Surprise and Delight: Red 7 Salon's Customer Service Strategy

At Red 7 Salon with two locations in Chicago, Owners and David Kafer and Jason Hall, are always upping the ante, coming up with new ways to add to new twist to their clients’ salon experience. According to Hall, here’s a few things the salon’s added in the past year:

Warm Hands, Warm Hearths: Like many salons, Red 7 takes advantages of the sample products that manufacturers give them and regularly pass these along to clients. But when this winter’s Polar Vortex made getting to the salon that much harder, Red 7 rewarded guests with free handwarmers when they checked out. “I bought 30 cases of Hothands hand warmers via Amazon,” says Hall. “It wasn’t a ridiculous investment, but it definitely connects clients to us emotionally on their way home—it’s the little things people remember.”

Tech Upgrades: A recent technology upgrade has boosted the client experience, according to Hall: “We upgraded our software to incorporate more automated email blasts, as well as a new internal rewards system based on points/spending. We added more ipads for faster and easier checkout and we added more computers backstage to help with bookings and phone calls.”

Concierge Service: Red 7 staff are accustomed to serving as adjunct concierges. “We feed clients' meters, make reservations for dinner, write down songs that are playing they aren’t familiar with,” says Hall.

Giving Back: Red 7 constantly gives out gift bags to charities/organizations that their clients support. “Our rule is that if a client believes in a charity, then so do we! Most gift bags are $250 value and are filled with products,” says Hall.

Client Education: The salon regularly holds classes for clients, including How-To classes on easy updos, blow-drying techniques, working with natural textures, men’s styling and teen beauty. “We hold one of these every few months and they’ve have been a huge hit –it’s an unofficial ‘Girl’s Night Out,’” describes Hall.

Fun and Quirky: Red 7 began using RED toilet paper (yes, you read that right) for a month...branding themselves in a unique way. “Yes, it's a gimmick, but it got people talking and that's the point, says Hall. “We got it from Portugal, check it out at: http://www.myrenova.com/p/4/red-toilet-paper.”

Blabbermouth Contest: To encourage clients to refer their friends, Red 7 hosted a three-month long blabbermouth contest. The client at each location who referred the most people between January and March was eligible to win six months of free services.

Client Appreciation Day: In celebration of Client Appreciation Day on May 11, each client who came into the salon received a red rose as a thank you.

Earth Month Promo: During April/May, the salon hosted a Remember the Earth promo. Clients who brought in an old dryer that doesn’t work or a used brush would receive 25% off anything new to replace it. “We worked with Creative Beauty Concepts to recycle tools or fix them up to pass along to our assistant team to have,” says Hall.

Rock and Roll Hair: Red 7 was the official hair salon of Pitchford Music Festival (with H&M sponsoring us) and at Lollapalooza. “Clients love to hear about these experiences,” says Hall.

Pre-Booking Contest: To encourage pre-booking, Red 7 is giving away a $500 Villy Custom Bike at each salon through a client raffle. Any client who pre-books their next two appointments is eligible to win. Having the bike on display really encouraged pre—booking, says Hall.

Random Acts of Kindness: During 2013, the salon celebrated Random Acts of Kindness by awarding a client each with something nice determined by Hall and the general manager Becky. “Examples of this would include: free shampoo/conditioner, flowers & chocolates, dinner for two to a neighborhood restaurant, free blow dryer, free haircut service,” says Hall. “That was a lot of fun and clients loved it. It's nice to surprise someone with something like this!”