Why I’ve installed nail desk screens in my salon
By Guest Writer | 09 June 2020 | Feature, Tech Talk
Kara Kotsonis, founder of the award-winning NailSquad Nail Bar in Deal, Kent, reveals why she has added perspex screens to the salon’s nail desks…
Kara Kotsonis
The official government guidelines for the re-opening of nail salons are due to be released shortly. Most of the proposed guidelines seem straightforward but there has been great debate about the use of one item: perspex desk screens.
There is no current view that such screens will become mandatory in the UK for beauty business. Some British industry experts maintain whether they should even be considered as an essential investment, since screens do not provide additional safety to clients as the virus could travel around the screen. So why, as a salon, did we decide to install desk screens?
The answer: We worked out what was best for our business and client base.
We surveyed a selection of our clients, we also asked friends and family throughout the UK, and had a collective discussion about what the screens would bring to our workplace.
The results showed that the majority of our clients liked seeing the introduction of screens in supermarkets and essential stores. They said that it would make them feel more comfortable in the salon.
Our general survey of friends and family outside of our local area across the UK showed that they instilled a similar sense of security. We noticed a dramatic difference in businesses that had installed screening. In our local area in Kent, almost all companies have adopted some kind of screening. In contrast in some areas of the country, large proportions of businesses excluding supermarkets had not.
During our discussion as a salon, one point that emerged was that as a service industry, part of that service is to provide a chance for clients to relax, so that they leave feeling better than when they entered. That there was more to a great salon experience than the treatment alone, and for us the screens bring our clients the peace of mind to enable this.
We will also be adopting all other proposed measures to become Covid-19 secure, such as not using all our desks to maintain social distancing, hand sanitiser, the use of PPE for clients and techs, ventilation, single-use items and following the ongoing guidelines as they appear.
The NailSquad team
As we start to re-open, how we best implement our new way of working may be different for each of us. It might be conducting a survey, speaking with clients, or writing a list of pros and cons.
The point is that everyone is different, and so are our businesses, and what works for each of them may also be different too, and that’s okay.