Maintenance Issues

There is no other area that reflects your cleanliness commitment more than your bathrooms. Try and keep these areas free of brooms, mops and buckets, employee coats, and cleaning supplies. Keep them spotless and well stocked with paper supplies and soaps. Framed pictures or posters (not ripped, worn ones taped on the wall) can add a nice touch.

"It’s the back of the salon so customers don’t even see it," is what many salon staff may think about the receiving or employee area of the store. The standards that you set in your employees-only areas are indicative of how clean the entire store is. If an owner makes a cleanliness commitment in the back, then employees will be more focused on keeping the customer areas clean. Strive to keep employee break areas clean and clutter free—including the refrigerators, counters and microwaves.

Cleanliness accountability is one key to ensure your salon stays clean. The closing staff should have a checklist for each area of the salon that should be checked each night before the employees leave. The closing staff should review the list together, sign off and leave it for the owner or opening staff.

In larger salons, it may take five minutes or more to check each area on the list. However, the results are well worth the investment of time and money. Staff will work hard as the day comes to a close to clean properly so the check goes smoothly and everyone can go home.

Be sure that when a section of the salon is checked on the list to allow enough time to correct anything that was not done properly. Remember, at the end of a busy day, fatigue takes over and employees can forget certain cleaning procedures. As a reminder, a checklist displayed in a prominent area can help reduce errors and make it easier to maintain store cleanliness.

Finally, spend some time in your competitors’ salons. Look for areas that stand out as both clean and dirty. Then go back to your salon and check how the same areas compare.