Booksy Helps Paisley Stay Head & Shoulders Above The Rest

April of 2021 was a time for rejoicing as hairdressers and barbers re-opened their doors and began the epic task of fixing all of those DIY haircuts that the pandemic brought with it.  Although this was absolutely cause for celebration, the barbers of Paisley still had a mammoth task ahead of them in ensuring that their salons were kept as safe as possible for their customers and staff.  Although further restrictions are now being lifted, Paisley barbers are aware of the fact that they need to keep some measures in place to avoid losing staff to the dreaded ‘pingdemic’.  While extra cleaning and the provision of hand sanitiser are now pretty much standard, the one sticking point for salons is social distancing.  

Cutting edge tech for salons

Despite the lifting of restrictions, many customers remain wary of visiting venues such as barber salons where they will spend time in close proximity to other people.  Owner of Handsome Jacks in Paisley, Alexander Mills, says, “We may not be able to chat as much but, I hope that our clients know we’re here for them and we’re focused on making their experience as stress free as possible”.  In this spirit, many salons, including Handsome Jacks, have armed themselves with the Booksy app in order to better manage their businesses and, more importantly, manage the number of people in the premises whilst still allowing the salon to make money. 

Having recently scored a funding of $70 million, Booksy aims to “bring peace of mind to scheduling, giving time back for living life fully,” says the founder and CEO Stefan Batory. “Like with many sectors negatively hit by the pandemic, it’s been a turbulent time for the beauty and wellness industry but we’re confident in its ability to come back from this, so it’s fantastic to see our latest group of investors share our optimism and vision. This latest round of funding enables us to reach even more salons and service providers across the US, and in all the regions we operate, which in turn helps them reach more customers. Providing a cost-effective way to offer, manage and increase digital bookings, reduce no-shows and give customers what they want could help make small businesses and entire industries more resilient.” 

Booksy is primarily a scheduling site and app with some fantastic features to help salons to stay a cut above.  The app uses the latest artificial intelligence technology to provide cutting edge scheduling which calculates the length of appointments based on previous visits.  This incredibly efficient tool for barbers makes light work of limiting the number of people in the salon while maximising productivity and profits – making it a win-win. 

Customers are able to access the app in order to quickly and easily book their own appointments with their barber – something which most people prefer (by a long way) to having to pick up the phone and spend their time in hold music purgatory.  Booksy is also able to send alerts to customers when it’s time for their appointment to begin, which means that they’re able to wait in the car until their barber is ready for them.  This is incredibly important for barber salons who, in many cases, have now removed their waiting areas in order to maintain distancing.   

Trimming costs – and hassle

As well as managing appointments more efficiently, Booksy is further able to help with slowing the spread of transmission of COVID-19 by allowing customers to pay for their haircuts, treatments and purchases of products through the app for a 100% contactless payment experience.   This latter is particularly useful as salons are now opting to sell products through their site rather than having shelves full of bottles which are handled by multiple customers throughout the day. 

It doesn’t end there though – salon owners can also take advantage of some other great features including inventory and ordering, saving them a lot of time, money and hassle while running their businesses.  

The long and the short of it

As things re-open, barbers in Paisley are determined to stay ahead of the virus by implementing multiple measures including mask wearing and distancing as much as possible, for both their customers and their staff.  Alexander Mills says, “A barbershop is somewhere people can escape, and get a 30 minute break from the stresses of daily life.  Our hope is people will leave feeling a little bit lighter, with a nice haircut”.

There’s no doubt that we feel better when we’re looking our best and, being able to visit our favourite salons and barbershops again is vital for our physical and mental well being.  Although we may still be living with some restrictions for a while yet, a return to our barbershops gives us a little glimpse of a more normal life for the first time in many months.  Paisley has a fabulous range of barber shops and salons, all of which are as colourful and intricate as the fabric which the region is famous for and customers have been breathing a sigh of relief as they reclaim another slice of their routine. 

While your hairdresser or barber probably won’t be asking you if you’re going on holiday this year, they’ll still be welcoming you back with open arms, great cutting skills and a relaxing experience – all with a little help from Booksy’s forward thinking booking system and fabulous features designed to help barbers stay on top of their game, whatever might be thrown at them next.