Salons call for help during spread of coronavirus
Following the rise of coronavirus cases in the UK, salon owners across the country are taking necessary action to protect their businesses.
Due to the nature of how the virus is spread, “social distancing” has been strongly advised, meaning the close contact required in salons pose a potential threat.
Among the biggest of these efforts is a widely circulated petition entitled “Rescue the hair and beauty salons UK”, which has already reached 18,072 of its targeted 25,000 signatures.
According to the petition, the recent outbreak is set to cause financial hardship for up to 287,000 employees in the sector, spanning 41,000 retailers.
“It is clear from media coverage and government response that we are facing the biggest challenge we have faced since WW2,” reads the statement written by Collette Osborne of Hairven Salon Group.
“Salons are not just providing services to prop up the high street but are also considered the hubs of our communities, so play a massive part in maintaining high street presence.”
A number of requests are made given the success of the petition, including a rescue plan package of £2bn to allow banks to release funding immediately, having coronavirus fall under appropriate insurance coverage such as ‘business interruption’ or ‘civil unrest’, and ensuring landlords cannot claim any breach of non payment during this time.
Also proposed is a greater amount of time to pay outstanding HMRC debt and emergency funding to cover SSP (statutory sick pay).
Alternatively, Salon software specialists Phorest have shared a number of different ways you can ask loyal customers to support you at this time.
This includes appealing that clients hold off on cancelling if they feel well, rescheduling appointments to a later date if they don’t, and continually supporting the business through reviews, instagram posts and other forms of positive online engagement.
As well as this, booking system Beautystack has taken to Instagram with the hashtag #supportyourlocalbeautypro, similarly urging clients not to cancel their appointments if feeling unwell and to instead postpone them, reinstating that its freelancers will still receive an instant deposit income through its service.
“We know times are going to be hard for everyone but it’s going to hurt the Beautystack freelancers really hard,” posts Beautystack CEO Sharmadean Reid.
“Supporting may mean cancelling your appointment because you’re showing symptoms and that’s okay too. I’ll be covering the cost of all cancelled appointments for the next two weeks.”
