As a beauty publicist in New York I have been to some of the best salons in the country and seen how salons properly pamper their patrons and make their experience a relaxing and enjoyable one – thus allowing for sometimes obscene prices. Recently I went to pick up my mom after she got her hair done – a cut, color and highlights. My step-dad always complains that she spends too much money on her hair, but I always justified it with the fact that 1) she had a great cut 2) the salon in one of the best in their area 3) she deserves to be pampered a little bit and 4) he’s just way too frugal.
I walked into the salon and she wasn’t done yet, so I sat in an empty chair next to her and was shocked at what I observed. The salon (which charges a pretty penny) seemed chaotic and the patrons shuttled around like cattle. My mom’s stylist was in a frenzy tending to 5 different clients at once with various assistants and other stylists running around. I kid you not, 5 different people worked on my mother’s hair – one to shampoo, another to color, another to wash out the color, another to blow dry and the lead stylist and owner of the salon to cut. This is not pampering people.
My mother was visibly frustrated and I asked why she doesn’t say anything. She replied that she has made comments in the past and she would go elsewhere, but the cut is so good that she puts up with it all. I shrugged in acquiescence (I was on vacation) and ponder the situation.
What makes a good salon great? A great salon pampers its clients, makes them feel relaxed and welcome. A great salon tends to every need of the client making sure they are serviced quickly, efficiently without making them feel rushed or in the way. The client should feel that they have the stylist’s full attention and the client should be assigned only one assistant to take them through the whole “salon experience.” Ambiance is important but not vital to a great salon, I’ve seen both beautifully decorated and quite plain salons that were all great. But I do particularly encourage champagne at very high end salons. It gives such a huge impression of value for the cost, it also relaxes and soothes, and a slightly intoxicated client is sometimes good thing! These are elements that make a good salon great and allow for higher rates and higher profits.
So what to do about my mother’s salon? She didn’t want me saying anything, so I secretly went back the next day to speak with the stylist. I voiced some of my concerns without seeming critical. I took the complimentary route, I asked him that he style and dry my mother’s hair because I think he does the best job. I also told him that she has a very stressful job and asked that he try and pamper her and get her as relaxed as possible with the suggestion that a particular assistant be assigned to my mom because she likes that assistant the best.
My hope is that the next time my mom goes in for her hair she has a better experience and comes home happy and relaxed. So now I’ve taken care #3, getting as pampered as possible, now I just need to work on #4 – getting my step dad be less frugal, this might take a while.
