Guides
Guides for running the front of house
Practical pieces on the parts of a salon, studio or clinic that happen away from the chair: the phone, the menu, the hours, the no-shows and the reviews.
October 2026 · 5 min read
A late arrivals policy clients accept
Set a grace period that fits your diary, decide what happens once it has passed, and word the rule so clients hear it before they are ever late.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Bridal and group bookings: quotes, deposits and timing
Turn a bridal or group enquiry into one written quote, a deposit that holds the date, and a timetable worked back from the ready-by time.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
First-visit calls: what to ask a new client before booking
The questions to ask on a new client's first call so you book the right service and length, flag tests or consultations, and avoid surprises.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Gift voucher rules that do not bite you later
Expiry, what a voucher can be spent on, lost vouchers, change and refunds. The rules to settle before December, and how to say them so nobody is surprised.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Handling a bad review in a small town
When everyone knows everyone, a one-star review is a conversation the whole town can read. How to reply, what to fix, and what to leave alone.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 6 min read
How to handle the phones on your busiest day
Plan your busiest day's calls before it arrives: who answers, when you call back, what callers hear when you are full and where requests go.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
How to raise your prices and tell your clients
Work out a price rise from your real costs, give regulars notice, change every listed price on the same day and answer questions plainly.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
How to write a service menu that sells
Naming, pricing and ordering your services so that a client reading the list, or hearing it read, knows what to ask for and what it costs.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
No-shows and deposits without losing the client
A plain way to decide when to ask for a deposit, how much, how to say it, and what to do the first time someone does not turn up.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Opening hours that match your bookings
Why the hours on your door, your profile and your phone line should be the hours you actually take clients, and how to set them so they stay true.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Patch tests: when to book them and what to tell callers
Set one patch test rule per product, book the test as its own short appointment, and answer callers clearly without straying into health advice.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Pricing a colour correction
Why a correction cannot be priced over the phone, how to run the consultation that sets the price, and how to say all this to a caller who wants a number.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Pricing long or thick hair without arguments at the till
Work out what extra length and thickness cost you in product and time, set clear tiers, and tell clients the price before the colour is mixed.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Rebooking at the basin
The moment to ask a client for their next appointment is while they are still in the chair. How to do it without it feeling like a sales pitch.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Running a cancellation waitlist that fills empty slots
Keep a short, specific list, offer each freed slot to one person at a time with a reply deadline, and count how many cancellations you fill.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Training a junior to take bookings on the phone
A two-week plan to teach an apprentice or new receptionist the menu, the diary rules and a booking checklist, with practice calls and daily checks.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Walk-ins or appointments: choosing the mix for your shop
Use two weeks of counting to choose walk-ins, bookings or a split, then set the rules that stop a booked client waiting behind the queue.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
What after-hours callers expect, and how to meet it
Most people who ring after closing want to leave a request and hear back next morning. Give them a way in, a reply time and a routine to keep it.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
What to say when the phone rings mid-colour
You cannot leave the foils. The caller cannot wait. The scripts, the habits and the tools that get the call handled without the client in the chair paying for it.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 5 min read
Writing a salon cancellation policy clients accept
Choose a notice window from how fast you can refill a slot, set one fair fee, make early cancelling easy and apply the rule the same way to everyone.
Read the guideOctober 2026 · 4 min read
Your first week with a receptionist line
What to set up, what to listen for, and what to change by Friday, when a voice assistant starts answering your missed calls.
Read the guideGive the phone to someone who only says what you told them
Set up your services and hours, share the booking page, and add the line when you are ready. Free costs no card, only a marketing consent.