Expert Speak: Salons turn Survival Mode on in the New Normal
Master Style Consultant, Speaker, and Serial Entrepreneur, Mamtaa Mayur – CEO, The Orange Tree, gives us an insight into how salon entrepreneurs have switched to survival mode in the new normal.
The COVID-19 lockdown has forced entrepreneurs across the globe to take extreme measures to survive. One of the latest examples is of Beauty salon spas, which are now offering home services and single appointment usage services to customers. Everyone is sailing their boats downwind and the only way to sustain is by using the right techniques and rules to “just be there”. Being there is more important than going ahead. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, your salon or spa needs a plan to survive a potential second wave of COVID-19 or prolonged situation. You don’t know what is ahead, the situation is very foggy. Following proper guidelines will work as the fog lights, while the situation is unparalleled and recovery is unpredictable.
Practitioners of therapeutic touch at salons, foot relaxing massage or other beauty services are now totally banned. It is said that when you massage with bare hands, we sense energy through hands and then send healthy energy back to you. When receiving therapeutic touch, people usually feel warmth, relaxation, and pain relief. The practitioner describes your energy as hot or cold, active or passive, blocked, or free. Now with non-touch services or with gloves, the experience could be different. But till the pandemic is under control, it is mandatory to avoid these services.
We all know that the pandemic is changing the dynamics of personal care, globally. The personal care services industry is hands-on, and the individuals involved are highly susceptible to the risk of transmission. On the other hand, people are not spending a lot of money on self-grooming as that does not fall in necessity criteria. So the approach of attracting clients is now totally changed.
Following extreme guidelines and maintaining a 100 percent sanitizing system adds on extra expenses and even the most experienced entrepreneurs are facing this challenge. Some salons had made changes in their tariff but The Orange Tree is following regular tariffs. Some of the initiatives we have implemented are:
- Using steam to disinfect as clients enter and exit the salon
- AI receptionist for a minimum interactions
- Special training for staff on how to behave in the new normal
- Staff from containment zones not allowed to come in for work
- Pick and drop facilities for our staff to avoid public transportation
- Only three staff members on the floor at a time
- Complete scanning for all staff members before entering the salon every day with compulsory temperature checks, pulse oximeter test, and complete sanitizing
- All staff members are taking vitamins and immunity boosters
- Industry-approved PPE gear, masks, and shoes for complete protection for our staff
- Contactless greeting and services
- Complete sterilization of salon and premises before reopening
- Frequent sterilization of high contact surfaces
- Door handles sterilized after each entry
- Outside footwear not allowed inside the salon
- Equipment sterilized and kept in soap water and UV lights to sterilize combs, scissors and clips
- Provision for single-use kits
- Walk-ins are discouraged with mandatory prior appointments