Mala McAlpin “My first week back was one of the best of my 38 year career.” We chat to Jake Sloane; Cosmetic Doctor at Infinity Skin Clinics, Sarah Perry; owner of Face MediSpa, and Daniela Boerma; owner of Bliss Day Spa.
Despite the very short amount of lead time business owners were given when it was announced that spas, clinics and salons could reopen from June 1st, NSW and Victorian made the mad dash to throw open their doors once again last Monday and from what we can tell, the response from clients have been astounding. Not only were most booked back to back last week by ecstatic clients, but we have been hard-pushed to find any businesses and practitioners that don’t have full appointment schedules for the next several weeks.
We wanted to capture this joyous occasion by speaking to several practitioners and owners across NSW and Victoria, including Jake Sloane; Cosmetic Doctor at Infinity Skin Clinics, Sarah Perry; owner of Face MediSpa, and Daniela Boerma; owner of Bliss Day Spa.
Was your first week back a success?
JAKE: Throughout the lockdown I was inundated with messages from patients so I knew that there would be no shortage of bookings! But it was important to first research the recommended guidelines for aesthetic clinics in the post-COVID era and I tested these before we opened to full capacity. It’s been a pleasure to be busy and the new protocols we have implemented are working very smoothly.
SARAH: Our first week back was incredible! Our team were pumped to be together and doing what we love again. Our clients were so happy to be able to come in, no one shared any concerns about coming to see us. I believe this is because we are already so hygienic and NSW cases are very low, and most had been in hotel quarantine. With the added hand sanitiser around the clinic and with a small buffer in between appointments to minimise client crossover, we have an environment that is as safe as can be. We even had one client bring us in some ‘Welcome back!’ balloons which was awesome.
DANIELA: My first week back was one of the best of my 38 year career – not just financial but emotionally, you don’t know what you have until it’s taken from you.
What were your clients’ main concerns?
JAKE: To be honest, my patients haven’t voiced any concerns related to their safety or sterility at all. I think this is testament to how Australia as a country has managed the virus and secondly, they have voiced that they feel secure with the additional steps we’ve added to minimise risks. My patients have been very happy to be treated and many have been in limbo after we unfortunately had to cancel them during the lockdown. People are requesting my full repertoire of injectables and so far I’ve not noticed any change in their spending habits or requests.
SARAH: Nurse Sue, our cosmetic injector was fully booked this week and only has a couple of appointments available next week and the week after which is fantastic. Our skin experts have been consistently booked, with most of our clients wanting a treatment to oxygenate, hydrate and exfoliate. 90% of our clients we had this week have booked in for an additional treatment this month.
DANIELA: Funnily my clients were more concerned with how myself and staff were going with our closure, they trust Bliss Day Spa’s sanitisation process , it’s not that much different to the way we have always operated. Skin treatments were our most requested treatment including brows and Dermapen 4 , I think our clients just wanted some pampering and human touch.
Are you expecting to remain busy or booked out over the coming weeks?
JAKE: I’d anticipated a very busy first few weeks and it’s really satisfying to be booked out for the next month at least. I gave priority to all of the patients who I had to cancel due to the lockdown but I’m also seeing a lot of new patients who have booked in after coming across my Instagram profile. It’s been very nice to see my regular patients who I’ve seen for years and get back into a daily rhythm that I‘ve missed.
SARAH: I anticipate that we will remain relatively booked until school holidays, which is usually a quieter time for us and then from there I suspect we will find what our new normal is. It’s been really humbling to have so many people want to support local and support us during COVID-19, it has given us newfound confidence in being the happy place for your face.
DANIELA: We are fully booked for several weeks at the moment, I think we will have a slight downturn after the next few weeks but I’m not anticipating a drastic decline in client bookings. We like to stay engaged with our clients through social media and follow up calls – it’s the key to ongoing service. We were in regular contact with our clients throughout COVID-19 closure.
We could not be more thrilled to hear such happy stories from our resilient industry after several months of forced closure, and we wish every newly reopened business every success in the weeks and months to come.
How did the first week back feel for you? We’d love to hear how it went in the comments below.
