JCPenney salon clients are special. Everything their stylists do sends a message: we want the time you spend here to be nothing short of sensational!

All it takes is doing a little something extra, providing a "serendipity" experience of more than what the client came in for. Give a great massage with the shampoo. During a manicure, use hot towels on their hands or put a neck pillow behind their head. Use the client's name throughout the service, and rebook before they leave so they don't have to remember to call.

Many JCPenney stylists do all of that and more. "I try to treat my clients the way I would want to be treated," says Carol Snyder, a stylist in Findlay, Ohio.

Kim Wine figured she'd lose most of her clients when she left the salon where she'd worked for eight years to take a job 30 miles away at a JCPenney store in Mansfield, Ohio. But almost all of her old clients decided that Wine was worth the longer trip. She attributes their loyalty to her ability to relate to clients. "People are so busy nowadays that they don't have time for pampering," says Wine. "This is the one hour they get every four or five weeks without phones or anyone bothering them."

Pamper Pointers

Here's how these stylists and others at JCPenney salons around the country put their own touches on every detail of the salon experience.

Grand entrance-"I start off every service with a big smile," says Bell. "I greet the client as if I haven't seen her for five years."

Always the professional-Bell says wearing nice clothes and keeping your hair and make-up done shows respect both to yourself and to the client. "I've had people walk in the door who've never been here, look around and choose me because I'm dressed professionally," she notes.

Pat Patten, a stylist in Nashua, New Hampshire, also always dresses professionally and points out that changing her hair often gives clients ideas about their own looks. "You can't expect people to change if you don't change," Patten says.

Be available-Patten tries to keep her schedule flexible enough to accommodate her clients, working and otherwise. "Even women who don't work have obligations like kids to take care of," she notes. "So I'll come in early, occasionally stay late or come in on my day off."

Barbara Frank is a stylist in Anchorage, Alaska, which draws from all over the state. "Some of my clients come in from ‘the bush' for other appointments they have or for a long weekend," says Frank. "They may need me to come in on my day off, because that's when they're here. I'm happy to do that or come in early and stay late if that works out better for my clients."

In Waldorf, Maryland, even walk-ins benefit from Joann Logan's similar attitude. "I'm busy most of the day," Logan says. "So if I can't take walk-in clients right away, I may ask them to come back in 15 minutes or whenever I can get them in."

The whole truth-"A lot of my clients tell me they like me because I'm honest," says Bell. "Clients come to us for our opinion about their hair. If the client will not look good in the style she asks for, I'm honest without being mean or nasty. I'll tell her why her face shape or hair texture won't go well with the color or style she picked out. Then if she still wants it, I'll agree to do it."

Snyder agrees that, after explaining her point of view, "it's better to give them what they want than to do it the way I want and lose the client." To make her point, however, she tries to provide a visual. For example, she keeps handy a comb that's marked off in inches.

Service extras-It's not unusual for Snyder to ask a teen client whether she'd like a braid to dress up her style a little. But her real secret is at the shampoo bowl. "I learned a long time ago that if you do a good shampoo, you can sell clients anything!" Snyder reveals. "Massage their scalp, and they're putty in your hands." Wine agrees. "I take a lot of time giving shampoos," she says. "Women and men love that."

A personal relationship-The consultation reinforces a personal relationship, but some stylists take an even more direct interest in each client. "I feel very close to some of my clients," says Barbara Frank. "I get invited to their weddings; I give them gifts when they have a baby."