Let’s face it.

Everyone hates that one local salon – cafe – restaurant – any local business – that absolutely sucks. We all have one we can picture. The chairs are breaking, the tables are dirty, the staff are rude. The question remains, though – are you that dingy, dirty, scrawny salon? Are your three year old posters, advertising an old ASAP product you haven’t sold in months, falling off the wall?

Are your staff underdressed, with slip-ons instead of classy enclosed, black shoes? Does that one therapist of yours constantly smoke, and never chew gum afterwards, before lashing someone?

Well – it’s time for a change. Hold on – that’s a song. Cue Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a Changin’.

Josh’s Salon Guide To Attention To Detail

  1. Thou shall remove all old, dusty furniture, marketing material, and unnecessary shit from thy salon.
  2. Thou shall remove all hand-written appointment books, opting for an online, easy appointment system.
  3. Thou shall remove all rude, unmoral staff.
  4. Thou shall hire only the brightest, loyal staff.
  5. Thou shall discipline oneself to take care of one’s salon’s physical appearance.
  6. Thou shall discipline oneself to weekly marketing mailouts.

Starbucks (0) vs. White Rock (1)

Literally. A big white rock.

Literally. A big white rock.

A few moons ago, I lived in White Rock, Canada (this little town south of Vancouver, north of Seattle. Literally, a huge white rock sat on their beach). Now White Rock is known for the amount of cafes it has in the tiny city center.

So many cafes.

Of course – there’s the Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, and so on – but there’s also a plethora of smaller, locally owned cafes. On almost every corner.

Moka House. Pelican Rouge. Java Express. Blenz. You name it. Now – most of these cafes were dead. Literally. Then there was one or two cafes that was always packed. The difference between them?

Their attention to detail. 

Sure, Starbucks is well know, but so is Blenz in Canada. But Starbucks wasn’t the busiest in the area. This hipster, cool, vegan cafe was – oh, and it was a non-profit. They had a piano, mix-matched chairs, and a rusty vibe. And free wifi. They had this impeccable attention to detail, from their chairs, to their menus, to even the washroom door handles. 

I went there over Starbucks any day. All because of their attention to detail.

So – in your salon – what attention to detail have you been missing? 

And more importantly: how many clients are you losing to your lack of attention to the details? 

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