Latest / Salon Success Secrets — The podcast for salon owners who are done hustling harder and ready to break their revenue ceiling. / Leadership Film Study #009: You Solved the Wrong Problem

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Leadership Film Study #009: You Solved the Wrong Problem · Salon Success Secrets — The podcast for salon owners who are done hustling harder and ready to break their revenue ceiling.

• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Salon Success Secrets Leadership Film Study number nine.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're unpacking a video from a salon owner and salon coach who made a pretty surprising business decision.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: She removed online booking from her salon's website.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, she says her salon is busy, her team is booked approximately two months in advance, and they have a wait list and they're only accepting new guests one to two to three times a month.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and her solution was to require guests to call the salon so the front desk could control the schedule, place the appointments into the right spots, and keep the team booked back to back.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And on the surface, that might sound like a smart way to protect a busy schedule, but as we listened, we both had the same reaction.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Online booking isn't the problem she's describing.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: So the problem that we discovered that she was describing is actually a capacity problem.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, she doesn't currently have enough team members or enough availability appointments inventory to serve the level of demand that the salon has created.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so removing online booking might make the schedule feel easier to control today, but it doesn't solve that like underlying problem.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, if you think about it, could create an entirely new one by putting a major point of friction into the salon's new guest pipeline.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because when a guest comes to your website ready to book, that is a moment of incredibly high intent.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: And if she cannot see availability or she cannot or join a wait list or submit a request or take a clear next step, she may not call tomorrow.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: She may simply just choose another salon.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and I am one of those guests.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: My schedule is complicated.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see my calendar and, you know, the salon or whoever I'm trying to book into's calendar at the same time.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to call and make someone read me 16 appointment options while I explain why none of them work.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that makes me feel like a burden.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it makes booking something, you know, I have to find time to do instead of something I can complete immediately.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And for some guests, especially guests from a from particular generations, the presence or absence of online booking may determine whether they ever consider your salon.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: So there's an important distinction here.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: We're not saying a salon can never pause new guests booking or restrict certain services online.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there may be seasons when that is strategically appropriate.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: What we're asking is whether the decision actually solves the problem and what it may cost the business in the future.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: So because leaders don't simply remove the thing that exposes a constraint.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they identify the constraint, they protect the guest experience, and they build that capacity needed to grow beyond it.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: So let's watch the clip.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Offering online booking in here's fine.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Online booking is an amazing value add, not only to your team, but to your clients.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm a professional spot coach I work with about 25 permission spawn members right now.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: I would absolutely suggest everyone who is not in my position to still offer online booking.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: We're deciding to remove online booking from our website because we are so comfortable.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: We also have two months in advance, and we have a wait list when we stop taking new clients.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um accepting new clients like one to three times a month, just depending on the box.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: So this makes fantastic management equal to really maneuver a box and make sure that we're always books on the right thing.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um getting the new client form or put on the right wait list.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um we get some more pockets and we get more stuff.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: At one point, we just opened online booking for picking your own.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: So for us to get the best experience to our clients and make sure that my stuff is booked properly.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Everything's clean, it really helps us just to be able to take appointments open.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: This is what I love about business.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like you can always change things, right?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: So online booking is something for you right now.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Take it off.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to implement online booking, start implementing it.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: You can manage things, it doesn't have to be black and white all the time.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: I keep saying this change is good in your business.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not changing things, that means that you are staying stagnant.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Means that you're not um correcting things.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: That was the clip.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of your initial thoughts, Jen?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: What stood out to you?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: What stood out to me is she she solved the symptoms, right?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: Not the problem.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's like going to the doctor and you have something going on, they saw the symptom.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: But if you really think about it, like what is the true problem that's causing that symptom?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you think about it, online booking did not create the lack of appointments.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: You know, demand exceeding capacity created the scheduling of the challenge.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so when you look at that, you can think about it, like removing removing visibility may make the problem less noticeable, but it does not create another appointment.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I think the leadership question here is why don't we have enough capacity to serve the demand?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: Isn't that so exciting?
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Why don't we have the capacity or how can we create the capacity?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: What's our hiring process?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: What do we need to do to create the capacity to serve the demand that we've generated, especially if we have a great guest experience?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more, Jen.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's um creating a kink in the pipeline ultimately.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think some better questions to explore about that would have been like, you know, does the salon need to recruit?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, are existing team members fully utilized?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are they the people who are in there, are they offering the most possible um services to create the best outcomes for these guests, you know?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is demand distributed appropriately across the team?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, is there anyone who's ready for a promotion or have they not fully utilized the guests that they are, you know, offering services to currently, you know, because you know, if they're if guests are waiting for one or two highly requested um service providers versus like there might be some new people who have more availability, it just seems like an interesting choice, you know.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think another thing to look at there would have been is service timing or pricing or the schedules that people are working.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, are those operating hours like actually contributing to the constraint?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or what are some other ideas for solutions that we have here?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: I just thought that was just an interesting thing to just automatically that's what we're gonna yank right away.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: So true, Lindsay.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think about this as a full schedule is not always evidence of a healthy business.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you've probably heard it maybe even on social media as you've scrolled it, like being booked and being booked in advance or two months in advance, it sounds impressive, but usually there's something underlying behind it.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it could mean like we said, the salon is understaffed, there's a huge opportunity, or that guests cannot maintain the frequency recommended by the beauty pro, um, or that new demand has nowhere to go, or like the salon has created demand it cannot monetize.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and the owner, maybe even the owner, is protecting current dizziness instead of building future capacity.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: So the bottom line of all of this is a full book can be a sign of success, but a permanently closed door can become a ceiling.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and you know, I think the the thing that stands out the most is that like that friction damages the new guest pipeline so much, you know, because according to Zenotti's 2025 Consumer Data report, 80% of salon and spa guests want to be able to book from their mobile devices.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And 69% have abandoned an appointment altogether because it was too difficult to reach the business or book online.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So removing online booking doesn't simply change how a guest schedules, it risks losing her at the exact moment that she is ready to buy, you know, because truly what's happening when a guest is visiting your website is they are raising their hand.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: I want to come here.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, this looks great, you know?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And online booking allows her to act while the interest is highest.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when you require a phone call, that delays that decision and introduces another opportunity to potentially lose her.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth is, many guests browse after business hours, like during work breaks or when they're laying in bed at night, or you know, sometimes it's just like when speaking on the phone is inconvenient.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So even if there's no immediate availability, the digital journey should still offer a clear next step.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you cannot give her an appointment today, you still need a way to keep the relationship alive.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where you could send someone to join a wait list, although we're not a fan of that either, you know.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at least it keeps it's giving them a digital next step step or, you know, submit a new guest form online or request a consultation or request to see the next available appointment or meet another qualified team member or receive some personal recommendations or join an email list to, you know, then be able to send out a nurturing sequence to that guest.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's got to be something for them to do once they raise their hand.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's so true.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: So we bring it to this point: is closing online booking could create a false sense of control.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when you think about that, the coach said that removing online booking allows the front desk to ensure that guests are booked for the correct services and placed in the right spots.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: And that actually suggests possible weakness elsewhere.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, are the service descriptions uh clear?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, is the booking software configured correctly?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: Is your hospitality or front desk team are they trained to know how to book?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, are new guests being guided through a consultation form?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um are there timing rules or buffers or you know, provider levels built into the system?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: Or is the salon using technology to guide the guest or expecting the guest to diagnose what she needs?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: So if guests consistently book the wrong thing, the answer may not be to remove online booking.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the answer may be to design a better online booking experience.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love thinking about designing a better online booking experience because you know, it one of the things that also stood out in that video was you know, back to back to back should not become the entire objective.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, efficiency matters, but a packed schedule is not the only measure of success.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the schedule must serve the guest, the team member, and the financial health of the salon.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, in our businesses, we call that a win-win-win.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And when you create that, that's when amazing things happen.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, when optimizing every opening can become fear-based if leadership is trying to eliminate every possible guest, like you're controlling the thing.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um when you can optimize it like Jen was just talking about, or spend extra time trying to control things, um, I would always lean towards the optimization because a business should not make the guest experience harder solely to create a visually perfect appointment book.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, because the goal isn't to make the calendar look perfect, although that feels nice when that happens, but the goal is to build a business that can consistently serve people and produce healthy results.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_02: And that brings us to why what is the power of having a team-based wand?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: So a team-based wand is always going to have more options.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: You know, uh at the end of the day, a guest gets to choose where they go.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: They don't, you know, so they belong to no one.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, if a if it's most important for a guest to have a certain day or time and that's the time they have to schedule, if the person they're not usually accustomed to seeing is available, then it's a whole different opportunity.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: They can see who is available and they can be introduced to, you know, another qualified teammate.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then also your co-stylists, they could support providers and participate where you know it's appropriate.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and demand can always be transferred to developing team members instead of to being turned away.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: You know, collaboration creates more flexibility than the individual book model ever does.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, a strong team-based model creates more ways to accommodate the guest.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So good.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it actually just reminded me, I literally this morning just quickly met with a beauty pro on our team who said, Hey, I just wanted uh your ideas on how I should approach this with a guest that I served um the other day.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the guest was complaining about the price.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um this service, this beauty pro is a higher level beauty pro on our team.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh, this is awesome.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I said, you know, I gave her a couple of options.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I said, but also keep in mind, like you work together with a co-stylist, like offer for her to see that co-stylist on that every other time.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like if she still, you know, loves seeing you.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, we are a team-based salon, nobody owns the guests.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like it would be, you know, she would experience a significantly less price with that other co-stylist that you usually work with who already knows it, you know.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so just helping set that up really does preserve that relationship with the guests.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because, like you mentioned, Jen, nobody owns guest.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And and so we are earning them every time.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if pricing is a friction point, offer them the additional solutions that exist already within our team.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and really truly, with that whole video, what's you know, one of the biggest underlying issues here is that the real leadership move is to recruit before there's a crisis like this.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because a wait list and two-month lead times are not only scheduling facts, they are recruiting data.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, demand should trigger a capacity-building plan.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the owner's energy may be better invested in attracting, developing, and retaining new talent or talent in general.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the salon should be building that bench truly before the current demand becomes a guest's frustration or team burnout.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, if demand is consistently greater than the capacity that you have to offer for it, then recruiting is no longer an HR project, it's a guest experience strategy.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: So now let's talk about when limiting online booking could make sense.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this actually I had to do this for myself when I knew that my intention was to get out from behind the chair so I could solely focus on developing the business.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like I didn't turn my online booking in for that instance.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, or you know, if there's certain complex corrective services that maybe you do a consultation beforehand, um, or maybe you know, you only allow online booking for certain services temporarily, um, or you route new guests to providers with capacity, or maybe you use a digital wait list when no appointments are available.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the issue is not whether a business may ever adjust online booking, the issue is removing the guest convenient digital path without building a better one.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, because change is good is not a complete business strategy, you know.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, change is not automatically progress.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: It it, you know, change should be connected to a clearly defined problem.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the, you know, leaders should be able to identify what success will look like and what data they'll monitor.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like you really need to be able to see, okay, what is the actual problem happening here?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, they may end up solving one that's an inconvenience while creating a larger downstream problem.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the goal is not to become comfortable with changing things, the goal is to become skilled at diagnosing the right thing to change.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think that's why it's important to have coaching inside of your business so that sometimes you can't see.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you're like, oh, this feels like it would give us temporary relief.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a bigger thing happening here.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so, some questions that you could ask yourself right now before making a decision like this is what exact problem are we solving?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what's causing that problem?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Who becomes inconvenienced by this solution?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And what might this cost us six months from now?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And how will we know if the change worked?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think those are some great questions to ponder on if you're experiencing something in your salon that needs attention right away.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: And like here's the golden ticket, here's the coaching lesson.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when someone gives business advice, don't evaluate it based only on whether the tactic worked in their specific circumstances.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: Ask what problem it solved, what other problems it may have created, and whether the same conditions exist in your business.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because here's what we want you to take away from this conversation.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Do not confuse controlling demand with building capacity.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, removing online booking may make a full schedule easier to manage temporarily, but it does not create more team members, more appointment availability, or a stronger path for future growth.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: And when someone arrives on your website ready to become a guest, they raise their hand.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Making it harder for her to take the next step should never be treated like a small decision in your business.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: And you guys, that doesn't mean uh every service must be instantly bookable or that every provider must always accept new guests.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: It means that even when you cannot say yes to an appointment today, your business still needs a way to say, we see you, we want to help you, here's what happens next.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: That could be a wait list, a consultation request, a new guest form, or an introduction to another team member with availability.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: So the appointment may not be available yet, but the relationship can still begin.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and if your team and your salon has more demand than your current team can serve, celebrate that, but diagnose it honestly.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have an online booking problem.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: You have evidence that it may be time to recruit, develop your existing team, redistribute demand, improve your booking system, or increase capacity in another intentional way.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Don't remove the tool simply because it reveals the constraint.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: So great leaders learn to solve the right problem.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: So before you make a change, just ask yourself, what is actually causing this?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: Who will this solution help?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_02: Who might it unintentionally inconvenience?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_02: And does this decision move us or move the move us toward the business we're trying to build?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: Excuse me, or does it merely make today's problem less valuable?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because a full book may feel like the finish line, but if new guests cannot find a way in, current guests cannot maintain their appointments, and your team has no room to grow, it may actually be a signal that your next season of leadership has already begun.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: So protect the experience, preserve the pipeline, and build the capacity to serve the demand you work so hard to create.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see you next week on Salon Success Secret.