PlanInsta

Interviews

For the face-to-face interviews we decided to address 5 basic questions to the representatives of beauty and wellness companies and 6 basic questions to their clients. Also, depending on the evolution of the discussion, we asked additional questions to get more clarifications when we felt the need for more details from the interviewees.
The questions were the following:

Customers

Personal information: age, ocupation etc.
For what services do you usually make an appointment at a beauty and wellness salon?
Do you always go to the same beauty and wellness salon? Argument the answer.
What method do you use to make an appointment and why?
What difficulties are you facing during your interaction with the beauty and wellness salons?
How do you prefer to pay for a service that you have benefited from after a visit to a beauty and wellness salon? (cash, card)

Beauty and wellness companies

How many employees does the salon you are employed at / the salon you own have?
How do you keep track of customers' appointments?
Did you notice problems in the management of the appointments? Provide more details.
What are the difficulties you face in managing your business and interacting with clients?
What is the percentage of clients who did not respect their appointments?

In the following we will present some of the face-to-face interviews.
Also, due to the confidentiality policies, we decided to keep the identity of the interviewed people anonymous.

Interview of customer 1

Hi and thanks for accepting to talk to us!
Firstly, tell us something about yourself.

Hey! I'm 23 years old and I am working as a Junior Java Developer.
Also, at the same time, I do a master degree in graphics, multimedia and virtual reality.

For what services do you usually make an appointment at a beauty and wellness salon?

Only for haircut.

And you always go to the same barber shop?

At one point I was going, but now not anymore.

Why not anymore?

Because I couldn't find a reliable hairdresser.
I knew my former hairdresser since I was in the high school, but now he is 200km away, considering that I now live in Bucharest.
Since I moved here, I've been trying to find someone with his abilities.

What made your former hairdresser stand out from the others?

He knew how to trim my hair well and he had attention to details.

What didn't you like about the hairdressers you've been to since you moved here?

They didn't cut my hair as I wanted.
They didn't know how to trim using the scissors, but only with the trimmer.

What method do you use to make an appointment and why?

If the hairdresser I want to go to was recommended by a friend, I usually call him directly 3-4 days in advance.
Otherwise, I go personally to the salon to make an appointment.
I want to see how the salon and barber look like to make sure it's reliable.

Do you like to use this methods?

I hate to go personally to the salons.
It consumes me a lot of time and sometimes you have to wait long enough for the hairdresser to finish trimming the client so he can schedule you.
Once I had to wait 30 minutes.
Calling the hairdresser is ok, but I would like to be able to make an appointment online.

What other difficulties are you facing during your interaction with the beauty and wellness salons?

The hairdresser made a mistake and cut a piece of skin off my back.
Maybe he wasn't paying attention for a moment or he was a beginner, I don't know. It happens.

How do you prefer to pay for a service at a beauty salon?

I use to pay cash. I don't mind doing that.

Thank you for your time! Your answers will help us!

Interview of customer 2

Hi and thanks for accepting to talk to us! Firstly, tell us something about yourself.

Hi! I am 23 years old and I’m working as a software developer in a small company.
Also, I like to go to dance classes and nutrition courses.

Tell me something about the services you usually make an appointment at a beauty and wellness salon.

I have my hair cut only 2 or 3 times a year because I want to let it grow longer, but I go more often to manicure and eyebrow shaping (at 3-4 weeks) and currently I started to go to permanent hair removal procedure.

Do you always go to the same beauty and wellness salon?

Currently, yes. I go to the same 3 persons all the time: hairstylist, manicurist and beautician. But this is only because I like that they are professional.
I am used to being a loyal customer if I am offered quality services. Otherwise, I'll start searching for another salon.

And how did you find the current salons?

Recommendations from friends.

What method do you use to make an appointment and why?

I usually send a message a few days in advance and occasionally I make a phone call to the reception of the salon. I tend to send messages more often because the employees at the reception are not very friendly.

What other difficulties are you facing during your interaction with the beauty and wellness salons?

Once I went to a salon and I was told that the stylist I had appointment to can’t come and that someone else will cut my hair. I didn't like that. I would have liked to be announced before so that I can decide whether or not I agree with this change.

I also had problems with the products used by salons. I am vegan and I am against animal tested products, so I want to be sure that when I go to the salon the employees use only vegan products for me. I have asked several times if the used products are vegan and I was told that they are, but later I found out that they were not.

How do you prefer to pay for a service that you have benefited from after a visit to a beauty and wellness salon?

I use to pay cash, but I would like to pay using the credit card. I don’t usually have cash with me, so when I go to the salon I have to remember to get money from the ATM.

You can't pay using the credit card? Or why do you always have to have cash with you when going to the salons?

No, I can only pay cash. The salons I go to have no payment system using the card. You wouldn't say we're in 2019, right?

Yes, you are right about that. Thank you for your time! Your answers will help us!

Interview of customer 3

Hi and thanks for accepting to talk to us! Firstly, tell us something about yourself.

Hello! I am 36 years old and I work as French teacher. Also, I am a mother of 2 boys: one of 6 years old and one of 2 year old.

Congratulation!

Thank you very much!

It seems that you have a busy life. However, do you have time to go to beauty and wellness salons? If yes, to what services do you usually make an appointment?

It is indeed a busy life, but I make time. I have to have some moments to relax and disconnect myself from everything, this is why I go to massage and spa once a month.
Also, in the profession of teacher you must look presentable, so I go to hair salon and manicure. To the hair salon I go once every 1-2 months because I have to have my hair dyed and to the manicure at every 2-3 weeks.

Do you always go to the same beauty and wellness salon?

Yes, I found a salon with quality services and since then I go only there. It has indeed slightly higher prices, but I have no time to search for other salons which have a better quality-price ratio.

What method do you use to make an appointment?

I usually call, but sometimes I go personally to the salon as it's on my way from school to home.

Did you face any difficulties during your interaction with the beauty and wellness salons?

Yes. The first time I had my hair dyed, the hairstylist didn’t check if I was allergic to that hair dye… And guess what? I was, so I had a pretty bad irritation.
Currently, I have no problem anymore. The actual hair stylist tested if I have allergy to the hair dye he uses and since then I only use this kind of hair dye.

How do you prefer to pay for a service that you have benefited from after a visit to a beauty and wellness salon?

I usually pay using credit card because it’s easier.

Thank you for your time! Your answers will help us!

Interview of beauty and wellness company representant 1

Hi and thanks for accepting to talk to us! Firstly, tell us something about yourself.

Hi! I am 30 years old and I have a business with beauty services.
Also, my hobbies are tattoos.

Tell us about your business.

When I was younger, I worked in a beauty salon as a hair stylist, but I didn't like the atmosphere, so I decided to resign and to open my own business. Now, I am the only employee and I am also my boss! It's the best!

How do you keep track of customers' appointments?

I have an agenda I take notes on.

And this is efficient? Or do you have problems in the management of the appointments?

It’s ok. I can’t say that it’s the best method, but it works ok in my case.
The only problem is that my handwriting is far from being calligraphic and sometimes I don't understand my own writing.

What are the difficulties you face in managing your business and interacting with clients?

What bothers me the most are the clients who make an appointment and don’t announce that they are not coming anymore. That means disrespect to me.
In addition, clients always call me to make an appointment. This can be a little annoying since I'm the only employee. I find it difficult to schedule the appointments when I have a client in my salon: it is unprofessional to answer the phone, so I choose to decline the call, but this is also unprofessional to the caller.

How many clients did not respect their appointments?

I estimate somewhere at 10%. But these 10%, even though it may not seem like much to you, can be translated into wasted time for me, which leads to lost money because I can't get a new customer so fast for that time interval.

Thank you for your time! Your answers will help us!