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Dream Nails CEO on the salon brand’s AI customer service chatbot 

By Rebecca Hitchon | 24 January 2024

Scratch chats to Thanh Vu, CEO of Essex and East London salon franchise, Dream Nails, about its artificial intelligence (AI) nail expert… Tell us about the role of the AI assistant. Dream Nails‘ AI assistant is available 24/7 via a web and WhatsApp interface, and can answer questions about treatments, pricing…

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Covid-19: How I’ve tackled staffing issues since reopening my salons

By Guest Writer | 7 September 2021

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, reflects on the challenges – and opportunities – that have been presented to her businesses since reopening after lockdown…  Since reopening, the most challenging aspect for our boutique salon business has been staffing issues. We adhere to strict Covid-19 precautions for…

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Reopening: Thoughts on the first fortnight back in the salon

By Guest Writer | 26 April 2021

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, shares her experience back at work following lockdown 3.0 and draws in thoughts from an employee… As owner of four Dream Nails salons, I have become accustomed, due to Covid-19, to closing them with a few days’ notice and then needing to…

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Covid-19 SALON TALK: How I have embraced govt business grants

By Guest Writer | 25 January 2021

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, shares how she has made the most of financial support from government – and navigated obstacles – during the coronavirus pandemic… Coronavirus brought unprecedented challenges to businesses and while it has presented numerous opportunities, financial prudence, financial planning and financial support has…

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How I navigate my 4 London nail salons & staff through lockdown

By Guest Writer | 13 January 2021

Hi Scratch readers, My name is Thanh Vu and I guess I fall into the stereotypical Vietnamese nail technician. I run Dream Nails, a nail and beauty salon business, which consists of four nail salons in the Essex/East London corridor. I have been in the nail industry for 15 years…

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How to motivate a nail & beauty team during lockdown

By Guest Writer | 11 January 2021

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, shares how she is keeping her staff members motivated & morale high during lockdown… Dream Nails employs 30 staff members across its salon network. It has always been my belief that the staff are the single most important reason behind the success…

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Press-on nails: How & why you should create them during lockdown

By Guest Writer | 4 January 2021

The first UK lockdown saw nail professionals turn to a variety of means to generate cash flow, including creating press-on nails for clients & sending by post. Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, reveals points to consider if you’re thinking of turning to press-ons during lockdown… Press…

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How to make the most of seasonal events in the salon

By Guest Writer | 23 October 2020

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, reveals how and why you should make the most of seasonal events in the calendar… I thoroughly enjoy writing for Scratch as it gives me time to sit and reflect on Dream Nails as a business and helps carve out a clear…

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Coronavirus: How the habits of nail clients have changed since reopening

By Guest Writer | 11 October 2020

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, serves up insight on client habits since reopening… Since nail salons were allowed to reopen on 13 July following the coronavirus outbreak, I have seen a number of changes in client behaviour and demands at Dream Nails salons. Across all four salons,…

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Need to spruce up your nail salon? Here’s some design tips…

By Guest Writer | 4 October 2020

Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, reveals her top tips for salon styling and how to keep design fluid across more than one premises… Salon design is one of the areas of my job that I enjoy most. It has been incredibly satisfying to see my vision…

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#TeamTalk: Get to know the Dream Nails team – part 2

By Guest Writer | 28 September 2020

Discover who’s behind the handiwork at the Dream Nails chain of salons with an insight into its staff members… Lisa Le – Manager, Dream Nails Royal Wharf How did you get into nails? My interest started when I was in secondary school. I always came to school with the long acrylic enhancements…

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#TeamTalk: Get to know the Dream Nails team – part 1

By Guest Writer | 9 September 2020

Discover who’s behind the handiwork at the Dream Nails chain of salons with an insight into its staff members… Roseline – Dream Nails Loughton How did you get into nails? By accident. My aunt opened her nail salon in Roman road and I started as a Saturday girl. How long…

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Here’s how one beauty salon owner manages client no-shows

By Guest Writer | 11 August 2020

Thanh Vu, managing director of Dream Nails, reveals her policy and actions towards client no-shows… As an owner of four salons, I’ve experienced a number of challenges, and no-shows seem to be increasingly apparent across our sector. When I started out as a single salon business, I tended to be…

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