While much of the business is focused on how to serve clients now, owner Luke Neri is focused on further reaching changes to the way salons are run after they can fully reopen.
The salon has begun offering clients curbside pickup and front door delivery of hair products as well as a Mothers’ Day gift certificate special.
“We’ve gotten an amazing response to all of those services and to some virtual classes we’ve shared online,” Neri said. “The Pearland community has been incredible.”
In one video, Neri demonstrated a quick and easy updo that people can do at home in an effort to cheer up seniors who were not able to have a prom. Neri said people were sending in pictures of their hair, and overall, it was a great experience with the community.
All of the delivery and curbside purchases are completed with minimal interaction. People can call the salon or place an order through a social media message, and the salon packages the products before either dropping it in front of someone’s home with no contact or run from the salon to a client’s car during a designated time.
From the moment salons were required to close, Neri said safety has been his No. 1 priority. Now, he is looking at how his business will change when it is able to return to regular function.
“Being a salon, we’ve always had strict instructions on how to sanitize, but all of it is going to be stepped up from here on out,” Neri said. “The COVID-19 situation is a game changer.”
Some of those adjustments include no more beverages for clients, a move to disposable paper towels in the restroom from hand towels, capes being immediately put in the washing machine after use instead of into a laundry basket and a thermal thermometer so clients with a fever can be asked to reschedule. The salon will remove magazines from the waiting area and only allow clients in for the appointments; families and friends will not be able to wait in the salon. It will also be mandatory to put a credit card on file to avoid hand-to-hand contact when swiping a client’s card.
Neri said by following these new rules, the salon is going to do the best and most it can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“These are new times that we are in,” Neri said. “A lot of these changes will be around for a while.”
