paid me a compliment.
I find it easier to get a stranger to give a compliment than a family who’ve witnessed my balloon talents and has come to expect the best.
The balloon animal I made Tom, has been produced 1,000 times before; in fact, decades of balloon twisting allowed me to replicate a figure quite quickly.
I see nothing unique in the balloon design presented to Tom, probably like the barber who styled my hair. The barber styled 1,000 other customers before me with the same hairstyle. For all I know, the barber tells everyone they have a great haircut.
Looking in the mirror, I agreed; it was a lovely haircut. Would I have thought that without her saying this? Probably not. I went to a professional barber, unlike my mom, who would cut my hair in the garage and tell me, ” Don’t worry. The hair will grow out in a couple of days.”
The barber’s self-praise was presented so smoothly that it didn’t hit me until later in the day.
This brought me to this idea when presenting a balloon figure to a customer to praise the design. Point out the symmetry between the balloons, the proportion in the bubble size, or great color combinations selection.
Pointing out the quality of the balloon figure built for them should make the client feel special and tighten the impact of the balloon design.
Be like my barber and complement your work; give the Tom’s of the world a deeper appreciation of a balloon artist’s skills. After all, we are professionals.
Great point! I will sometimes feign like the balloon is so good I have decided to keep it for myself. The customer quickly disagrees that I should keep it, takes it, and then holds it close to themselves, then we all have a chuckle.
Yes, I’ve done similar and had the same reaction. It is like dealing with little kids, a toy can sit for a month abandoned, and as soon as somebody shows appropriation for that toy, it is now the most cherished toy in the room.