With salons and barbershops reopening under enhanced safety guidelines, shop owners are faced with a new challenge: Making sure clients feel safe and still give them a great experience. For Victory Barber & Brand™ Founder Matty Conrad (@mattyconrad) the value of service has changed: “It’s no longer about how fast your services are, but how well you navigate these new obstacles,” he shared. 

For reopening his four Vancouver-based barbershops, Matty focused on three important factors:

1. Increase shop safety
2. Adhere to health board guidelines 
3. Maintain consistency in the guest experience

Keep scrolling to read how Matty has implemented these factors when reopening his barbershops. 

Communication Is Key

Hang new shop policies clearing and in shop areas where client can see them at all times. // Instagram via @man_made_barbershop

Before reopening his shop doors, Matty contacted his local health board to educate himself on the enhanced sanitation guidelines for reopening. This way, he could clearly communicate new shop policies with his staff and clients. 

When it comes to sharing these new policies, maintaining the vibe of the shop and client experience is a top priority for Matty. “Hanging a bunch of policy lists around just doesn’t make sense for us and it also makes the shop look like a hospital. We want to maintain as much consistency in the guest experience as possible,” he explains. So, he designed shop decals that are both informative and fit the Victory aesthetic. Click here to check out downloadable coronavirus resources from Victory Barber & Brand™ and download them for your shop. 

Have DisInfectant Supplies Available For Client Use

To encourage clients to follow his shop’s safety guidelines, Matty has SAFE HANDS Hand Sanitizer available at the front desk. Instagram via @victorybarbers

Matty encourages his clients to follow the new safety guidelines by making sure extra supplies including masks and hand sanitizer are readily available. Here are the two areas he paid close attention to:

1. The Front Desk 

Matty wants his clients to feel safe as soon as they enter his barbershop. So, he makes sure that the Victory Safe Hands Hand Sanitizer and masks are available at the front desk and at every barber’s station. 

2. Client Restrooms

To reiterate shop policies, Matty placed decals on the bathroom mirror reminding clients to wash their hands thoroughly before returning to his chair, and also placed a bottle of BARBICIDE® Spray for clients to use on any surfaces before and after bathroom use. 

To cover the extra costs for sanitation supplies and products, Matty charges a mandatory fee of $1.50 CAD to each service.  

Click Here To Purchase An Apron From Victory & Receive A FREE Safe Hands! 

Implement Extra Sanitation Steps At Stations 

Instagram via @mattyconrad

 Since his station is where he has the closest contact with clients, Matty took extra precautions to make sure they feel safe in his chair. Check out how he upped sanitation for every station:

• Continue communicating safety policies with guests and make sure any signage hung at the station is clear and visible. 

• Every client needs a fresh cape at the start of the service, so Matty uses the Victory Vintage Cutting Cape because it is made of 100 percent washable material, making it easy to wash between appointments and breathable so clients can be comfortable. Clean capes are also stored in a closed container until needed. 

• For himself, Matty wears the Victory Tactical Apron. It’s made with rip-stop nylon, so he is able to sanitize his apron easily between each client.

• Create a designated “clean drawer” at every station. Matty places all of his clean tools in a closed drawer and labels it with a white medical cross sticker, that way both the client and staff know that those supplies are safe to use. 

“I only take out the tools I need, that way everything else in the drawer stays sterile and I know exactly what I have to clean at the end of each appointment,” he says. Drawers are also equipped with a wipeable, rubber insert that can be sanitized at the end of each day. 

• Seal any porous surfaces. Matty’s station is a combination of marble and wood, to make the wood easier to clean AND ensure it doesn’t trap bacteria, Matty sprayed the wooden surface with Shellac, a heavy sealant. 

• BARBICIDE® might be a station staple, but for tools that can’t be submerged, like scissors or clippers, Matty placed a UV sanitation cabinet at every station so that every tool can be thoroughly disinfected.

 Pro Tip: Matty begins his cleaning process by placing his tools in the UV cabinet first. That way, by the time he is finished with cleaning the rest of his station, the uv cabinet has finished its cycle.