How to maximize customer experience, with John DiJulius III

When John DiJulius III told me he opened a hair salon 33 years ago with no money, zero customers and a few employees in a market where you could "throw a rock in any direction and hit 10 competitors," my first thought was, “that’s a terrible idea.”

He couldn't outspend his competitors, couldn't out-advertise them and couldn't outbuild them. John decided to out-love them instead. Today, he runs multiple businesses, consults for brands like Chick-fil-A and Starbucks and speaks around the world about how to improve customer experience in retail.

He founded The DiJulius Group, a customer experience consulting firm, and is the author of multiple books, including “Secret Service.” John spent three decades proving that small businesses can compete — and win — by maximizing customer experience.

What struck me most about our conversation wasn't just the success story, it was how tactical and repeatable his approach is. If you're a small retailer competing against bigger players with deeper pockets, this episode of Beyond the Register is for you. John breaks down exactly what "out-loving the competition" looks like on the ground.

When John and his wife Stacey opened their salon in the early 90s, customer experience wasn't even a common term. And that became their advantage.

“We wanted to be the best experience in our guest's day — not the best salon experience," John told me. "We wanted to kind of have that hangover experience that everywhere you went after sucked by comparison.”

Think about that for a second. You're not competing with the boutique down the street. You're competing with every other interaction your customer has that day — the doctor's office, the coffee shop, the dry cleaner. If you can make your experience so good that everything else feels worse by comparison, you've created something sticky.

Fast forward 30 years and John's businesses still don't spend anything on marketing. Instead, they go deeper with their clientele and turn them into brand ambassadors. That's not a luxury brand strategy — that's a survival strategy for anyone who can't outspend their competition. And here's the thing, it's never been easier to stand out.

John told me something I didn't expect — customer satisfaction is at a two-decade low. We came out of the pandemic with the Great Resignation, inflation, shrinkflation (fewer Doritos, higher prices) and what he calls "tipflation" — everyone's got a QR code asking for a tip now. We're all paying more, getting less and that’s frustrating.

Here's the opportunity on how to enhance customer experience in retail that will help you stand out. "Little things, it doesn't have to be earth shattering," John said. Recognize a customer by name. Ask how their kid's college search is going. Show them where the product is instead of pointing. These aren't revolutionary tactics — they're just rare now. And rare wins.

I've seen this firsthand. I grew up working at Dutch Bros, a West Coast coffee chain. The coffee was fine — lots of sugar, quick service — but what kept people coming back was the experience. We had someone whose whole job was sitting at the window, talking to customers, building relationships. First-timers were sometimes caught off guard, but they came back. And kept coming back.

This is where John made me rethink everything. “Making price irrelevant doesn’t mean we can double our prices or even raise them 25 percent and not lose customers,” he explained. “What it means is based on the experience your brand consistently delivers, your customers should have no idea what your competition’s charging.”

“I’m as price-sensitive as anyone,” John said. “I’ve driven three extra miles to save 50 cents on something, not realizing I just lost money in the exchange. But there are a few businesses — just a few — that have made me so loyal through their experience, their relationship, that I have no idea how they stack up to their competition. I’m not out there looking for coupons or comparing prices. I just go back.”

If you’re constantly competing on price, it’s because you haven’t given customers a reason to care about anything else. And here’s the kicker — if you find a competitor charging more than you for the same thing, that should bother you. What are they doing to justify that? How are they getting away with it? That’s what you need to learn from.

The businesses that win aren’t the cheapest. They’re the ones that make you forget to compare.

John gave me a framework he calls the "Customer Bill of Rights" — a list of things his team would never do or always do. It's designed to reduce "employee roulette," where you get a great experience with one person and a terrible one with someone else. Here are the ones that stuck with me:

Never point, always show. Even over the phone or via email. If a customer asks where something is, don't say "it's on our website" or "Lindsay on my team can help you with that." Walk them there. Send them the link. Have Lindsay reach out. Pointing is lazy. Showing is service.

Never say no. That doesn't mean everything's a yes — it means you don't use the word "no." No is a negative trigger. Instead, focus on what you can do. "We're fully booked right now, but our first opening is at 2 pm today or 3 pm tomorrow." You didn't say no. You just didn't give them a cold rejection. 

These aren't big, expensive changes. They're small, repeatable behaviors that compound over time. And small wins add up.

This is the trap I see all the time. The business works because the owner is on the floor, greeting every customer, solving every problem. But then they can't take a day off. They can't grow. And they definitely can't scale.

John told me something that hit hard. "The entrepreneur should be the least valuable short-term asset a company has."

He used Walt Disney as an example. Walt was the original voice of Mickey Mouse. Imagine if he'd never given that up because Mickey was too important. We wouldn't have Disney World today. You're doing your customers, your employees and yourself a disservice if you don't train people to do what you do — and eventually, do it better than you.

John's been out of the day-to-day operations of his salons for 17 years. The businesses are still growing. Why? Because he found people with the same passion he had and gave them the systems, training and authority to replicate it. Those early employees who started at the front desk 25 years ago? They're now managing partners with equity. They're the ones losing sleep at night so John doesn't have to.

When it comes to how to increase customer experience in retail, John said something that made me laugh because it's so true. "You have to model the behavior you want your employees to have." If you come in complaining about traffic, or a flat tire, bringing the weight of the world into your store, you can't expect your team to be full of cheer for your customers.

Employee experience equals customer experience. If your team is miserable, your customers will feel it.

Here's what I'm taking from this conversation that you can put into practice:

Beat the greet. No customer says hi first. Ever. If someone walks within 15 feet of you, smile and nod. Within five feet, say something — even if you're walking past them to help another customer.

Introduce yourself every time. Even if the customer has been in before. They might not remember your name and you're making it easy for them to use it.

Use the customer's name twice. It's the simplest way to make someone feel seen.

End every interaction with, "Is there anything else I can do for you today?" It gives the impression that they are your only concern in that moment, even if you have three people waiting behind them.

Here's what I keep coming back to, customer satisfaction is at a two-decade low. That's not a problem — that's an opportunity. It's never been easier to stand out by simply being present, prepared and genuinely helpful. You don't need a massive marketing budget. You don't need to be the cheapest. Your customer engagement doesn’t end after customers pay on the latest retail POS system. You need to be the experience people remember when everything else fades into the background.

John's story isn't about being a luxury brand or having unlimited resources. It's about making a choice to compete on something that doesn't require capital — love. And 33 years later, that choice is still paying off.

If you're a small retailer trying to figure out how to compete with bigger players, this conversation will give you a roadmap. John breaks down the exact systems, behaviors and mindset shifts that show how retailers can improve customer experience and convert it from a buzzword into a competitive advantage.

Check out John’s full conversation on this week's episode of Beyond the Register for more.

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