Mike Waldon – Head of Sales – currently working from home and looking to support both our staff and customers as best we can in these unique times. Much time also spent supporting my wife who works for the Pharmacy department at Boots who are very much on the front line. Struggling to find time to even leave the house to indulge my past time of running in line with government advice.

James – BDE at iSalon – misses day to day life, and making customers happy, working from home and also looking after his children & partner who also works as a beautician and now has no work.

Olwen – Working from home – trying to help and support our customers and colleagues during this difficult time, trying to remain positive at all times. Missing my Mum and cannot imagine not seeing her for a few weeks and thank goodness for Facetime ❤ life isn’t the same at the moment, but if we all do as we are told and stay isolated for the next three weeks, we can all then move forward and be super busy when the salons re-open and clients are desperate for their pamper sessions.

Rachael – BDE at iSalon – I am currently working from home, I miss my usual day to day activities. Having previously owned my own salon for over 12 years and having friends / clients in the industry seeing the effects this having on them, I’m looking to remain positive for us all in these challenging times.

Liam – I miss the environment working as a team in the office. This has also affected my family as my sister has lost her job due to the pandemic.

Doug – Trying to work at home whilst also having twin boys and a stroppy teenage daughter to look after😊 a Mum who has had to go into 12 weeks isolation due to being high risk and is on her own. My thoughts goes out to everyone at this time and I understand how difficult and worrying it must be for everyone, I am feeling the same as well and I’m just trying to stay positive and upbeat. Will enjoy getting back to normal as quickly as we can.

Rikki Tronson

I have worked for iSalon for nearly 14 years, I am responsible for our Product Team and our Educators.

I’ve worked in the Hair & Beauty sector as a stylist and former salon owner, so understand the pressures the industry is currently facing.

We are working currently working to full capacity from home to support our customers with all their needs, just trying to stay out of my wife way as she is also currently working on the frontline supporting young people with their mental health through this difficult time.

John Marshall

John has been with iSalon for 9 1/2 years, and for most of that time has been involved with installing iSalon, iSalon Anywhere and iBookings on clients’ machines. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his grandkids, they go to all Lincoln City home games, and several away each season.

Matt Owens

Matt troubleshoots new features and changes to the iSalon family of products as well as having a hand in their design, documentation, fault logging, and live release procedures.

In his spare time he enjoys making music from his home studio, gaming, growing vegetables and mountain biking.

Stuart Knox

Senior Professional Services Consultant – Delivering training and supporting new and existing customers to get the most out of iSalon. Going the extra mile to provide 5* customer service.
Teaches Tai Chi and has a laugh in his spare time.

Nirmal Dhiman

I work in the Product team and am a User Experience and Interface designer. This means I get to design our various software platforms: iSalon’s till, web-based admin systems, customer booking apps and iOS/Android phone apps.

In the past I worked on award-winning projects for large technology corporations, as well as lots of household name brands and world famous bands and singers.

I really enjoy bringing that experience, and fashionable edge to benefit our clients.

I draw and paint daily. With over 8,000 artworks I have exhibited internationally. Staying in means more time at the easel 🙂

While my children are at home studying. My wife works for a large supermarket. Let’s just say she has noticed that it is far busier than usual.

Chris Limming

I work in our Professional services team, helping customers who have just joined iSalon learn how to use the system. I have been part of the team since 2000 and is passionate about gin and rugby

Joanna Loates –

I’m a Customer Experience Champion. I look after our customers’ day to day queries. I hope to be able to help to ease the strain as much as possible during this crisis.

I am currently juggling working from home with caring for a 10 year old and a 19 month old so it’s keeping me on my toes. My sister is an orthopaedic nurse whose ward is in the process of transitioning to an isolation ward for COVID patients so she is facing this head on along with the rest of our NHS.

Rebecca Sinclair –

My role is Customer Experience Champion; I am listening to customers, and speaking with them regarding how iSalon can help them in this situation.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

The COVID-19 virus affects different people in different ways.  COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment.  People who have underlying medical conditions and those over 60 years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and death.

Common symptoms include;

• A fever
• Tiredness
• A dry cough

Other symptoms include;

• Shortness of breath
• Aches and pains
• Sore throat
• Some people report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose.

People with mild symptoms who are otherwise healthy should self-isolate and contact their medical provider or a COVID-19 information line for advice on testing and referral.

People with fever, cough or difficulty breathing should call their doctor and seek medical attention.

Each and every industry has been affected by COVID-19.

We recommend you all keep clients and your team up to date with all aspects of the virus and what you are doing as a business to keep everyone safe.

Here are our top ten tips to help you stay open and prevent the spread of infection in your salon;

1. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze, if there is no tissue available use the crook of your arm instead.
2. Put used tissues in the bin straight away.
3. Wash your hands with soap and water (for at least 20 seconds) often, especially after coughing or sneezing – use alcohol based hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
4. Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
5. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands.
7. Try to avoid cash transactions, ask them to pay by card, if touching cash wash hands after.
8. Use gloves where possible.
9. Do not re-use towels between clients.
10. Provide tissues and hand gel for your clients where possible.

If you are sharing with your clients that you are following all precautions then there should be no reason why they shouldn’t be attending their appointments.

Our marketing messages and appointment reminders can be tailored to help your business fill those gaps.

We’re here if you need advice or are struggling to fill appointment gaps.

With the spread of Coronvirus speeding up across the UK we recommend highlighting to clients the importance of not attending appointments if they are unwell.

We would recommend tailoring the below message to suit your salon and your customers then sending out via email or SMS campaign, both of which can be done either within iSalon or you can do separately. If you need help setting this up please contact us – the SMS message can be shortened to fit in with a character count.

💕 Client notice 💕

We at (insert salon name) would like to politely ask that if you are feeling unwell during the run up to or on the day of your appointment that you please rearrange for a day when you’re feeling much better.

This rule is particularly highlighted to those who have traveled from high risk areas or have connections or have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for the virus.

If you arrive for an appointment and are showing symptoms we will turn you away and re-book for the future.

Kind Regards

(insert salon name)

Please keep checking the Public Health England website and The World Health Organisation website for updates.

During the course of the outbreak we will continue to provide updates for you and we are available Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm and Saturday 8.30am to 4pm.

We also have our online chat support – Ruby – who is here to help 24hours a day, 7 days a week (limiting your exposure to other people during this time!).

Please continue to follow the advice from our government, currently we are being urged not to make any staff members redundant. When businesses and the country recover from COVID-19 we will need all team members behind us.

Support for businesses during this time is outlined here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-employees-employers-and-businesses

The government have put some other measures in place;

• Grants up to £10,000 are available for small business that either rent or own commercial premises and are eligible for small business rate relief. The grants will be provided by local authorities who will contact you directly.
• If you are working from home or the rateable value of your business property is more than £15,000 this lower grant will not apply.
• A £25,000 grant will be provided to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000. It is not confirmed yet if this is applicable to salons.
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme has been launched to enable businesses to apply for a loan of up to £5 million with the government covering up to 80% of any losses with no fees.  Businesses can access the first 6 months of that finance interest free, as
  government will cover the first 6 months of interest payments.Please contact your local council or the government support helplines available for further information.

There are some brilliant websites that offer HR and Legal Advice during this outbreak.

• https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus – covers staff being off work, what and when you need to pay them, staff employment rights, your business obligations and how to manage your staffing situation.
• https://www.fsb.org.uk/ – key advice on how to deal with the pandemic from the Federation of Small Businesses.

For further advice and information we have listed some key companies;

• The Hairdressing Council: https://www.haircouncil.org.uk/index.html
• The Fellowship for British Hairdressing: https://fellowshiphair.com/
• World Health Organisation: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
• Public Health England: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england
• The British Beauty Council: https://britishbeautycouncil.com/
• The Government Coronavirus main page: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
• ACAS (HR issues): https://www.acas.org.uk/
• NHS advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
• The Federation of Small Businesses: https://www.fsb.org.uk/

Track the current cases of coronavirus

• Desktop version – https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/f94c3c90da5b4e9f9a0b19484dd4bb14
• Mobile version – https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ae5dda8f86814ae99dde905d2a9070ae

Prepare for the future of your salon with our top tips;

• Keep in contact with your clients, notify them of what you are doing and when they can visit. Book in future appointments.
• Sell gift vouchers to keep income coming in that clients can use at a later date.
• Actively promote your business on social media.
• Manage your business from home – with iSalon Anywhere and Command Centre there is no reason why you cannot keep your business running from home. Work on your marketing campaigns and look at salons reports to plan for the future even whilst your business is not operating.
• Work on your marketing plan, look at what you can be doing for the future and plan for the rest of the year. This can include important holidays, treatments you want to promote and much more.
• Update your website. We know this is a task many put off but keep your business information up to date and use it as a time to improve your online presence.