Businesses across the country are reopening even though the pandemic isn’t over. Due to this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines for business owners to prevent the spread of the disease.
Since the health and wellness industry requires personal interaction, the authorities also release special guidelines for salons and barbershops. Aside from observing these guidelines, beauty salons should also implement their harm-reduction measures to safeguard their employees’ and clients’ health.
Reduce Contact
The first thing a salon should do is to reduce instances of contact between people. While a salon offering permanent makeup services requires close contact between the professional and the client, it can still minimize unnecessary contact by doing away with the waiting room.
Instead, the salon can use an online appointment system where clients can choose the slot when they have their hair or nails done. This will prevent people from converging at the salon while waiting their turn. The salon can also send waivers for the clients to fill out before they go to the salon. This will remove the need for people to use one clipboard or tablet.
The salon can also allow its staff to add extra services or sell retail products to their clients using their devices. It should also allow the staff to check out their clients through their mobile devices. This reduces the need for clients to pass by the front desk to make their payments. The salon should also implement a contactless payment system for its clients.
For the staff, the salon should allow them to log in and out using their mobile devices while they are at work. They should also wear the necessary protective equipment while working with their clients.
Turn to Retail
Many people are now opting to stay home to avoid getting infected by the virus. While the salon might not provide its services to these people, it can offer its retail products to them. This is particularly true for return customers who are already familiar with their products.
The salon can offer shampoo, massage oil, or essential oil. Making these retail products available to the clients can spur demand for them. Thus, the salon needs to have an online store where it can offer its retail products.
Offer Online Services
While some clients know how to use the salon’s products, others find it challenging to use them. In this case, the beauty salon can offer online tutorials to its clients. Its staff can demonstrate how the clients can use the product. Aside from connecting with their loyal customers, the salon might even attract new customers.
Offering online services can become a new income stream for the salon. It allows the salon to reach more customers, which is practical since there’s a limitation on the number of people who can physically visit the salon at the same time. So, online services can increase the revenue of the salon.
Streamline Operations
Streamlining operations can enhance the client experience and protect both the clients and staff due to reduced contact. Streamlining involves implementing an online booking system where clients choose when they have their hair done. It also allows the staff to clean and disinfect the salon in between appointments.
It can even ask clients to come into the salon with their hair wet to facilitate the staff’s work. They can do this since offering all the services of a salon isn’t practical due to the pandemic. Implementing contactless payments and allowing the staff to check out retail items the clients want to buy also contribute to streamlining the salon’s operations.
Additionally, the salon can also automate whenever possible. For instance, it can send automated updates to clients through email whenever necessary. It can also use artificial intelligence to allow its clients to set, reschedule, or cancel appointments through text. Automation also allows the staff to focus on other tasks necessary in the salon.
Maintain Cleanliness
Cleaning and disinfecting the salon are important to prevent the spread of the disease. Aside from reducing the risk of infection, it can also ease any anxiety your clients feel when they visit the salon. They can do this by informing their clients about the cleaning schedule and the disinfectant they are using. The salon can schedule cleaning and disinfecting in-between appointments.
Additionally, the salon can sanitize areas where clients can wash or sanitize their hands before entering its premises. The salon can also hire a professional cleaning company to conduct a deep cleaning of the premises once a week.
Reopening a salon during a pandemic is possible as long as the business owner and staff are aware of what they need to do to keep themselves and their clients safe from the virus.
