How to mix old and new succesfully

[dawncbn]

Hi, I have just bought my 3rd business so I'm not new to this, but my question is that 50% of the clientel are senior citizens. Which I do not have a problem with, on the contrary, they are nice and regular etc. I am just about to have a huge refurb, it will look really nice, all new furniture etc. But my problem is the horrid overhead driers. There is a bank of 6 of them, I am going to get rid of 2 of them and put 2 of them on wheels as there are 8 dress outs but will be making 10 dress outs. I am trying to bring younger clients in without thinking that the staff there can only do "oldies". Hope I'm making my point without souding offensive. Can anybody give me any tips, apart from using a screen for the dryer banks. I am also putting in 2 beauty rooms at the rear of the salon, so lots to do.

Thanks Dawn

 

[beautynails]

What about using a large pot plant to camoflage the the dryers, or a water feature? It just depends a bit on your decor.

 

[blossom]

I would definitely screen them - but not from the point of view of hiding them lol!

Look at it from your older clients' point of view - who wants to be seen looking their worst under a dryer? You are guarding their privacy, they will thank you for it!!

 

[rouge]

The one thing I would say about this is to make sure all your clients know why you are making changes, and what you're planning on doing. Older people in particuar find change difficult to cope with and will be less resistant to it if they know why things are happening.

The reason I say this is because at the gym where I rent a room, we recently had a change of owner and a new manager. This particular gym has a large percentage of older members. The new manager started making lots of changes, largely because of health and safety reasons, but didn't let anybody know why all their favourite machines had suddenly disappeared. A lot of members stopped coming because the changes unsettled them. It was only when, at my suggestion, the manager did a newsletter to explain everything that people stopped complaining and started coming back to the gym.

So I would strongly recommend you do either a newsletter or a poster, or something to communicate WHY you are making changes. Or you may find some of your client base disappearing into thin air!

 

[estherlou]

i visited a friend of mine in her treatment rooms the other day, they are based in a modern highstreet salon they have alot of older clientelle too. the main salon floor has the workstations and sinks etc and then you go up a level at the back of the salon and there is a drier area with big comfy armchiars in a circle its a really relaxing area with plants etc, then the beauty rooms are beyond that hth xx

 

[dawncbn]

Hi everyone. Thank you for all your suggestions. I will now do a nice introduction letter for the regular clients to see. And the pot plants is a good idea too. I will post on the new pics when the refurb is done in the new year. Looking forward to it but also very apprehensive as I am putting a lot of money into it