Debra Nazarian
I’ve spent 41 years building the largest and most respected combination laser and electrolysis hair removal practice in Rhode Island.
My entire career has been built on providing exceptional service. That’s the foundation, and it always will be. It’s why clients choose me in the first place, and I know plenty of business owners who feel just as strongly about the quality of what they offer. That commitment to doing the work well is something I don’t take lightly, and I don’t think it should ever take a back seat.
But over the years, I’ve come to believe that exceptional service is really just the beginning of what a business can offer someone.
Setting a Tone From the Moment They Walk In
From the first moment a client walks through my door, my office staff and I try to greet them the same way: warmly, genuinely, and with respect. That tone matters just as much as the service itself. It’s not about being someone’s confidant or hearing every detail of their life — that’s not what this is about. It’s simply about being present with someone, treating them like a person and not a transaction, and letting a little warmth and kindness carry through the whole appointment.
I spend real time with my clients, and conversation naturally happens. Sometimes it’s light. Sometimes people share something that matters deeply to them — a hard season, a loss, a question of faith. I don’t go looking for those moments, and I’m certainly no expert in any of it. I just try to listen and respond the way I’d want someone to respond to me: with patience, love, and respect.
Why This Matters Alongside the Numbers
I hear a lot of praise directed at business owners for how big or how lucrative they’ve made their companies, and that kind of growth matters — you can’t help anyone if you can’t keep the lights on, and exceptional service is what makes that growth possible in the first place.
But I’ve come to believe that growth isn’t the whole story. Alongside it, I think about what’s left behind after someone leaves my office. Whether they walked out not just looking better, but feeling a little more respected and understood than when they walked in.
The Conversations I Don’t Even Remember
Here’s something that still humbles me: I’ve run into people I treated many years earlier who told me that something I once said truly meant something to them — even changed their life. Honestly, most of the time I can’t even recall the specific conversation. It was just me trying to be kind, compassionate, and present in that moment, nothing more.
But it stayed with them. And that’s taught me something I try to carry into every appointment — you never really know which small moment of kindness is going to matter to someone.
A Message to Fellow Business Owners
I don’t say any of this because I think I’ve figured something out that others haven’t. I know plenty of business owners or professionals already lead with kindness and never think to call attention to it. I just think it’s worth naming, because I believe every one of us who owns a business or comes in contact with clients or patients, whatever the industry, has been given a platform, however small. People walk through our doors, or call us, or sit in our chair, and for a few minutes they’re ours to serve.
Exceptional service is what earns that trust in the first place. But once we have it, I think there’s an opportunity in how we carry ourselves alongside it: a little more warmth, a little more patience, a genuine respect for the person in front of us.
Imagine what might happen if more of us thought of our businesses that way. Every storefront, every office, every service call becomes a small, quiet example of kindness. We wouldn’t just be running good businesses. We’d be using them as a small conduit for something better in the world, one interaction at a time.
That’s what I hope people remember about my practice — not just that the service was excellent, though I’ve worked hard to make sure it is, but that they were treated with kindness and respect while they were here. Let’s all work together to change one little piece of the world, one interaction at a time.