MENU
SEARCHAfter reading Unreasonable Hospitality, Salon Blond's Victoria Marino and her team brainstormed ideas for elevating and personalizing the guest experience in their salons. Marino shows what they came up with in an episode of Salon Insider.
In the past few years, Author Will Guidara has made the circuit in the professional beauty industry, speaking at events such as Serious Business and the ISBN Conference. Guidara is the author of the book Unreasonable Hospitality, which shares the story of his restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, in New York, and how it became iconic for delivering extraordinary customer service through a campaign Guidara and his team started to spread joy in their guests' lives.
One owner who heard Guidara speak at Serious Business is Victoria Marino, the owner of Salon Blond in Dunedin, Florida. She purchased and read Unreasonable Hospitality, then convinced her fiancé to take her to New York to experience Eleven Madison Park for herself.
Owner Victoria Marino does her Unreasonable Hospitality research on a Florida beach.
Victoria Marino
“They paid attention to every little detail, from escorting you to the restroom every single time to removing every crumb left on the table. Several people came over to check on us—I mean, it was a well-oiled machine,” Marino says. “One of the most memorable parts of the book was a story about a couple who came into the restaurant to dine and happened to mention they had failed to try an iconic New York-style hot dog from a street vendor on their trip. Overhearing this, one of the services ran out, purchased a hot dog from a vendor, and had the chef make it look gourmet—all to elevate and personalize the experience. When we were at the restaurant, they somehow found out why we were visiting and arranged a special dessert experience in the kitchen for just my fiancé and me. It was just incredible.”
Marino and her fiancé at the New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park.
Victoria Marino
After her experience, Victoria began to wonder how Salon Blond could deliver unreasonable hospitality to its guests.
“My leadership team and I sat down and brainstormed how we could elevate the guest experience?" she says. "We have small gestures now that guests get every time, such as a hand massage, a neck massage, or an arm massage. And, men get hot towels and a head massage,” says Marino.
While the massages receive the most raving comments in the salon’s online reviews, guests are also delighted by unexpected snack trays.
A stylist surprises a Salon Blond guest with a snack tray as her color processes.
Victoria Marino
“We purchased these beautiful little bamboo trays and use little cupcake holders to create individualized snack trays. While a client's color is processing, we'll bring them a snack,” Marino says. “By experimenting with different snacks, we’ve learned our clients love the same things kids love—peanut butter pretzels, Goldfish, and Oreos.”
The other thing that really surprises and delights guests is the finishing touches the salon added at the end of each service.
“What do most women do at the end of their service? They stand up and put their lip gloss on, right? They’ll visit the restroom or go in their car and look in the rearview mirror and put their lipstick on,” she says. “Now we partner with Smashbox and have these amazing lip glosses, so we offer clients a gloss application at the end of their service. In addition, we carry the amazing Aveda Chakra Sprays, so we started offering them a spritz.”
As a result of these finishing touches, the salon watched as their sales on lip glosses and Chakra sprays accelerated.
Finally, Marino and her team took a page out of Unreasonable Hospitality, and started looked for opportunities to celebrate and personalize special occasions in their clients' lives.
“We’re very fortunate that our Dunedin location is right next to a health food store that carries flowers, and my Palm Harbor location has a florist in the same plaza,” Marino says. “So if it is the client’s birthday or anniversary, we’ll surprise them with flowers. Or if we learn of anything else monumental in their lives. It just makes them feel so special, and it’s been a true game-changer.”
Are one of your traditional, handed-down salon management practices actually breaking the law. The pros from Paragon HR Consulting walk you through seven common Human Resources mistakes that could land you in hot water.
All beauty professionals should know how to identify when a client may need some health guidance. Tracy Rado discusses some common questions that clients ask in the chair, how to advise them, and when to refer them to a specialist.
In his latest blog, Leon Alexander Ph.D., challenges industry conventional thinking to help owners add more to their bottom lines.
In her latest blog, Amy Pal helps you develop your own clear guidelines around complimentary free employee services.
From managing air traffic on busy days to handling frustrated guests' complaints, your front desk team often serves as the salon's emotional shock absorber. From a customer service lesson from the DMV to a list of strategies for caring for your front line, our experts offer ideas for alleviating stress, celebrating wins, and setting goals.
According to the KIM Report, top-line salon revenue appears steady or slightly up, but that growth is driven primarily by service price increases. Beneath the surface, retail performance and client visit frequency (appointment drift) are under real pressure. In his latest blog, Alain Audet offers strategies for keeping your salon's retail sales strong.
Putting your family to work in the salon offers some real tax benefits, but you have you have to play by the rules of the tax code to claim them. Azarvand Tax Law's Leticia Skrabut, Esq., shows you how.
Discover how to create a true “WOW experience” for every client by first building a culture where your team feels engaged, empowered, and inspired. Drawing on Calvin Stovall’s Iconic Framework, this blog explores how salon, spa, and clinic leaders can strengthen culture, elevate customer experience, and build a business that stands out for the long term.
Sponsored by Phorest Salon Software
The wellness industry is growing fast, and salons and barbershops already are an important part of it. In her first blog, Tracy Rado shares where the wellness dollars are heading, and how salons can grow with this movement.
While salon sales are increasing, owners often feel they're working harder for the same or less profit. Leverage Q2 data from The KIM Report, Alain Audet reveals some of the structural changes that are dampening your growth and why your region and your salon size matters.
Weaknesses in your business are amplified during the Holiday Season. Spark Pro Global's Lucy Randall shows you five things to do now to have the strongest holiday season yet.
In Kati Whitledge's latest blog, she shares how salons have moved away from dress codes and embraced appearance standards. But by removing strict dress codes, some businesses may have unintentionally lowered their appearance standards. Whitledge helps you explain to your team why an appearance standard is important and how to smoothly implement a new appearance policy.
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit for for-profit businesses that provides a financial incentive for eligible employers who offer health insurance coverage to their employees. Leticia Skrabut, Esq., walks you through how to claim that credit.
Developing strong work habits early in one's career supports long-term success in the salon industry. Jesse Linares offers new stylists his top five tips.
Most salon owners have no idea what these numbers are. You can hit record sales and still have a profit problem. The difference comes down to four numbers almost nobody was taught to track.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
A five-area audit every owner-dependent salon needs to run. You built something that looks successful. Now find out if it can survive without you.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
Every month you put off fixing the problem, it gets bigger, more expensive, and harder to solve.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
