The highlight of my hair show experience was meeting up with the metro FOR MEN team for breakfast at The Pike in Long Beach, CA before the show. I recommend this place, great food, and strong irish coffee. We enetered the show together and were inspired together. I could not ask for anything more! A team that plays together stays together.

Almost a year ago, I was told my dream to have a shop where associates cared about each other and the customer was lofty at best. That people in this industry don’t care about anything else but themselves and competing to have it all for themselves. I disagreed and said I will keep keep trying no matter how many people I have to go through to get my dream team. I was bid farewell with a closing statement of “it will never happen”. For a brief moment I doubted my dream, but forged foward anyway.

I’m glad I did, because I have my dream team and I will keep adding to it with like minded individuals that want to be part of my dream. Thank you to my nay sayers because without you, my dream would have never been realized. metro FOR MEN in 2012 is going to continue to be the leader in men’s grooming and will reach new goals…and dreams. For this reason, it is why metro FOR MEN is a Top 200 Salon in America. Here’s to an AMAZING 2012!

His other argument was professional shampoo is expensive. It is more expensive than drug store shampoo because you are buying better quality and ingedients. As I mentioned before, professional shampoo is highly concentrated requiring less to go farther. A professional shampoo will last two to three times longer than a drug store shampoo of the same size. Drug store shampoo is so watery that most of it goes down the drain as you try to apply it to your hair. Where as professional shampoo stays in the palm of your hand until its applied to the hair. That is why it lasts longer and therefore costs less over the lifetime of the bottle.

It was one of the best classes hosted within metro FOR MEN. We were shown three new haircuts for men and then shown how to recreate them. At the end of the class, the staff was excited, energized and educated. I think it is important to stay educated and connected to my chosen career. In a typical year I receive at least 40 hours in continuing and enjoy it. I lead by example to my staff and show my team at metro FOR MEN that successful service providers continue to be educated no matter how long in the industry. My advice to customers of salons and stylists, entertain salons that require continuing education and in salon education and get services from stylists who regularly attend industry education.

Groupon called us again to run a deal for Father’s Day because our initial deal was so successful, but I declined. I declined because another deal was just ran with another business like mine in the area. Not a good business move. metro FOR MEN is an exclusive men’s only salon and constantly running deals does not support our brand image. Running a Groupon deal was a reward for our current guests to get such a great deal and to offer new guests a way to experience the shop with little financial out put. I just don’t feel that running a deal every 3 months is a smart business decision.

In order for a business to run a successful promotion under the perameters of Groupon or any other daily deal site, the business must be cash positive and provide an outstanding customer experience so that the customer will return again and again. If the business just wants to run deals frequently, it sends the message that the business is not worth their regular pricing. Like a 2 for 1 deal. That means the customer perception is that the business can afford to offer their product for half the regular price all the time, especially if this type of deal is run consistently. Daily deals are just that—a daily deal…Not a constant promotion. If the same business runs the same daily deal every three months, what does that say about that business and yes I think that approach could kill a business (especially its reputation).

I would run a Groupon again, but as a special opportunity so that prospective customers percieve it just that way.

How can reviews, whether helpful or hurtful, help business owners? My position on reviews is that they should come from a critical perspective, provide specific instances, and offer suggestions on how to fix or exemplify an experience. That way the business owner has the necessary information to make the right decisions for their business and make it better. My cautionary note to reviewers, hurtful reviews could devastate a business causing it to potentially close down or be forced to go up for sell, and possibly bankrupt the owner. I understand there are bad businesses out there, but maybe just maybe the business could be amazing with the right useful information.

I’m truly grateful that my shop has experienced great reviews and boast a 4 3/4 star rating. We are not perfect and there is no business that is. We really try to make every guest of metro FOR MEN feel welcome and that we cared about him. We desire to stay attentive to the details and offer a consistent service every time. We would love to hear about your metro FOR MEN experience. Please post your review on Yelp.com, Google Places, our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/metro-FOR-MEN/75239173883, or on our website at http://www.metroformen.com/give-feedback.php. I look forward to reading your comments!

I will not stop pursuing my vision of creating a unique salon experience for men with a team dedicated to the mission, vision and values of metro FOR MEN.