Joanie Davis spent six weeks making birdhouses while her salon, Head East was closed for social distancing due to COVID-19. She expected to see her business reopen as usual and was considering expanding her shop into a garden area where clients could shop before and after appointments.
Instead, she returned to a salon that she says is frustrating and stressful as a result of the pandemic.
“It’s not like ‘Yay, we’re open, let’s celebrate!’ It’s still very stressful. I don’t want my customers to be afraid to come in just because I was required to put warnings up everywhere. I want people to be happy to come in, I want my space to be peaceful and welcoming,” Davis said.
Alpine Family Haircuts owner Ben Ghassemian acknowledged signage requirements are complex but said his bigger challenge is due to social distancing requirements that demand extra space between clients.
“We are following all the regulations for the state, disinfecting, distancing, all of that and due to that we can only accept clients only by appointment. It has been very busy, we’re full with appointments for the next couple of weeks but I don’t want to tell anyone they can’t come in so it is hard,” Ghassemian said.
In addition to fulfilling new guidelines intended to keep customers and employees safe at Head East, Davis said she is concerned her employees might never return to work at her salon, leaving her understaffed.
“People who are working at home and collecting unemployment are going to do that as long as they can make money. A lot of my girls sought unemployment and now they’re making more money working at home or underground so why come back to work when they can make more? Also, the longer you’re away from work the more you realize you can just work out of home. You can’t blame them for not wanting to come back, times are hard,” Davis said.
She believes she is lucky to have her Head East property and said it is the best investment she ever made, in part because the extra space allows her clients to spread out in the garden area, but she worries for salons in strip malls or rented storefronts with no extra room to utilize as a waiting area.
“We have to take their temperature, sanitize, there’s a whole list. I’m lucky because my shop has so much space to spread out in the garden but people in strip malls have no place to wait,” Davis said.
Ghassemian said he and his staff have taken the temperature of every customer who has an appointment and although not one has been outside allowable body temperature levels, it is another step on top of social distancing that slows down appointments.
Davis said she is considering supplementing her salon business with a second income in her garden area.
“I realize I’m not entirely in control of the situation. We have the governor’s guidelines as well as state board guidelines. State board of cosmetology can come in and cite you… If the salon closes, it wasn’t something I chose. Sometimes when a door closes, you have to go to the next door. If it all comes together, I’ll be ecstatic but if it doesn’t, well, we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I’m just staying grateful,” Davis said.
Ghassemian also said he is grateful.
“We appreciate our clients’ patience with appointments , we know we have extra challenges and we’re limited but working hard,” Ghassemian said.
Head East is located at 1981 Arnold Way and Alpine Family Haircuts is located at 2353 Alpine Blvd.
