What Type of Insurance is Needed for Cosmetologists, Hairstylists + Estheticians?

Can Salons, Spas, and Medspas go front desk-less? Increasingly, some beauty businesses have been exploring the idea of operating their businesses without a front-desk receptionist. Receptionists are traditionally responsible for providing first impression of the business - whether in person or by phone. They also typically bear key-holder and administrative duties, such as opening + closing the business, operating the cash drawers, performing retail transactions + inventory management, and maintaining general orderliness and cleanliness. 

However, receptionists can be an expensive and time-consuming investment and the position is plagued with high turnover. It's difficult to find industry-trained talent willing to work for only $12-16 per hour, which seems to be the average rate of pay. You ultimately may have to hire individuals without direct experience or passion who require extensive + costly training (that you may not have the knowledge, temperament or time to provide). Some new hires may pick up your workflow quickly, but unfortunately poor work ethic, frustratingly disjointed systems and inadequate training create a revolving door of front-desk staff. 

As a result, many salons are opting to transfer front-desk duties to technological replacements (such as Voicemail or iPad-based self check-in) or requiring salon staff to pitch in to fill in the gaps. In smaller salons and spas this may be a reasonable alternative, but many multi-staff businesses have decided against eliminating the front desk altogether. 

A recent survey performed by popular stylist hub Behind the Chair elicited the following responses:

"It’s a huge inconvenience to have to stop in the middle of a service go answer the phone or do any type of desk work."

"Not every stylist in the salon always takes on the responsibility of helping with the phone."

"It’s really annoying not to have a receptionist. There needs to be a barrier."

"Having to answer the phone in the middle of a service with a client is frustrating and makes you look unprofessional."

"Clients pay for our time and care, not for us to have to leave to attend to the front desk."

• Reduces your earnings - Online booking makes it more challenging to up-sale and pre-sale your services and retail because it strips you of a vital client touch-point.
  
• Causes scheduling errors - clients frequently struggle to comprehend industry concepts; it's not uncommon for a client with box-dyed black hair to book a Blonding appointment with the goal of being platinum within just 1 session. 
• Increases stress and impairs work-life balance - many beauty entrepreneurs feel pressured to handle calls 7 days a week to maintain good customer service. This leads to work-related stress and anxiety caused by "fear of missing out" on new clients.

A Live Virtual Receptionist Call Center with Appointment Booking capabilities is an amazing way to support your business with high-quality customer service while still cutting overall expenses. We recognized this pain-point in the salon + spa industries and painstakingly developed a seamless innovation for providing affordable clientele support across the US and Canada. 

We support beauty business of all sizes, ranging from Solo Start-Ups to Regional Multi-Location Enterprises. Even if you already have an in-person Receptionist or Guest Coordinator, a remote salon or spa call center can assist with overflow calls during busy periods.

Many beauty professionals are initially skeptical about the ability of a third-party to appropriately handle their calls. Understandably so, as the phone receptionists is often the first point of contact for a new client. My Salon Desk stands alone in that we are the 1st Salon + Spa Specialty Virtual Receptionist / Answering Service. We exclusively handle beauty businesses - our expertise makes us a much better alternative to other Answering Services that make frequent scheduling errors and constantly send you messages requiring follow-up. We actually can handle almost 100% of calls forwarded our way without ever needing to disturb your workflow.

Rest assured that our experienced receptionists will provide white-glove service to your clients without skipping a beat! They know to book color appointments before haircuts, and how many units of Botox® are required to treat Marionette lines. Our Receptionists are required to have:

• At least 2 years of High-End + Luxury Client Service Experience
• Beauty Industry Experience as a Receptionist, Student or Professional
• Technical Skills to Operate Different Scheduling Platforms
• Advanced Communication skills + High Typing Speed
• Completed our Extensive 2-Week Internal On-boarding + Training Program in all common Services + Professional Brands

As quiet as it's kept, many beauty businesses use remote virtual receptionists located in call centers! A good call center is imperceptible to callers, which is why this is one of the industry's best kept secrets. My Salon Desk's services can also be fully customized to your unique business needs. We can support:

• In-Location Business efforts via Up-sales + Pre-sales
• Appointment Confirmation 
• Outbound New Lead Marketing
• SMS, Web-Chat + Social Media Contact
• Custom Call Routing
• And more!

Aveda's Business Blog recently featured several partner salons that implemented a front desk-less business model backed by a remote call center, with fabulous outcomes! 

“There is so much more interchange that goes on between front desk staff and clients because they are sharing the same space.”

In order to support this major workflow adjustment, Lavish Salon sought out the services of a call center; after years of using a remote call center, the Lavish team is "very happy with the system". 

Yet another Aveda partner implemented a Call Center for their salon with great success. John Robert's Spa in Ohio took the plunge and eliminated the front desk in order to provide a white-glove Apple Store-esque retail experience. With guests coordinators away from their phones and computers, the business team added the support of a remote call center to maintain omnichannel service standards.

“The ease of technology frees up time and more relationship building can happen.”

As you can see, a Salon, Spa or Medspa Call Center can be an integral component to a successful business strategy. We at My Salon Desk are excited to join you as a partner on your path towards further growth and expansion - whether you are a Solopreneur start-up or a well-established Multi-Location franchisee.

It depends on who you ask. Many smaller salon and spa operators have opted not to have front desk receptionists as a way to save money. With 95% of the industry being independent contractors and the proliferation of salon suites, many beauty professionals are now sans-receptionist. Receptionists are no longer considered a necessity in the industry - especially with the hefty $4500+ monthly price tag and high turnover rates. Many businesses are also still seeking to downsize post-Covid to remain financially solvent or to keep up with social distancing guidelines. 

However, is this a good idea for customer service? It's well-known that failure to adequately respond to client inquiries is a huge dilemma for many small to medium size business operators. A whopping 62% of small businesses don't answer phone calls which spells horrific results for business. 85% of missed callers will not call back or ultimately convert into paying customers if their original phone call is missed. 

These statistics also ring true within the beauty industry - a recent survey from Behind the Chair elicited the following responses:

"It’s a huge inconvenience to have to stop in the middle of a service go answer the phone or do any type of desk work."

"Not every stylist in the salon always takes on the responsibility of helping with the phone."

"It’s really annoying not to have a receptionist. There needs to be a barrier."

"Having to answer the phone in the middle of a service with a client is frustrating and makes you look unprofessional."

"Clients pay for our time and care, not for us to have to leave to attend to the front desk."

 If you can't be bothered to give your prospective clients the time to have a brief introductory conversation, 

why should they entrust you with their hair, skin, face, or body? 

We're proud to work with almost all common Salon + Spa Scheduling Software! Our Virtual Receptionists are fully trained in all aspects of appointment setting, re-scheduling, and cancellation. Live Call Answering platform supports: 

Many beauty professionals are initially skeptical about the ability of an outside live answering service handle calls for their small or medium-sized business. Understandably so, as the phone receptionist is often the first point of contact for a new client. My Salon Desk stands alone in that we are the only Salon + Spa Specialty Virtual Receptionist / Answering Service. We exclusively handle beauty businesses - our expertise makes us a much better alternative to other Answering Services that make frequent scheduling errors and constantly send you messages requiring follow-up. 

• We actually can handle almost 100% of calls forwarded our way without ever needing to disturb your workflow.
• We Schedule and Book Appointments directly into your scheduling software
• We bill by call volume instead of by minute - We take as long as needed to answer your clients' concerns
• We are reliably open when you are 7 days a week

Rest assured that our experienced receptionists will provide white-glove service to your clients without skipping a beat! They know to book color appointments before haircuts, and how many units of Botox® are required to treat Marionette lines. Our Receptionists are required to have at least 2 years of High-End + Luxury Client Service Experience in the beauty industry.

As we continue to expand our service offerings, we are pleased to also now provide bespoke Contact Center Solutions for businesses within the beauty, lifestyle, wellness, and fashion industries! In addition to traditional inbound call answering, we can also assist with E-commerce customer service, outbound calling, CRM management, and more! Our skilled + trained Receptionists can function as Virtual Assistants for your brand while maintaining your brand voice and standard of high-quality service. 

Traditional BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) arrangements can cost thousands of dollars (and take hundreds of work-hours) to implement due to the investment required for training. By taking advantage of our existing industry expertise, you can eliminate the training step and begin service within as little as one business day. We are pleased to support businesses of all sizes by offering affordable Plans with no term commitments - both new startups and large-scale enterprises alike can benefit from customized call center staffed by impeccably trained Virtual Receptionists. Get in touch today to learn how we can support your omnichannel clientele service strategy.