Dublin Dynasty
In his own words, PAUL HESSION was born to be a hairdresser. He gives us his insights on the hot topics in Irish hair.
What’s worrying you about the industry?
Creatively, the industry is booming, I love where it’s going, but we need to tighten up on certain things. What kills me is the nixers: many a salon is going down because of it. Yes, I understand people do them to earn a few extra quid but when it becomes an epidemic in a salon, it will kill it and that is very concerning. The take-home pay in most reputable salons is very good, it’s the tax system is the problem. When things were tough during the crash, clients weren’t coming into salons and there was a massive growth in the black market. I had staff members tell me that customers had asked could they do their hair at home. Now on social media, clients can direct message the stylist and arrange an after work appointment. It’s hard to police it. I can’t stop it. I would encourage the younger stylists to bring their friends in to get their hair done in class rather than doing it at home because that person doing hair in your home isn’t insured. We pay massive amounts of insurance, we train staff and use the best products to insure nothing happens to the client.
Is it about educating the client on the value of a salon visit?
Completely. At home, you are getting a second rate service: they aren’t using Kevin.Murphy colour or Wella, it’s the cheapest muck and they are throwing it on. At a salon, the client is getting the top shampoo and conditioner at the backwash, the right products and being analysed all the way through, and they’re protected. It’s the only way salons can beat the nixer trade.
Is there a skills gap in the industry?
Absolutely. During the crash, salons didn’t have the money to train stage because they didn’t have clients coming in. We trained in-house, but people that don’t train or invest in staff, either in the good or bad times, when the money comes around again, there’s a gap. How do you fill it? You can’t.
What are your thoughts on the apprenticeship scheme?
It’s controversial. There is going to be block release from your salon to a college. Who is going to teach them? Who is training the trainer? I’m not sending my staff to someone who hasn’t got the qualifications that I want them to have. It is a minefield.
What parts of the business do you delegate?
I’m not good at the financial stuff. I know how to run a salon, manage people. I delegate hugely within the salon, from front of house to training. I’m blessed with a general manager who is my right and left hand: Liam O’Byrne, he’s my brother in law. Every Monday we have meetings where we look at figures and I know what comes in and what goes out.
How do you drive footfall?
If you were to rely on your reputation alone, you’d die. We do a lot fo local promotional activity. In out Clontarf branch, we support the local GAA club, the tennis club, the golf club. We sponsor jerseys, we are very close to the community. Drumcondra is a different approach. Two new housing estates went up around the corner and we put a booklet together inviting each of those new residents into the salon for a complimentary treatment. It’s high-end because we are high-end.
What sales strategies do you employ?
We run promotions all year round with clients, we have a rewards card and every time a client books, she builds up rewards, it can be a make-up application, a blow-dry or product. It has to be tangible, and they love it. At Christmas, we used to give away complimentary blow dries but it was being abused: clients would come in and ask for their ‘freebie’, they weren’t valuing it. It isn’t a freebie, we are thanking you. Our stylists have the right to give away a complimentary treatment, even throughout the year. The know how to do it because they don’t want to stand behind a chair for nothing, they want to make money. We don’t do discounts, we incentivise clients to come back to us. In January, we will double their points on their loyalty card. We reward from within but we don’t give anything for free, it’s all add-ons.
Will January be a time to reboot?
I’ll take three weeks off after Christmas as many of my clients will go away. I took four weeks off in the Summer and I cam back totally refreshed. I think a lot about how we do things and how we are going to move forward. It’s not about introducing a load of new things, it’s about doing what we do well. I used to react a lot and I learned to become proactive. You can take your hairdressing hat off and look at your salon from a business level. Figures don’t lie. Each seat here has a value and if it isn’t producing that, there’s a problem. Each person being the chair is earning X and they have to produce X. If that’s not happening, what’s the problem? If we see a drop In anyone’s take, we bring a solution to them to help them. In that way, we are proactive.
My goal is to build the industry and keep it on the crest of the wave that it’s on. I judge the L’Oreal Colour Trophy in the UK and the standard there is very good, but the standard in Ireland is sublime, it’s blowing them out of the water. If we keep that going we are laughing. But you have to remember, it’s the person sitting in front of you that matters.