In a busy salon, everyone has her own duties to pay attention to — cutting hair, shampooing clients when they come in, giving a manicure or ushering clients on to the massage table. Without an efficient, well-organized coordinator, a busy salon would be nothing less than hectic and pure chaos — not an environment that many customers would want to patronize very often.
Front Desk
The salon coordinator often is the first person to greet clients when they enter the establishment. She may have spoken to them on the phone to make the appointment and, after a little while on the job, recognizes regulars and makes them feel appreciated and special. As the face of the salon, it’s up to the coordinator to keep herself neat and clean and always friendly. According to Salon Operating System, 85 percent of client retention success in a salon relies on personality.
Scheduling
The coordinator needs to be the most organized employee in the place. She’s got calendars for every task and duty, for employees and the clients. Juggling the various ins and outs of stylists, masseurs and nail techs, the coordinator makes appointments for clients that fit in with those varying schedules. According to Beauty Brands, nothing less than 100 percent accuracy will do when it comes to making schedules. You'd hate to lose a valuable customer who shows up and there’s no one available to take care of her.
Money Handling
Working the front desk means that the coordinator also takes payment from clients as they leave. She’s got to be able to run credit cards and make change. There’s another level of organization required here too, as many customers may leave tips on their charge cards and these have to be organized by stylist to ensure each employee gets what’s coming. The coordinator needs to have a good handle on the pricing of the salon as well so she charges appropriately at the end of each session.
Marketing
An effective salon coordinator has many opportunities to market the business. She can ask customers for referrals as they leave and even offer coupons for referrals. A really efficient coordinator talks to clients as they come and go and gathers feedback that she can then relay to the owner and the stylists so they can improve on their customer service. Additionally, as customers check out, the coordinator has the perfect opportunity to sell the product lines carried by the salon and increase profitability even more.
References
Writer Bio
Linda Ray is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years reporting experience. She's covered business for newspapers and magazines, including the "Greenville News," "Success Magazine" and "American City Business Journals." Ray holds a journalism degree and teaches writing, career development and an FDIC course called "Money Smart."