Hairnews congratulates all salons on their courage, fortitude, resourcefulness and patience in waiting for reopening to be announced.
Below is a list of ideas that can help you and your business make the most of the weeks ahead.
Pre-train Before Opening
Even if you only take a few hours, make sure you and your team have done a run-through of how to manage your salon and how to implement the safety and social distancing protocols. If you open without them, clients will notice! You need to maintain a safe space where clients will feel comfortable returning.
“Soft Open” With Fewer Clients
Don’t book yourself solid on the first day but rather take 60 percent of what you would be able to accommodate under the new protocols. This will give you time and space to learn as you go.
Ask Clients for Feedback
After your first day, call the clients and ask them for honest feedback on how they found the salon environment. Were they happy with the hygiene? Did they feel it is a low risk environment? This will help guide you in the days to come. If they are happy then encourage them to share on social media, if they are unhappy you have hopefully addressed this before they do.
Vouchers – How to Manage Them
Some salons have sold a lot of vouchers during lockdown and this was necessary to survive. However you do not want to have only voucher clients coming in during your first weeks or you will not make the money you need to sustain your business.
Therefore we would recommend that you make the bookings for your first couple of weeks manually so that you can manage the ratio of voucher and non-voucher clients. Most salons will have a fairly good idea of who has purchased vouchers, so only allow a certain percentage of voucher clients per day, and leave some slots open for clients who are paying upfront. This will allow you to service your voucher clients as soon as possible while still having income coming in.
Of course, when a voucher client comes in, they may well want to purchase additional products and services, but remember that due to the necessity of making appointments, you can’t do an add-on service that will take additional time.
Online Consultations
Consultations in the salon take time and increase risk. Rather do online consults via Zoom or Whatsapp with your new clients prior to their arrival – you can also take part prepayment for this to confirm the booking, preventing a no-show as no-shows are very expensive when social distancing is so important.
“Covid Care Surcharge”
Most people have become used to the concept of paying a small surcharge at businesses during Covid-19, to help accommodate the lower numbers and the higher hygiene protocols. The “Covid Care Surcharge” (thanks to Marisa Dimitriadis from the Spa Consultancy for sharing this term) is a good way to describe it as it indicates a temporary surcharge rather than a permanent price increase. Make sure you have done the sums before you open and that you have an idea of what the right amount will be for you to charge, and advise the clients on your updated pricing when they book.
The surcharge does not have to be high, and if it is for the sanitisation and equipment only, can be around the R20-R40 per docket mark. However it is up to you whether you want to have the surcharge also cover the fact you are doing fewer clients in a day, in which case it will need to be a little higher, or whether you are going to adjust your prices separately to accommodate the social distancing. Remember that in exchange for paying a little more, clients are getting an exclusive environment that is safe, and your undivided attention! Ensure that everyone understands your updated price list and what it includes.
“Salon Recovery Fund”
Over and above the surcharge, you could invite your clients to contribute a small amount, like a tip, into your Salon Recovery Fund to help your business get back on its feet and also to assist any of your staff who are not yet working full time. This will be a purely optional charge that you do not even have to ask clients for, but simply put signage up. Those who can afford it will consider contributing but the clients who find money is tight, will not feel pressurised.
Phones
Clients are encouraged not to use their phones in the salon. If you have a client who insists on using their phone, remember that the phone could be a reservoir of viral particles and the minute they touch it, they are no longer sanitized. If your client is using their phone, have sanitizing wipes available and ask them to wipe their phone and their hands before disposing of the wipe safely. Rather have signage up saying phone use is discouraged.
Signage and Communication
With clients not on their phones (hopefully) they will be more aware of what they see in your salon. As well as the compulsory Covid signage, put up other signs – for products, for hair problems, for new services. An attractive, easy to read, laminated sign can be informative and helpful and can make clients aware of what your salon offers. Another alternative is to have screens available, and again, these should show hair-relevant footage that will engage and educate your clients.
Follow Up on Clients who Don’t Come Back
After a week or two you may find that you have certain clients in your database who have not come back to your salon since you were allowed to reopen. Give them a call or message and ask them why. If any of them have safety concerns, you may be able to assist them by showing them an example of how your salon runs, such as a short walk-through video, or even creating a special alternative service for them.
Advertise Locally
With clients often not travelling as far in the coronavirus era, it’s going to be more important to make local clients aware of you so that you can capitalise on business in your neighbourhood. Now is the time to start advertising yourself as a safe, convenient destination on their doorstep.
Ultra Safe Solution: The Outdoor “Trim and Go”
For high risk clients who don’t feel comfortable in the salon, you might be able to accommodate an outdoor “Trim and Go” service depending on your salon. Ask your clients to wash their hair before arrival and do the service outdoors. Spray the hair down, sanitize thoroughly, do a quick trim, and the client can go on their way. Outdoors has been proven to have a lower risk of viral spread so this may be an option you can add to your services.
Salon Support Staff as Sanitizers
Some salons may find that with the safety protocols of one hairstylist per customer, salon support staff do not play the same role they used to. However they can still be extremely effective within the salon, and save you time, by focusing on the sanitizing role. To thoroughly sanitize a workstation after each client is time consuming. If you can move straight onto the next client while the previous workstation is sanitized, this can allow you to do much more in a day. So look at the ways that this extra help can allow you to optimise your time and safety.
Social Distancing
Salons will take time to adjust to the “new normal” and it may take a while to become perfect, but even if you inadvertently skip steps, there is no excuse for not doing social distancing. Keeping the required space between each client is easy and free, it does not cost any equipment. So make sure that you comply with the most important basics, even if your single use aprons are made out of spare bits of fabric, until you can get properly equipped!
Landlord Negotiations
As Brandon Randall from Slick Salon Solutions emphasises, your turnover will decrease inevitably with the new distancing protocols in place. If you are in a shopping centre or have a lease, you have to change the lease to a variable cost of turnover where rent becomes 7.5%-10% of turnover, no matter how much you do in a month. This is crucial to your survival and landlords must understand that you are doing this to ensure safety and a risk-free environment. Small businesses such as salons are the life blood of a centre, they bring clients in and add huge value and uniqueness. You need to negotiate for this with your landlord and if you cannot, now is the time to relocate your business. Covid-19 brings new challenges and it is the salons who can adapt, who will survive and thrive.
Any other ideas?
Share your tips for what you are finding works well to keep our industry safe, professional and a seamless service provider! Please email info@hairnews.co.za and we will update these tips with the info you share!
