Did you know Chester is home to the British Hair Salon of the Year? Nestled in a beautiful salon near Chester Cathedral beside the Kaleyard Gate on the historic City Wall’s is Tommy’s, the current and three times winner of the British Salon of the Year Award.
Tommy’s is a luxurious boutique salon providing guests with the ultimate salon experience. Led by myself and my Business Director Esther, we were successful salon owners in our native Netherlands and have combined our Dutch heritage with trend-setting British style to create an award-winning salon that is committed to surprising and delighting our guests. We pride ourselves on delivering a new and unique salon experience including dry cutting, freehand colouring, which is a quicker and more successful colouring technique, and ensuring our guests not only look amazing when they leave the salon, but feel amazing also. Our commitment to customer care, employment, and our passion for business development has been recognised regionally, nationally and globally, as we have been the happy recipients of many awards and accolades. We are the proud winners of the British Hair Salon of the Year award on three separate occasions an achievement which has seen us enter the British Hairdressing Business Awards Hall of Fame, and we were the UK winner of the Salon Excellence Award within the 2008/09 Global Salon Business Awards. We have also received several regional awards including the Business of the Year award, and Business Woman of the Year award within the Network She Awards, and Business of the Year within the Daily Post Business Awards. Tommy’s have also achieved a fantastic reputation for our creativity and I am a three times finalist for the Wales and South West Hairdresser of the Year award.
But what do all these awards and accolades mean? Myself, Esther and the entire team at Tommy’s are extremely proud of the recognition we have received from our peers within the industry and the regional business network and it could be easy to fall into the trap of complacency derived from success. However we believe that the recent global recession we are emerging from has ensured that we do not fall into a complacent lull. This recession has rapidly changed the way customers think, we are now aware of what we are spending and are seriously questioning ‘whether it was worth it’. No longer are we under the illusions of trying to look and act like celebrities and WAGS, we’ve become much more personal with our choices and focused on our own individual style. Our salon guest’s constantly talk to me about choosing a style and colour that is individual to them and makes them ‘feel’ amazing rather than trying to look like Jennifer Anniston or Victoria Beckham. Things have changed, the marketing illusion has been shattered and the customer has woken up. We want real value for money and to experience some real genuine care not just words from an advert or a mission statement on the wall. With more and more choices available to customers armed with a new mindset, businesses have to look at how they operate as what worked yesterday may not today. We have to provide our guests with the WOW factor every time, we have to delight them, we have to surprise them. So how do we do this? When I arrived from the Netherlands eight years ago to open our first salon in Ruthin I brought with me the dedication and know-how to create the WOW factor. To achieve the WOW factor in the Netherlands and most of Mainland Europe you have to really push the boat out far and I knew to stand out from the crowd in North Wales and the rest of the UK I had to do things differently and provide our guests with a level of service that was new to them. This philosophy has served Tommy’s well over the years but the world has changed recently and now we have to up our game again. This is the same for all businesses - we cannot afford to stay still and operate in the now already ‘old’ ways.
We have to be creative and unique so we stand out from the crowd. We have to look for the new added extras that our guest’s don’t expect. We have to provide them with genuine quality service, exceptional care and attentiveness, and dedicate more time to making them ‘feel’ like a million dollars. If we don’t do these things, we risk loosing the guest we’ve known for ten years for one simple reason - good is not enough anymore! Within Tommy’s we have developed a sanctuary of care where guests are treated to a level of service comparable to a luxury hotel. Every element of the guest’s journey through Tommy’s is a relaxing, rejuvenating experience as our team caters for their every need – improved communication methods, dedicated guest managers, complimentary hair, face and hand treatments, fast lane services, longer appointment times, nail and beauty treatments, Wi-Fi access, an online newsletter, free product postal service, guest evenings, complimentary gift bags, branded items for sale, Christmas presents for guests, and a guest loyalty programme. These are just some of the added extras we have incorporated into our business to ensure we continue to surprise, delight and WOW our guests.
The world we live and work within has changed dramatically but the future is definitely bright and there are lots of exciting and positive opportunities waiting for us. You just have to ‘feel’ it.
Tommy’s, 2 The Kaleyards, Chester, 01244 315 515 www.tommyshaircompany.com
For further information on Tommy’s please contact Neill Mabbott at Tommy’s on Tel: 07824562511 or Email: tommysmarketing@hotmail.co.uk
Below: Tommy van der veken, Creative Director of Tommy’s.
