Is the Front Desk Dead?
Welcome to the Aspiring Stylists Podcast with Tracey Franklin. Where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you're thinking about becoming a stylist opening a salon, or developing your skills as an experienced stylist the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we'll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line. Here's your host, Tracey Franklin.
So there is a huge movement in our industry right now that says that the front desk is dead. And scheduling apps are the way to go. And I feel like some people are convinced that technology can do the same things that humans can. And in some cases, that's probably true. But I don't feel like that's true when it comes to our industry. For all my stylists out there that are already rolling their eyes and ready to skip this episode.
Stay with me, I really want to talk about this evolution and what it means for you as a stylist, and what it means for your guests. So let's talk about the word service. Okay, when we think about the word service for us stylists, we're thinking about the actual act of doing someone's hair. But for the guest, it's a very different experience and their impression of how we deliver service starts much earlier in the game. If they walk in off the street, I like to think that the smiling face that greets them when they walk in is a really great first impression. When they call I like to think that that friendly voice that is well educated about all things our salon is going to be helpful and pleasant to speak to. So would you rather walk into a salon where you walk up to a podium that's got an iPad on it, and you open it up and you search and you find your name and you check yourself in?
Or would you rather walk in and have a beautiful smiling face greet you and offer you some coffee or some water. If you've met him before you're probably going to do some catching up, it becomes this point of difference to have this relationship with this person that you see every time you come in for your appointments. It's very valuable. I think it's a very valuable part of the guest experience. Now I have two of the best and I would never even begin to call them receptionist they are so much more they are full blown salon coordinators and they are there for the entire day to make sure that it runs smooth for both our guests and our team. Their relationship with a guest is just as valuable as our relationship with the guests as technicians. You know it's not uncommon at all for one of our guests to come in and ask one of our salon coordinators to see pictures of her kids or pictures of her dog or pets or whatever the relationship is there and I know I keep saying that. But I just want to really drive it home I just want you to see that when you are offering a service you are offering everything from the beginning of the appointment to the end and that starts with having someone at the front desk in my opinion.
When I think of a normal day at the salon. The Salon coordinator is such a valuable part of the guest experience and really the examples are countless but I do want to share a few of my favorites. So at my salon the stylists really get to focus on their craft. You know somebody comes in and turns on the lights and gets the wax pot turned on and the coffee Bruin and you know really opens up the salon to create a welcoming environment for your guests. You get to arrive a few minutes before your appointment set up your station and get right to work. Another thing is the front desk is constantly checking in with our guests and keeping them busy if we're running behind or we need to clean up a little bit you know they're engaging with them and it does make the time go by faster and it creates a much less stressful situation for the stylist that is running behind. They're also assisting with quite literally anything either I need or the guests need. Whether it's a cup of coffee or hot tea, whether it's a magazine, whether it's booking their future appointment, it doesn't matter. They are there to rebook the appointment, close the sale and get the guest checked out. Meanwhile, I've already left for lunch or I moved on to my next guest and I know my client is in great hands. You never get a chance to make a second first impression.
And the idea of not having one of the salon coordinators there to greet the guests with a big smile or a warm hello is very unsettling to me. The beauty industry is as much of a social thing as it is a self care thing. The role that the front desk plays in the guest service adds so much value from the time they walk in the door until they have checked out they are cared for. And I'm hearing want for nothing whether it's a cup of coffee or a phone charger front desk has them covered. Not only are they connecting with the guests while they're in the salon, but they are the go to person for all the in between the sick calls for both the team members and the clients, the running late calls, the booking appointments, answering questions giving directions, you name it, and they handle it. So from the guest perspective, it's a friendly voice solving problems, someone willing to help with anything. As a customer and other establishments, nothing feels better than feeling fully cared for, and my girls are the best at it. From a stylists perspective, they are the day makers, the very God coordinators that keep everything running smooth for us. They are the go between with our clients, if we are running late, they know how long I take to perform services and how I like things scheduled. They're over there, making sure all the supplies are stocked and the orders have been placed. They helpful towels, they help clean up, set up, literally anything.
So technology is definitely changing the landscape. There's so much online booking and automated systems now. And you know, we tried a few of them.
Honestly, I can see the value in them for some business models.
But I found that oftentimes the client doesn't really know what services they receive or what they're called, or what it is they need to book and they end up booking the wrong thing. And they arrive at the salon expecting one thing and we only have enough time for something else. And it just really didn't work. The Salon coordinator would usually call the guests back anyway just to confirm that they were booked appropriately.
And we have 14 service providers. So that's a lot of callbacks. So honestly, it just felt like an extra step. So we did away with it. I do believe these apps are great for independent stylists, however, and probably smaller salons that don't have a front desk. If you are busy serving your guests, you don't have time to answer the phone every 15 minutes and your client probably wouldn't appreciate it if you did. So having great people at the forefront of your business isn't cheap. And I can understand how that's not an investment that all businesses are willing to make. But there are some things that they can do to help pay for themselves. And a big one is product sales. At my salon product knowledge is part of the job and they both do it beautifully. They are super passionate about the brand that we support and it really shows up in the Sales Report. Yes, it is the stylists job as well to set up their clients with at home care. But not all sales are made behind the chair. I mean, we have numerous people that pop in every day for products and the front desk is ready for them when they get there. So is it actually more convenient for your guests to have front desk personnel? Is it actually easier? I mean, I certainly believe so. If my clients are waiting on me to get back to them, they will be waiting a while I mean I'm super busy throughout the day and it may be hours before I'm freed up to return the phone call or even a text message brand desk is available right away. No waiting. Well what about the stylist? Is it easier for the stylist? As I discussed earlier, the stylist in my salon greatly benefit from our salon coordinators from answering the phone booking the appointments and all the future appointments.
All the little stuff? Like we talked about making the coffee answering the questions I mean, our guests are cared for. We get to show up and create beautiful work. That's it. We truly are spoiled. So let's talk about the clients perspective. Walking into a new salon for the first time and feel very intimidating.
I can tell when people walk into our salon for the first time if for some reason front desk has stepped away for a minute or they're in the bathroom. I mean there's this look like oh gosh, what do I do? So if that was the vibe all the time, I would be really uncomfortable. So I think you know without a front desk person to greet a new face and make them feel welcome. It could feel very cold and impersonal which isn't at all the impression that I want to make.
So if you're a new stylist does it really matter if you work in a place that doesn't have a front desk? Well in my opinion, hitting the salon floor as a new stylist is scary as hell and our front desk girl set a great example of how to make a first impression how to interact with your guests and ensure that all their needs are met. So yeah, if you're a new stylist looking for a salon to work in, I definitely think the model with a front desk person up there is super helpful. They know what the client is expecting. They know what typical things need to be added on to each appointment like in our salon. If you book a Bali Oz, you automatically get booked to toner. That's something that a stylist fresh out of school may not know. So I see immense value in having someone there that's really going to help you navigate in those really early days. So what do I recommend? Well, I don't see us getting rid of front desk anytime soon. They are an important part of our salon culture and irreplaceable members of our tribe. I think a hybrid model is a great way to test the waters and take some of the responsibility off of the front desk. You know, you can always just test it out. How are the clients responding to it? Is it actually saving time? Is it actually saving money? I obviously can't speak for all salons but for me, the front desk isn't going anywhere
Thank you for joining us on this episode of anytime soon.
The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin. If you enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan Franklin Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin editing and post-production by Mike Franklin. Want to find out more about Tracey and the Aspiring Barber and Beauty Academy go to aspirebarberandbeauty.com
