Does your desk generate money, or do you view it as pure expense? At Robert Jeffrey Salon in Chicago, owner Robert LaMorte applied a two-pronged approach to profitizing his desk. First, he reviewed bookings and fine-tuned desk personnel’s hours, so staffing harmonized with salon traffic. Next, he created a front-desk dollar generator with the BleachBright teeth whitening system.

Working a trade show deal, he got the $3,000 system on consignment. The salon keeps $30 from every $99 service. In half a day, desk personnel were trained to deliver the service and received certification. Clients insert their own whitening trays, then the employees turn on the blue light that all does the work. Service time: 20 minutes.

“We promoted the service with window signs, flyers and mirror-talkers; the stylists all got the service at a discount,” says the salon’s manger, Shelly Wilson. “The first month, we had 15 bookings.”


For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.