The shape of things to come

Andrew Mulvenna explains the importance of where we get our hair cut, the service we receive and the price.

Hair is first and foremost what this article is all about but I’d like to go on a wee bit of a tangent for a change. I would like to dip into the world of the interior; that is the space in which our much valued locks are snipped and shaped.

I’d like to touch on a great professional change that we are all witnessing across our land -from the rural salons to city ones. I’d also like to throw open for discussion the level of friendliness and service we expect to get and indeed are given and dare I say it, oh to heck with it I will, pricing.

In the next few months I will be moving my salon around the corner to a fantastic new site, so it has given me an opportunity to reassess a lot of things that are going on in the industry. All this relates directly to you because we, as hairdressers and business owners, must keep one step ahead of the rest to ensure our very survival.

You only have to look upon any commercial street and you’ll no doubt see “a shop here one minute then gone the next”. It’s a scary thing and as anyone who owns their own business knows, a tragedy for all the effort, passion and not to mention money put in. Then again, when we are in an establishment and are given bad service or poor professionalism or both, we wonder how some have survived at all.

Let me just say, a visit to the salon should be much, much more than just a hurried, confusing and sometimes disappointing experience. It should be friendly yet professional, relaxing and comforting, stimulating and believe it or not, educational. Times have changed within the industry and salons across the UK and beyond realise they must also give the same training in customer service as any department store or restaurant. There is no excuse for rudeness or snootiness in any salon or business and I think we, the Northern Irish, are pretty reluctant to complain but it is changing.

Excellent customer service requires training and this is on top of the fundamental and creative training needed to be given to each person. Any salon that doesn’t take this seriously will not survive, not in the long term that’s for sure.

Salons now also understand that time is the most valuable thing and we cannot waste it. It doesn’t matter if you are in the country or in the city it is all the same, we need more of it! Many salons are picking up on this and are incorporating other services such as; beauty, male grooming, spa, café area and so on. Earlier opening times and later finishing times are beginning to be offered to accommodate our busy lives. “Xpress services” (fast tracking at an extra cost) are definitely beginning to catch on too. As a result staffing and training in any salon is now where the cost is mostly (and unfortunately) transferred on to you, next to location, services and then fit-out. Can I say fitting out any salon today will cost the earth, especially as we all are now used to a much higher standard of design, just look at any restaurant, bar, supermarket or clothes shop? This is what we now demand and rightly so!

Once again, all of this boils down to you the customer  and what it is you really want, or are prepared to pay for and as my granny used to say in her Ulster Scots accent, “tis’all hurses for ceurses” or is that the other way around but you get my drift. Like most things in life you do get what you pay for but also there can be good and bad exceptions so always keep your eyes open. 

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