Day to day running tasks

[koskinas]

Hi
I shall be opening a salon soon and have already searched the other threads but have had no luck. I was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me some advice on the day to day running of the salon.

From opening up for e.g.
1. Open up, switching off alarms, switching on lights, wax pots etc.
2. Organising towels for the day

I apologise unfortunately I did post a thread to find out if there were any books detailing this information but have had no luck.

I am also unsure of the order these jobs would need to be done.

Your help as always would be greatly appreciated! :smack::smack:

 

[Ruth Mills]

Wax pots would need time to warm up, so I would be inclined to switch them on before doing things like sorting out towels. Better to give a wax pot extra time to warm up on a lower setting than try and max it out on the highest setting and then find that the wax is way too hot for your clients!
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[Buff]

various beauty therapy books have a section about this kind of thing, you could view at your local library & photocopy the relevent info. (like you have time lol) hth

 

[weezie]

Wax pots would need time to warm up, so I would be inclined to switch them on before doing things like sorting out towels. Better to give a wax pot extra time to warm up on a lower setting than try and max it out on the highest setting and then find that the wax is way too hot for your clients!
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It's good to put them on a timer switch so you don't need to worry about them being ready for your first client. :hug:

 

[Ruth Mills]

It's good to put them on a timer switch so you don't need to worry about them being ready for your first client. :hug:

Good call! Shame the mobile phone interface for salongeek won't let me rep you. Remind me to do that when I get home tonight!

Although... one thing I would be concerned about (especially if the salon is below residential accommodation) is the fire risk from leaving a hot wax pot unattended (unlikely but possible - the nightmare scenario would be the failure of both the timer switch [meaning the power to the wax pot stays on overnight] and the wax pot thermostat [the thermostat doesn't cut the power when it gets to temperature but keeps on heating up])... but it would only really be an issue if continuous heating on max power would heat up the wax pot to a level to which it would catch fire (which you would hope the designers would have accounted for and tested for in their design so it couldn't possibly happen)...
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[weezie]

When I worked in a salon it came on 30 mins before we arrived and turned off at the end of the day and then we would clear up and then check it was off. I am not sure as to the risks involved but the owner had been using this procedure for 6 years, it was a digital timer and maybe it has a safe cut off procedure if something goes wrong. I think you would need a risk assessment on this one, but it's a valid point. :hug:

 

[Ruth Mills]

When I worked in a salon it came on 30 mins before we arrived and turned off at the end of the day and then we would clear up and then check it was off. I am not sure as to the risks involved but the owner had been using this procedure for 6 years, it was a digital timer and maybe it has a safe cut off procedure if something goes wrong. I think you would need a risk assessment on this one, but it's a valid point. :hug:

Aye, I have one such digital timer; we have used it for turning Christmas lights on our tree in the back garden on at 4.30 pm and off at 11 pm in the past!

The timer has an "override" button on it; if someone accidentally nudges this, then it could put the timer into "manual override" mode, where it stays on all the time. Usually accompanied by a bright red LED though, so someone would have to be pretty absent minded not to notice it! But I agree about the need for a risk assessment - keeps the H&S people happy!
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[angelina221]

I turn the lights on when i come into work and switch them off as i leave
My wax pots are on timers.
I have a washing machine at work so i just do the towels as and when they need doing-simples

 

[Blue Rose]

My procedure would be something like:

switch lights on
turn closed sign to open
switch radio on
other set of lights on
wax machine on (we have one unit on a timer)
hot water heater on
back to front of salon & check answer machine for messages
phone peeps back who left messages
set up for 1st client
tidy up throughout the day & clean as & whern necessary

Obviously all this would vary depending on what you have in the salon but the easiest thing to do would be to start at the entrance & go round in a set routine switching things on as you go past. By doing the same order/routine means you are less likely to forget anything.

 

[leonnib]

switch lights on
turn closed sign to open
switch radio on
other set of lights on
hot water heater on
do a quick floor sweep
check answer machine for messages and last caller
return messages
set up for 1st client

 

[koskinas]

Thanks guys that's exactly what I was looking for, how about the cash float and stock checks etc.?

 

[koskinas]

various beauty therapy books have a section about this kind of thing, you could view at your local library & photocopy the relevent info. (like you have time lol) hth

Thanks for that, do you know of any books in particular?:Grope:

 

[Buff]

Sorry, can't remember specific books:cry: but if you're going to Olympia there will probably be a book stand (Willen or Habia). There are loads of Salon Management / Running A Salon books but you need to peek inside for your requirements. If you buy one you can give the rest of us Geeks some advice:lol:. A new book is out on 30 Oct 09 Start & run a sucessful beauty salon by Bijan Yousef-Sudeh & Sally Medcalf (Amazon). Dont know if any good but could be worth a look.

 

[Impulse1976]

If you do hot stone therapy warm up your heater...

 

[Hels83]

I usually find that about £50ish float is fine depending how busy you are, and with stock takes if you do a full one before you first open, you 'll be able to mark things off as they're sold/used. Salons i've worked in before have just blue-tacked sheets in each cupboard where stock is kept and ticked things off 15,14,13,12,11,etc. And also it'd be a good idea to keep a book (other than your appointment book) with everything you take in one column and everything you spend in another - a bit like a running statement so you always know where you are!
Hope this is the kinda stuff you meant and i haven't just been rabbiting on ;-)
good luck

 

[tog]

Make a list of daily jobs (eg waxpots on, check answerphone, lights on etc) ;
weekly jobs (eg banking, buying fresh flowers, getting milk, biscuits in) ;
and monthly jobs (eg ordering stock, spring cleaning etc).

Then you have your occasional/annual jobs. These would vary from salon to salon but would include servicing fire extinguishers, burgular alarm, PAT testing your electrical equipment, seeing your accountant.

Hope that helps.

ps I'm sure once you've been at your salon for a month or so everything will just fall into a routine and you'll be fine.