Can a virtual receptionist for salons book clients in while you are with someone?
Yes. A virtual receptionist for salons answers your salon number in your salon's name while your hands are in somebody's hair, and on the Growth plan and above the appointment goes straight into your diary during the call. On Light and Essential the caller's request is taken down in full and sent to you by text and email, ready to confirm when you have a minute between clients.
Either way, the person in your chair keeps your attention, and the person on the phone hears a voice instead of a ringing tone.
Why is stopping to answer so costly in a salon?
The client in front of you is paying for your time, and they can see exactly where it goes. Break off a cut to take a call and they notice. Peel off your gloves to answer while a colour is processing and the timer does not stop for you.
So the phone rings out, and the caller who wanted Saturday morning may well book with the next salon that answers. The same happens at the other end of the day, when the salon is shut and somebody finally has a quiet moment to sort out their next appointment.
What gets asked when somebody rings to book?
The questions come from you at setup, so they match the way your column is organised. A starting set for a hair salon, to change as you like:
- Which service, and whether they have a particular stylist in mind.
- Whether they are new to the salon or have been before.
- For colour, bleach, perms or relaxers, when they last had an allergy alert test with you.
- Roughly how long their hair is and what is on it now, so a colour correction is not squeezed into a slot meant for a root touch-up.
- The days and times that suit them, and a mobile number.
The allergy question earns its place. Guidance from the National Hair & Beauty Federation is that a new client must have an allergy alert test at least 48 hours before the appointment, and that a returning client needs a fresh one if six months have passed, if they have had a tattoo, or if you have changed colour brand or product.
Asking on the phone means a new colour client is booked in for the test first, rather than arriving on the day for a colour you cannot do. From Growth up, the test and the appointment both go into the diary on the same call.
Does it work with the booking system you already use?
The booking goes into the diary you already run. If that is salon booking software, what matters is whether it lets a second person log in and make appointments, and checking that is one of the first jobs at setup. Clients who like booking online carry on doing so. The phone simply stops being the place bookings go missing.
Can it help with no-shows?
Partly, and how much depends on the plan. A booking taken properly is the start: the right service, a slot of the right length, and a time the client actually chose, rather than a rushed yes to whatever you offered with the phone wedged against your shoulder.
Premium goes further. It includes outbound calls and customer follow-ups, so clients can be rung before their appointment to check they are still coming, and a gap found the day before is a gap you still have time to fill. We are not going to put a number on how many no-shows that saves, because we have no figures of our own to give you.
What about the calls that are not bookings?
Some calls are only questions. How much is a full head of highlights? Do you cut children's hair? Is there parking nearby? What time do you close on a Thursday? Give us your price list and your answers once, and those questions are dealt with on the call, in your words, on every plan.
The awkward calls are handled with care as well. A client who is unhappy with their colour is listened to, has their words written down exactly, and is told when to expect you. Nobody on our side offers a redo, a refund or a view on the result. That conversation belongs to you.
How many calls does a salon's plan cover?
Each plan includes a set number of calls a month, and it helps to think of them in weeks. Light, at £59, includes 30 calls, roughly seven a week. Essential, at £129, includes 50, between eleven and twelve a week. Both answer in exactly the same way: messages taken, your price list and common questions answered, texts and emails to you, and a full call log.
Growth, at £249 for 100 calls, about twenty-three a week, is the plan that books appointments into your diary, and it adds out-of-hours options for clients who ring after you have locked up. Premium, at £399 for 150 calls, adds the confirmation calls and follow-ups described above, along with two hours of admin support a month.
In a salon the booking is the point, so Growth is where to start looking. Setup is from £49.50, normally £99, and calls beyond the allowance are billed per call. The rates, and everything each plan includes, are set out in full under plans and pricing.
Is it only for a salon with one chair?
No. If you rent a chair or work alone, it is the receptionist you do not have. If the salon already has somebody on the front desk, it picks up what they cannot: the second line while they are on the first, the lunch break, the Saturday rush, the week they are away. The other kinds of business it is built for are set out under who we help.
How do you try it?
The trial runs for seven days, costs nothing and needs no card. Try it on the days your column is fullest, because those are the days the phone currently rings out. The number your clients already have stays exactly the same.
Ring 01709 222834 with any questions first, or leave your details on the contact page. How the answering works for any kind of business is on the telephone answering page.