By Teri DiMarino
November 21, 2014

What happened to the year? It seems like just yesterday that we were all wondering if the country was ever going to be released from the grip of that never ending winter. I walked into Costco the other day and saw Christmas decorations! (Mind you, I am writing this column in early September!) The holidays are almost upon us and it feels like we’ve just put away those darned decorations. We are all coming to the end of another year, but not without the typical holiday time drama of overbooking, overworking and just making ourselves, in general, crazy.  Let’s face it… holidays are stressful. I want to de-stress for myself and my family.

November is always a good time to take a deep breath, regroup and reorganize ourselves in preparation for the end-of-year onslaught of madness. holiday time can really take its toll on even the most staunch-hearted business person, so early preparation does nothing but make things go easier. Let’s make a checklist for ourselves of things that need to be done before it’s too late.

Look at the dates

Thanksgiving is late again this year, November 27th, the last Thursday of the month and exactly four weeks from Christmas. Hanukkah starts on December 16th, about a week prior to Christmas. watch your four week customers, as they may all pile up the week before the holidays. Those celebrating Hanukkah may only want tidy-ups, so book accordingly. For the six to eight week dogs, try getting them in for full grooms before Thanksgiving so they may only need tidy-ups for Christmas.

Schedule yourself and your employees

Look at your calendar from the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving up until new Years Eve and figure what you want these seven weeks to look like. Do you traditionally close the week between Christmas and new Years? Or will you close just for the weekend after Christmas? Do you groom on Christmas Eve? My salon would traditionally close on Christmas Eve, but if it fell on a Saturday, we would only take regular customers for bath and bows only, which was very successful, I might add. Are you planning on working the Sunday before Christmas? These are all things that you should plan well in advance and post it for all employees to see. Solidify employee schedules! You don’t want any surprises from employees “forgetting” to tell you about that vacation to Disneyworld they planned the week before Christmas. good scheduling and spacing of appointments can really ease up the holiday tension. This is also the time to schedule any office parties or gatherings. Don’t forget to schedule time for your own personal appointments, like your holiday mani/pedi or massage.

Decorate for the holidays

Even the smallest of decorations add a festive flair to a business. You don’t have to go overboard, although sometimes it’s fun.

Gifts for your customers

Many salons give small gifts to the pets for the holidays and this is something that can be made up ahead. I like doing this, as it really sends a good message to the customer and encourages tipping. I like customizing gifts whenever I can. I would get small empty stockings and fill them with treats that I made available for sale the rest of the year. If the dog liked it for Christmas, they could buy a bag each time they came in year round. This is a good marketing strategy and a quick repeat sale. some of the special clients might get a bigger stocking with more treats, others might have special dietary needs. some of our more “challenging” dogs would get coal in their stockings in the form of charcoal flavored biscuits, which the customers really got a kick out of.

Equipment maintenance

This is something many salons put on the back burner, only to regret it when your clippers or a high velocity dryer conks out while you are rushing to get those conventional Poodles finished. You reach for your back-up dryer, only to find that it is also out of commission. now you’re stuck! All dryers, high velocity, stand or box, should be fully maintained and ready to go for the holiday season. A busy salon cannot afford the lost time because of a broken dryer and back-up dryers should always be available.

Clippers, blades and shears fall into this category as well. many of us have a pile of dull blades that we keep intending to send out to the sharpener. I hate when my favorite #5F starts snagging coat, only to find that my other favorite #5F is in the box marked “Dull” that I have forgotten to send out. send those blades and shears off to the sharpener NOW, then you will have time to test them out before the “crunch days”. same with clippers. change those levers and grease them up so they are in top working condition. nothing will slow you down more than a poorly performing piece of equipment.

Supplies

Other than water, shampoo, conditioners and grooming sprays are the number one expendable items in a salon. A busy salon is constantly buying shampoos so do yourself a favor, bunull