For many, the iconic streets of London’s Soho and Camden embody a world of inclusive and unique fashion and style and, Chicago folk can grab a slice of the Brit action at the Streets Of London salon on West Diversey Parkway.
Bangs and bobs for Brit abroad, Lisa
Established in 2008, Streets Of London is the brainchild of Lisa J, a British national who trained with Toni & Guy before moving to America. Lisa’s vision was a non-pretentious salon which combined good vibes and great styles inspired by the trendy streets of England’s capital city – a vision that is clearly evident today.
As well as employing some of Chicago’s most talented stylists, Streets Of London offers specialist treatments including Balayage and, also, stocks Olaplex – a bond multiplier used to seek out and fix broken bonds (also known as split ends) that have been caused by damage by chemical, mechanical or thermal factors.
Customers visiting Streets Of London rave about the sleek modern interior and the cool sounds from over the pond and, despite enduring lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the salon continues to thrive under it’s owner’s watchful eye.
“Enjoying a cup of tea while Lisa (stylist/owner) had me doubled-over laughing about an American version of Yorkshire pudding that some pub tried to serve her…I came out of here lighter and brighter from inside to out”. Bonnie E, Phoenix
Street smart
Streets Of London’s talented stylists and funky salon mean that, post pandemic, business is once again booming. In fact, so much so, that the salon – which offers eyebrow threading, extensions and bridal hair as well as regular color and styling, has its work cut out in keeping up with the demand for appointments.
Like many other salon owners, Lisa J has turned to Booksy’s scheduling software in order to keep her salon as full as possible while maintaining distancing for the safety of employees and customers.
Shaving time and cutting hassle
Booksy lends a helping hand to salons with its affordable and effective suite of tools which has been created specifically for the hair and beauty industry. Anything but ‘just a scheduling system’, Booksy’s bag of tricks is like an extra pair of hands for salon owners who are better able to manage their businesses with a number of features including:
Appointment App
The Booksy app allows salon customers to schedule their own appointments with just a couple of tappety taps. They’re also able to manage their own appointments by rescheduling and cancelling through the app; saving salon owners time which can be spent doing what they do best. This also saves salon owners money on staff as they no longer need a dedicated receptionist to take calls for appointments.
Scheduling
AI technology packs a punch for salon owners with intelligent scheduling and management of appointments. Unlike the humble homo sapien, this technology is able to work out how long is needed for each appointment based on previous visits and other factors within the salon, such as social distancing. This is an incredibly important tool for salon owners looking to maximise their space while keeping customers and staff safe.
Payment
Contrary to Neil Diamond’s famous lyric, ‘hands touching hands’ is no longer considered a good thing and, as such, the handling of cash and cards within salons is very much discouraged. Booksy can help here by allowing customers to quickly and easily make payment through the app; cutting down on hand to hand contact on the premises. Salon owners can also take advantage of this tool by taking prepayment for appointments – something which makes the salon more efficient and, more importantly, helps to cut down on those costly and annoying no-shows.
Marketing
In 2021, salons like Streets Of London quite literally have their hands full with serving their customers and keeping their salons as safe as possible and, this leaves little time for other tasks such as admin and marketing. Thankfully, Booksy saves the day by serving as a marketing assistant for salons owners, providing some essential tools, including email outreach, to allow owners to keep existing customers updated with news and special offers as well as reaching out to new ones.
Analytics
These days, it’s incredibly important to know how your small business is performing – after all, if you don’t know how you’re doing, how can you hope to do better? Booksy has some great analytic tools to help salon owners to dig down into their performance and then to make improvements and adjustments where necessary, for a more successful business.
Notifications
With busy lives, it’s easy to forget about appointments – which can be frustrating for customers and costly for salons. Booksy lends a hand by sending reminders and notifications to customers in order to help cut down on no-shows.
Conclusion
In a post-pandemic world, time is tight and budgets are tighter. Booksy allows salons to manage and grow their businesses without having to hire additional staff – meaning that they can keep profits high and overheads low.