A warm welcome, a refreshing beverage, and the close personal connection a client feels with a salon can be as important in retaining her business as the precision of her cut or the dimension of her color. Customer service impacts the overall experience, and salons and spas that deliver it with each and every visit boost their overall sales as well as client loyalty. 

 -

A ROLAND
New Cumberland, PA
arolandsalonstudio.com
Amy Roland
SQUARE FEET: 1,300     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 6
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $52
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Pocket Salon  
ASSOCIATION: PBA 
“We offer our clients the opportunity to sample a bevy of locally sourced libations ranging from  locally brewed craft beer from Zero Day Brewery, custom-blended herbal teas from the Oxford Tea House, as well as fruit-infused waters, coffee and tea.”

 -


CANVAS SALON AND SKIN BAR
Powell, OH
thecanvassalon.com
Stefanie Fox Jackson
SQUARE FEET: 2,000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 20
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, 
ZeeZor, Vish 
ASSOCIATION: Green Circle
“Our consultation walks through style preferences and needs, the condition of the hair, color preferences, cut preferences and options. We provide a price quote and time quote for each guest and expect that they can feel confident in those two factors.”

 -

THE CHANGING ROOM
Aventura, FL
changingroomsalons.com
Justin Gold
SQUARE FEET: 2,800   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 38
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $67
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Matrix, Surface, Framesi
COLOR: Martix, Framesi, Pravana
SKIN CARE: Anubis 
NAIL CARE: OPI, Essie, CND
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Salon Clouds Plus
ASSOCIATION: Green Circle
“If you are a new guest, you get a form to fill out. The two most important questions are ‘How did you hear about us?’ and ‘Why did you leave your previous salon?’ It’s important not only to look at those salons who have been doing it right, but why the previous salon lost the guest.”

 -

ELEMENTS OF STYLE SALON AND DAY SPA
Eldersburg and Frederick, MD
elementsofstylesalon.com
Paris Cimino, Kimberly Walker, Dawn Miller, Jake Kissel
SQUARE FEET: 3,000; 1,700   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 41
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $43
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Redken, Pureology 
COLOR: Redken  
SKIN CARE: Bioelements, Farmhouse Fresh 
NAIL CARE: CND, SNS 
TECH SUPPORT: Envision, Meet Your Stylist, Salon Clouds Plus, Call Fire
ASSOCIATION: 2 to 10
“We use the guest’s phone to produce a take-home tutorial. These are how-to videos personalized for the guest with how-to blow dry tips or a visual on the amount of skin care to use.” 

 -

ELLIE K SALON
Frisco, TX
ellieksalon.com
Amy and Kerry Hovland
SQUARE FEET: 3,000   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 24
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $52
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Salon Clouds Plus 
ASSOCIATION: Green Circle
“We do not offer couches for guests to sit on and surf Facebook while they wait for their service; instead, we built an actual experience center with a community table and reclining massage chairs so we can immediately begin the service cycle with a mini facial.”

 -

FINE’ BELLA A SALON
Avon Lake, OH
finebella.com
Sheri Hancock
SQUARE FEET: 2,000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 35
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $38
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Davines, Alterna, private label
COLOR: Davines, Schwarzkopf Professional, Scruples
SKIN CARE: Comfort Zone, Image  
NAIL CARE: CND  
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, ZeeZor 
“I have quarterly meetings to train our customer-experience department. We also ask our guests for a yearly review. We do this over an eight-week period and everyone who does so gets an entry into a drawing for a $150 gift card.”

JOSEPHINE’S DAY SPA & SALON
Houston, TX
josephinesdayspa.com
Vivian Yeh
SQUARE FEET: 5,600; 1,000    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 61
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Constant Contact  
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, Green Circle  
“Many of our regular clients come in during their lunch hour, so timing is crucial. We have trained our front desk to always be present and aware of our surroundings, checking in on stylists and making sure everyone is running on time so that our clients don’t have to wait to be assisted.”

 -

THE LORDIS LOFT SALON AND DAY SPA, LLC
Charleston, SC
lordisloft.com
Linzie A. Davis
SQUARE FEET: 2,700; 1,700  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $61
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
NAIL CARE: OPI, Smith & Cult, Zoya
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, SpaBiz 
ASSOCIATION: PBA 
“Any new teammates undergo extensive in-house training, which details the protocol from the moment any client interaction takes place, including technology training, etiquette, product knowledge, and sales and service recommendations and strategies.” 

 -

THE ROOT SALON
Phoenix, AZ
therootsalon.com
Lauren Hart and Samuel Sciotto
SQUARE FEET: 1,800  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Alfaparf Milano, Aveda, Ergo
COLOR: Alfaparf Milano, Redken, Wella
TECH SUPPORT: STX, ZeeZor  
ASSOCIATIONS: ISBN, PBA, ABCH, Green Circle
“We wanted the online tour of our salon to convey a real customer experience, rather than show an empty salon space. A guest who takes the tour can immediately feel at home—all employees are required to watch this tour in order to maintain this experience.”

SALON DE NOUVEAU
Tucson, AZ
salondn.com
Tracy Mayfield
SQUARE FEET: 2,000  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora  
COLOR: Eufora, Joico 
SKIN CARE: Skin Script Rx, Farmhouse Fresh  
NAIL CARE: Young Nails, CND 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, Green Circle  
“Every November, we take our top-50 guests and send out a signed letter from the owner and a $25 gift card. The guest is welcome to use it, or to gift it to someone else who would enjoy our salon. We also run a gift card special annually, where we give an extra $25 for every $100 purchased.”

Additional Honorees:
Define Hair, Ellicott City, MD
Glow Beauty Boutique, Braintree, MA
J. Nicolle Salon & Spa, New Albany, IN
Lenka Hair Salon, Venice, FL
Paul Kenneth Salon & Spa, Woburn, MA
Progressions Salon Spa Store, Rockville, MD
RedBloom Salon, Calgary, AB
Salon Adelle, Greenville, SC
Salon Allure, Huntsville, AL
The Root Salon, Phoenix, AZ
Twiggs Salon, Wayzata, MN
Urban Betty Salon, Austin, TX
Verde Salon, Winnipeg, MB
Xanadu Hair Salon, Chesapeake, VA

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.