Velvet Rooms, Chobham has to be the place to go for an indulgent, client-centred, hair care experience. Chloe Kearns sat down with owner and director stylist, Leanne Humphries,
to find out more about this rapidly evolving salon at the heart of the local community…
The window displays are inviting, the reception area welcoming, the consultation and treatment areas tidy and sparkling clean: it is clear that they take the business of making clients feel fantastic and look amazing seriously here at Velvet Rooms.
Global brand L’Oreal has selected Velvet Rooms to be one of only a handful of small salons to deliver a bespoke service in line with their Salon Emotions Programme. Leanne explained how the client is at the very centre of everything they do at Velvet Rooms and how the attentive consultation they offer here makes the world of difference to client satisfaction in an industry where 70% of clients feel they have not had an in-depth consultation.
“Training and education is imperative for us,” says Leanne, “be it in salon-etiquette or new trends, juniors and experienced staff alike are continually offered opportunities to develop their skills.”
At Velvet Rooms, they work alongside industry experts from L’Oreal and independent practitioners they invite into the salon to hone their skills. This is an interactive process that embeds the excellent practice that essentially benefits their customers. The core clientele here spans the age range and by keeping themselves informed about new trends and products, the staff at Velvet Rooms are able to deliver a professional, client-led service.
But they don’t expect everyone to come to them: “We want to be a real part of the community so we love going along to local events to help out and make people smile by doing plaits and glitter braids,” says Leanne. Being a recognisable and integral part of the community that it serves it what is making this ever-evolving salon a destination of choice for a regular trim or a special occasion.
Having launched their spa at Lynwood retirement village, offering a variety of treatments from facials to lashes, this new arm of the business has become established and is about to enter its second phase. This forward-looking business can boast being one of fewer than 200 salons in the UK invited to stock desirable Shu Uemura products. Furthermore, of the approximately 900 colour specialists trained by L’Oreal, Velvet Rooms is home to two of them, and the young colourist of the year 2014. “This makes us pretty special, we think!” explains Leanne, and we couldn’t agree with her more.
Now five years old, Velvet Rooms is growing up, with a new website, an app that offers deals and rewards and plans to make further changes to the salon interior. “You have to keep yourself fresh,” says Leanne, which explains why they are the go to stylists for weddings at prestigious Penny Hill Park.
Velvet Rooms are achieving growth and progress into new areas without compromising on quality of service- when new clients call and book, front of house staff will engage with them to match them to a stylist- the first sign of the delightful personalised service to follow at this elegant salon.