Thursday, 22 November 2018

How to Display Your Salon Holiday Opening Hours on Google


Not all visit a salon for taking salon services like haircut, body massage or spa. There are many who visit a salon to relax and refresh during the salon services. Yes! People do visit a salon to relax and take a power nap.
Who doesn’t wish to refresh and rejuvenate during a holiday?  The scheduled daily working life needs a break. It is thus people often check if there are salons in their neighborhood opened on a public holiday. Hence, it has become a must for salons to display their holiday opening hours. Salons should display the opening and closing hours on the official salon website. Yet, Google is another best option to display the opening hours during holidays. Salons these days use salon scheduling software to schedule appointments. Using the best salon software south Africa; you can also find what would be the best opening and closing hours in holiday.
Because a holiday brings free time for people and they are willing to spend the hours in salon. This means your salon should be opening till late nights and in early morning hours as well. No wonder; if your salon's regular customers would like to visit on Sundays as well. But only your regular customers would know it. Right? How about sharing the special Holiday Opening Hours on Google for your salon to let everyone know about it? This write-up will guide you in displaying your special working hours together with the regular ones.
Let's get it step-by-step:
Step 1: Claim your business on Google. If you don’t know how to do it; visit How to add or claim your business on Google first for better understanding of it.
Step 2: Ones you are done with the sign up process for Google My Business you would be directed to a page having vertically placed tabs named as Home, Posts, Info, Insights, Reviews, Messaging, Photos, Website, Users etc.
Step 3: There at the Info tab, adjacently you can see heads like Salon’s name, Services Offered, Address, Regular Opening and Closing Hours. Below Regular Opening and Closing Hours; you can find option Add Special Hours. Here you can Display Your Salon Holiday Opening Hours.
Please Note: You cannot add special opening and closing hours if you have not added the regular working hours of the salon and spa.
Step 4: For adding Special Hours; follow the below steps:
·         In the ‘Select Date’ field, enter the date when your salon or spa is going to be opened during public holidays like Christmas, New Year Eve, Halloween and such.
·         Type the opening and closing hours for the first day.
·         Click on the option to ‘Add New Date’. This would allow you to add more days with special opening and closing hours.
·         In the end, when you are done with entering all the opening and closing hours for holiday period. Click ‘Apply.’
Let Everyone Know About It
Completing these steps on Google isn’t just enough. You should also be sharing the news of special opening and closing hours for your salon through Facebook Page, Instagram Page, Email Newsletters, Tweeter, Snap chat and Text Service Messages.
Simultaneously, you should also be updating it on the Salon Scheduling Software United Kingdom you are using in the salon so that the billing and appointments could be managed well through it. Do not forget to update the special opening and closing hours for holidays on your official website’s home page.
Display the special opening and closing hours during holidays on the reception and billing counter of your salon as well. The more people are aware of it, the better are the chances of your earning well in the holiday season.
Pull Up Your Socks For Holiday Season
Remember for customers it is disappointing to see the message “hours may differ”. It spoils their serious mood of visiting the service. Thus, it is always recommended to list you regular and special opening hours on Google. Of course you should mention them on all the places of salon’s presence.
Lately, don’t just stop here. Check if your claiming to be the best salonsoftware India; probes you for upcoming holiday season as well. To facilitate, your planning for the next holiday special opening hours from now onwards.
Happy Working Holidays!

Friday, 16 November 2018

Tips on How to Reduce the Salon and Spa Management Cost


One of the dreaded thoughts that a salon owner faces is “how can I cut down on the cost and expense?” With the growing costs of rent and materials, employees’ salary and other requirements, you will have to bear the cost that is needed. But there must be a way to cut down on the costs! This can be done by working smart.
There is no denying that you must offer world-class services to your customer. However, that does not mean that you go head over heels on expenses. At the end of the day, the idea is to achieve profits. Investments from various backgrounds such as staff, inventory, infrastructures, marketing agencies etc. need a certain amount of investment. This blog is going to help you understand how you can reduce the salon and spa management cost-
·        Smart Use Of Appliances-
It is a trend these days to offer entertainment. Most of the salon owners keep TV sets, magazines, music etc. for waiting-customers to get entertained. This cost can certainly be curtailed. Instead of channel subscription, display your products through a video. This way you don’t have to pay for the TV channels, at the same time there is a wider scope for up-selling. You can showcase how your products have benefited the clients or any useful video which is apt for your salon marketing tactics.
Keep magazines related to your genre of business. There are many magazines related to-                     
Ø  Fashion
Ø  Make-Up
Ø  Skin Care
Ø  Nutrition
These are useful for the clients to go through. This will keep them engaged. It will help them understand how important it is for them to visit a salon regularly. Do not keep many magazines. There is no need for a subscription. You can curtail your expenses on that. You can buy a couple of them and keep them. When you think they are worn-out and old enough for your regular clients, you can change them accordingly.
·        Get Smarter With Inventory Control
If you are someone who uses spa software, you are sorted with the inventory control. Many a time it so happens that unnecessary products are bought without doing a thorough research. Check with the system. You will know how many lotions you need, the number of shampoos, combs, scissors etc. The system will show you the exact number required. It will help you know if there are products that are expired already.
Go through a manual checking for mirrors if they are to be replaced. Also, check,
ü  Shampoo Bowls
ü  Dryers
ü  Pedicure Chairs
ü  Nail Polish Racks
ü  Sanitation Station
ü  Pedicure Chairs
ü  Drying Lamps etc.
Thus, the basically your salon should not be overstuffed with unnecessary equipment. It will not only make you spend more but also make your salon look clumsy.
·        Assign One Extra Task For Each Crew
You can easily cut down on the down-staff by assigning one extra task to your employee. You can ask every employee of yours to clean their area of expertise. This means if he or she is a hairstylist, ask him to clean his side of the table, the chair, the wash basin, dusting, cleaning of the towels etc. It will help you to cut down the expenses on house-keeping staff. Or you can lessen the number of ground staff. If you had a requirement of five ground-staff to take care of the cleaning part, the washing part, and so on, you will involve only one ground staff to do so now.
Alternatively, you can also make the arrangement of calling the house-keeping staff on a weekly basis or fortnight basis depending upon your salon business.If there is too much of rush every day, you may have to assign a housekeeper who can come daily and one who can come alternate days. But should you think there isn’t much rush to your salon due to vacation or so, call them fortnightly!
·        Always Go A Budgeting For The Month
It is always better to do the budgeting before you head towards the month’s expenses. Take general assumptions into consideration. This should involve right from banking interest to projected cash flow. Get a break-even analysis done. Your spa software should be able to help you. It will let you know the number of scheduled appointments you have. It will help you understand the inventory you need to buy for the month. Through the software, you will get the definite idea of the salary to be drawn for your employees.
·        Retention Of Your Employees
There goes a lot of training time for your employees to get pro at. Try to retain them for a good time. Every year you cannot afford to spend money on training and development for a new candidate. Instead, keep hold of old employees and motivate them so that they do not feel like leaving your salon. This can be done by rewarding them with vouchers, planning get-together, timely increment and so on.
You must understand the psychology of your employee. What does a staff need after all in order to look for a change in another company? It is usually the monetary benefits that employees tend to change their job. Some salon stylist change as they think it is getting stagnant. They look for a further growth. So as a salon owner, it will be your duty to see that they get timely training and development. There can raise a question to take the job rotation into consideration. Sometimes a change in the job makes a lot of difference. As far as you can retain your employees there is nothing more like it. Your goodwill prevails as you have the best in the industry. At the same time, your management cost lowers due to such a strategy.
Hope this article has been useful to you. Do share your views and comment to help us know how we can further help you. Keep yourself glued to this page for further updates.

Friday, 2 November 2018

Ways to Control Mishaps, Malpractices and Mistakes in your Salon



Most individuals turn to a beauty salon when they want to pamper themselves. They use this as opportunity to rejuvenate and unwind from everyday stresses. Getting a trendy haircut or some uber-cool nail art can boost self-esteem and make one feel good about them. However, a little negligence from a beauty salon can turn this luxury into a nightmare. If any of your clients suffers a nasty personal injury, understand that it’s the end of the business for your hair salon.
Whether a client gets burnt by too hot wax or a hair colour process goes wrong, beauty salon accidents and blunders can lead to expensive lawsuits that can potentially bankrupt your business.
While accidents are inevitable, it’s vital for salons to have a system for prevention and protection. A framework and general principles will not just protect us, but the clients we serve too. The best way to be protected by a mishap or mistake in a salon is by preventing it in the first place.
As a salon owner, it is mandatory for you to maintain strict health and safety regulations and make sure every client receives treatment from an adequately trained salon professional.
Before we move on to the ways to control malpractices, mishaps and mistakes in a salon, let’s understand the common injuries experienced at beauty salons:
·        Hair loss and scalp injuries
  •         Wax burns
  •         Chemical burns
  •         Cuts and abrasions
  •         Bacterial infections
  •         Slip and fall injuries
  •         Allergic reactions
  •         Burns and scalding

Here are few ways you can avoid accidents in your beauty salon:
·        Train your staff:Discuss health and safety standards with your employees on a regular basis. Whether they are your star stylists or a new entrant, draw up a plan for presentation standards of a salon and make them understand them to the fullest. Only when all your employees are on the same page will you be able to prevent mishaps. Having empty cartons sitting around, hair on the floor, spillages and loose cables trailing can turn your salon from a relaxing environment to a hazardous one. Taking care of fine points is not just important for your clients but employees too. If either of them hurt themselves, you’ll be liable to pay them compensation. Thus, your employees need to be trained properly. While adhering to safety standards are a must in a salon, proper management is equally important. Hair salon software is the ideal salon management tool which will aid in smooth functioning on a day-to-day basis.
·        Maintain sanitary conditions:A good salon is that which smells good and looks good. Food smells and an unhygienic salon floor can be quite uninviting. Thus, every salon must strive to maintain the perfect sanitary conditions. Appoint a salon manager to perform regular floor checks to see if the working environment is safe. To avoid germs being passed on from one client to the other, check every piece of equipment. Before and after every use, it must be disinfected. Failure to follow proper sanitation methods can increase the risk of viral and bacterial infections such as hepatitis, herpes simplex virus, tuberculosis and HIV. Having a reputation as an unhygienic salon will turn clients away. Maintain a checklist on your hair salon software; this will make sure your employees do not miss anything.
·        Look after your employees’ health:Clients aren’t the only ones who are at the risk of injury. Your employees are equally susceptible to injury. Since a hairdresser’s job involves standing constantly, they can develop sore feet and a chronic back problem. If anything happens to them during the working hours, they can sue you too. Thus, avoid employer liability claims by communicating with them on a regular basis. Ask them if they have any issue and try and remove a solution to it. Sorting problems out amicably removes the requirement of any kind of legal intervention.
·        Regular patch tests:Hair colouring products, bleach and dye are full of chemicals. Since they are highly strong, not everyone can tolerate them. Therefore, before conducting any hair colouring process, perform a patch test on the client’s skin well in advance. This will tell you if they have an allergic reaction to it or not. Omitting the patch test and applying the colour straightaway on the client’s hair can have horrific consequences and can damage your professional reputation forever.
·        Fire safety measures:Having this in place is an absolute must. Having candles in your salon of course creates an inviting atmosphere but can also pose as a potential fire hazard. If you want to beautify your salon, opt for fairy lights or electric candles which are safer. Overloading outlets with numerous curling irons, hair-dryers and straighteners also increase the risk of a fire. Whichever staff member is closing the salon at the end of the day needs to check if all the points are switched off. Any negligence here can cost you a lot.
·        Select treatment appropriately:It is the salon technician who recommends what treatment is best for a client. While they do so keeping in mind their experience and understanding, it can backfire. Common failures include improper wax temperatures, leaving hair dye for too long, over cutting a client’s hair, overdose of heat damage to the hair, and not completing a patch test before a chemical treatment. For every product used in a salon, the stylist must read the instructions thoroughly and follow them. If a new product has been launched, a salon must conduct a number of tests to determine if it could have any adverse effects on the health, hair and skin of the person. If the product does not match certain standards, it can cause hair loss, burns and allergic reactions. Also, never use an expired hair or skin product. Using integrated MioSalon,hair salon software will help you auto track product consumption. This will make sure you never run out of product. Each time the stock is about to get over, you will receive custom alerts.
While taking the above measures will help you prevent accidents, you still need to prepare for the unexpected. Thus, the best way to prevent lawsuits, mishaps, malpractices and mistakes is by keeping a detailed record of injuries and errors. It’s important to record any untoward situation in your hair salon software. In case a situation arises where you need to present proof or a detailed report to the judiciary or legal system, you know you are fully covered. As they say, hope for the best but prepare for the worst.