When customers pulled into the Intrigue Salon parking lot on Johnson Ferry Road Saturday morning to pick up their supply of hair-care products, they were greeted by staffers wearing masks and bunny ears.
On the day before Easter, the playful gestures meant to encourage a sense of fun blended in with the somber new realities of the post-COVID-19 world.
Staff placed the products in the popped-up trunks of customers, who then drove away, all in the no-contact fashion that’s becoming the new normal for many businesses these days.
“We tell them this is for your temporary fix,” said Bonnie Bonadeo, Intrigue’s marketing director.
Like most “personal touch” businesses in Georgia—hair salons, barber shops, nail salons and spas—Intrigue has been closed to regular business for the better part of the last month.
In that time, owner Jeff South and his staff have held a few Saturday curbside pickup sessions for customers who order in advance.
It’s not just a way for Intrigue to do a spare bit of business for the time being, but for its clients to stay in touch, and do what they can until they’re allowed to come back in for a haircut and other hair treatments.
“We pride ourselves in our license to touch, but we can’t do that at all right now,” Bonadeo said.
She said for the two hours of the curbside pickup service, around 50 to 60 customers have come by.
They order their products—powders, conditioners and foams, for the most part—online. They’re not being sold anything that’s not advisable for them to use at home.
Instead, the daily hair products they take with them are meant to “help people feel better about themselves.”
It’s all part of what Bonadeo said is “making a very simple connection” to a customer base in an intensively customized and personalized industry, and one that’s in a very competitive market in East Cobb.
“For a small business, this is as valid as it can get,” she said.
Future curbside sessions are dictated by having enough customers order online.
Bonadeo also sends out e-mails with a light touch on occasion, another means of maintaining connections.
When a customer sent a note wondering how long the shutdown might last, Bonadeo sent out another e-mail with a giraffe and indicated “this long.”
A statewide shelter-in-place that ordered non-essential businesses closed has been extended by Gov. Brian Kemp at least through April 30.
Some other personal care businesses in East Cobb have tentatively announced reopening dates of May 1. Others are saying for now they may reopen on May 13, when a statewide public health emergency is set to expire.
When does Intrigue open again, Bonadeo said more patience will be necessary for customers. Social distancing guidelines are likely to limit staffing levels and how many customers can be accommodated at any given time.
“The priority is that we have to ensure that people feel safe coming back,” she said. “We all want to believe this is a temporary situation.”
How are you coping?
We’re writing a series of stories about how people in East Cobb are faring during the Coronavirus crisis—business owners, parents homeschooling their kids, personal caregivers, worshipping via Zoom, etc.
Let us know how your daily routine has changed, and what you’re doing during this uncertain time. E-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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