Hurricane Specials

A sleepy town tucked into Florida’s East Coast between Fort Piere and West Palm Beach, Jensen Beach found itself in the projected ‘cone of concern’ for pending Hurricane Ian earlier this week. Paul Wolfgang and Alison Gilman, owners of Black Sheep Salon, proactively contacted clients who had upcoming appointments, informing them the salon planned to remain open, but explaining they would waive the typical cancellation fee for any concerned clients who chose to reschedule.  Concerned about the unknown, several clients took advantage and moved their appointments.

As the storm passed through, the salon remained unscathed, but many of its clients were left without power and needing to clean up fallen trees, branches and debris in their yards.

“Paul is the mastermind of marketing around here, and he had the idea to invite guests without power into the salon for a complimentary Wash and Go and to enjoy the air conditioning,” says Tatjana Woody, operations manager. “Then, because we did have some openings in the day's schedule, we offered a few specials—a shampoo and blowout for $25, keratin treatments for $100 and facials for $50.”

The offer was emailed to the client list and posted on the salon’s social pages. The phone immediately started blowing up, Woody says. “People were really excited and grateful, telling us they’ll head in after they get their yard cleaned up.”

In fact, the offers were so popular, the salon filled its appointments that day and continued a few of the specials into the following day to accommodate everyone who had called in.