Joseph Ferraro has hair salons on the Leeds road and Cheltenham Crescent in Harrogate.
Joseph Ferraro said:
We closed on the 21 March, and we are now planning to re-open on the 6 July.
We have initially been working through the appointments we cancelled during the first week of being closed and then running a waiting list. But we are now booked-up into August.
We are running a split team that will be working alternate days, but over a full 7-days and extended hours. That means staff members work one-day on and one-day off.
The way we are working with people has changed. We are asking people to turn up just in time for their appointment, to bring their own magazines and we won’t be giving tea or coffee.
We haven’t installed perspex screens in front of reception – people can pay contactless from the chair, and we wanted to be sensible with the measures we introduced.
In the salon we have space to have 3 chairs on the ground floor and 2 on the floor below, that gives plenty of social distancing with not all the chairs in use. In-line with guidance, the staff will be wearing visors and masks.
We will also be using single-use, biodegradable towels and gowns, but not charging anything additional for this. We thought it is a cost that the business should absorb.
Joseph and his team have put a lot of thought into what they need to do, both to meet the rules and to keep the customer experience balance.
Joseph said:
Some of our clients can’t wait to come back to us, but some are more cautious.
We are offering a “silent basin experience” where we wash hair without talking. It may sound strange, but for some, when you are leaning over their face and mouth, washing their hair, we thought it was appropriate.
Hair salons work in different ways, but all Joseph’s stylists are employed. Other salons run rented chairs with the stylist being self-employed.
Joseph said:
I furloughed all the staff and that has worked well for us, we also managed to qualify for a grant.
The time closed also allowed us to get some work done on the salons, so it hasn’t been all lost time. The staff have been away for a long time now and we are excited to get back to work.
