Crawley 01293 888558 · Southwater 01403 738800 · Billingshurst 01403 784848
 

CoCo’s Style reopening guidance

To all our Guests,

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last spoke to you and in that time, for some of you, time has moved fast and for many others, things have moved slowly. We have been planning hard to get the teams back into the salons, ready to make you look beautiful and we are really looking forward to welcoming you back!

Having read and fully understood the Government’s advice regarding COVID-19 infection control, we now have a much better understanding of how the virus is spread and what we can do to stop it. We understand the need for social distancing and have been able to incorporate what we have learnt, with additional safety procedures into our day to day process.

We have your health and safety at the forefront of our minds and would like to let you know, how we have updated our practices, to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19, whilst still offering you the same 5 star service that is expected of us.

Whilst we are still awaiting the official green light from the Government, the current plan is to re-open our salons on 5th July which will mark the start of our new 7 days a week, opening hours. However, many things in the salon will be very different and will remain in place until we can return to a more normal environment – whatever that might look like.

In order to comply with the social distancing 2 meter rule, our stylists will be working in two shifts, so that we limit the number of people in the salon. As a result, we will now only have a maximum of 3 stylists working in each salon at any one time, which in turn limits the number of guests to a maximum of 6 at any one time. We would respectfully ask if everyone could be patient with us in these challenging times, so we can look after all of our guests.

We know and understand that everyone is desperate to have their hair cut. However, in order to treat everyone fairly, once the Government confirm the date we can start trading again, we will contact all of our guests that had an appointment booked in with us between 23rd March and 4th July and re-schedule these in first. Once all of these are booked in, our phone lines will be opened for further bookings. From 1 August we will then introduce appointments for children to book in.

  1. If you are having a colour service, you will receive a Colour Patch Test by post. This MUST be applied 48 hours before the appointment or unfortunately we will NOT be able to perform the service and there will be no exceptions.
  2. Our appointments are intended for one guest only. If you need to bring along another person i.e. a carer or child, please inform us at the time of booking.
  3. When you arrive at the salon, we will ask you to stay in your car until we call you, to invite you in. As we can only have a limited number of people in the salon at any time, please help us by arriving on time and do not try to enter unless we have called you first.
  4. Once you have entered the salon, all guests will be required to have their temperature checked with a non-contact thermometer. If your temperature is above 37.8°C degrees, we will ask you to return home and we will call you to rebook at a later date. Please do not visit the salon if you have any symptoms of coronavirus, feel unwell or live with someone who is unwell or if you are in quarantine from a holiday abroad.  All team members will have their temperature checked twice a day.
  5. You will also be asked to sanitise your hands. Additional hand sanitisers will be placed around the salon for your use.
  6. Your stylist will look a little different as they will be wearing a visor and mask, so that they can minimise the risk of transmission of the virus onto you.
  7. You will need to wear a mask (these are available in the salon for you!) –  the stylist will be wearing a visor and mask, as the guidelines suggest.
  8. In order to allow up to 2 meters between each guest, we have removed the chairs in every other section and these will be unused areas until further notice.
  9. You will be asked to take a seat at your stylists’ station, where your stylist will join you.
  10. We ask that you do not move around the salon, unless you are requested to do so, or you need to use the cloakroom.
  11. To minimise the risk of spreading the virus, your in-depth consultation will be carried out by your stylist from behind you, whilst looking at you in the mirror and not face to face as is usual.
  12. Your coat and any personal belongings will be placed in a tray that will be kept near you. However, we ask that you only bring whatever is absolutely necessary, as space will be limited.
  13. We have arranged a clean fresh ‘hygiene pack’ for you and your stylist to use, which contains a freshly laundered towel, a freshly laundered gown and a pair of disposable gloves (when applying a colour). After each use, the towel, gown and pack will be washed at a minimum 60°C and dried completely before being prepared for the next guest.
  14. In order to comply with the social distancing 2 meter rule, we have installed screens at the wash basins.
  15. Your stylist will have a set of personal brushes, clips and electrical products to use on your hair, which will be cleansed and sterilised, between every guest.
  16. When your service has been completed, we would ask that you remain seated until your stylist has taken your bill. Our preferred payment method is Apple Pay as this is contactless and virtually limitless, however, contactless and Chip & Pin will also be available. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept cash until further notice. Should you wish to give a cash tip to your stylist, we would ask that it is placed in the containers provided, rather than handing it directly to them. For tax reasons, we are unable to accept tips via a card payment.
  17. Your stylist can also make your next appointment. Alternatively, you can call our new call centre on 01293 888558 and they will be more than happy to help.
  18. Your chair and anything you have been in contact with, will be thoroughly cleansed and sterilised after you have left, ready for the next guest.
  19. If at any time you have concerns about anything, please discuss them immediately with your stylist.

In order to minimise the risk of spreading the virus we are removing a number of items that guests can regularly handle in the salons. We will therefore no longer offer magazines to read or serve refreshments. Please feel free to bring your own book or tablet. We are unfortunately unable to allow guests to bring food and drink onto the premises except for bottled water and we are happy to supply disposable cups for your use.

We have never in the past had to consider a cancellation or no show policy. However, it is clear that the number of appointments available will be greatly reduced, due to the measures we have put in place, to ensure your safety and comfort and to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. We will do our best not to cancel or re-arrange your appointments and to run to time. We would really appreciate you doing the same. During the initial 2 month opening period, we require at least 48 hours’ notice, should you need to cancel an appointment, otherwise a cancellation fee of 50% of the cost of your service will be charged. We may also ask for a deposit to secure the booking if you missed your last appointment with us, prior to lockdown. We hope that this will limit the number of missed appointments that may not be refilled at short notice. This will ensure that we can see as many of our guests, as quickly as possible.

We have also taken the decision to add a  COVID-19 PPE Surcharge to every booking and to suspend all discount promotions until further notice. This is not a decision we have taken lightly but is necessary due to the rising cost of materials and additional measures we have put in place to ensure your safety and that of my teams. This is a temporary charge to enable us to keep our doors open and to ensure our teams can still earn an income. We chose this route rather than increasing our prices, as we can re-assess periodically and eventually remove the charge, when it is appropriate to do so.

Our loyalty scheme will still operate partially ensuring that you still accumulate your points on every visit. However, you will not be able to redeem any points, during the initial 2 month opening period. We will look to reinstate our loyalty scheme and promotions, as soon possible.

In addition, whilst we are in this period of change, it will not be possible for us to run our Academy at our Maidenbower salon. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this may cause.

We take your health & safety very seriously and are pleased to let you know that all team members have successfully passed and been awarded a certificate for cleansing and disinfecting the salon and the equipment they work with.

At CoCo’s we would all like to take this opportunity to thank you in these challenging times for your patience and valued custom and we can’t wait to welcome you back through our doors!

 

Chris Connors
Group Director