So Much More Than Just A Salon- An Interview with Dan Brookes from Prime Truro

Prime Truro is a salon with a difference. It's a concept space that offers a chill zone for the locals, bringing true service back to the high street. We spoke to Dan Brookes, salon owner about why Prime Truro is the prime place to be and why they use Booksy in their unique shop.

What lead you to become a barber?

I started to train as a barber 10 years ago after the thirst for a career change had hit me. I was plumbing with my dad at the time, which didn't really feed my creativity. We happened to be fitting a bathroom suite for a local barbershop owner, who offered me the opportunity of coming by his shop to watch and to sweep up. It was an old-school shop with mostly an older customer base, a lot of farmers and the occasional fisherman (the fishermen were the only time you'd ever see the rare sight of a beard!). The shop was always busy with a great vibe.

What’s the best thing about being a salon owner?

I love being able to inject my own creativity and personality into our space and share fresh ideas with the team, who are all just as dynamic as I am! This allows us to be so much more than just a salon. We have music, art, gaming and community events regularly throughout the year, which I feel makes for more of a welcoming and interactive environment for existing and new clients. The events are usually held in our on-site coffee shop (but sometimes the salon furniture gets a move around too when more space is needed!) We also have gifts and local bands' merch to browse, and space on the walls filled with local artists' work. I suppose we strive to be more of a brand, or a concept, where people can either come to chill with a coffee and experience our vibe with a laptop or a sketchbook; or they can head through to the salon area for their hair fixup. The events & creativity we aspire to achieve just wouldn't be possible without the help and support of my wife Lizzy who is Prime's senior stylist, as well as the great team we now have onboard (our barista, our 2 other barbers and our colour specialist) who really make owning a salon a special thing; they are the salon's family.

What drives you to go further?

Seeing the standard at industry shows and also seeing it daily on social media always inspires me and gets me thinking about what's next for us. 

What do you think is the key to success? 

Being an industry which heavily relies on customer service, you can't go into it without having a naturally friendly personality. Any bad attitude, bad vibes or rudeness has to be ditched before becoming a good barber, hairdresser, or any professional really. Being innovative, ahead of the game, and conscious of the client's view of your overall atmosphere is also a winner. Being willing to make changes when they are needed is also key to progressing.  

How did you find out about Booksy? 

I had been researching different booking systems after having walk-in clients for 5 years... Booksy then came up and I loved the idea of a clear, organised day, with obvious benefits to the customers as well as ourselves.

Had you tried any other similar systems before?

No, we had never been appointment based for gents. We did take bookings for our ladies services, as they take a little longer in duration and we mainly used an old-school appointment book and pen method for that. Booksy meant, however, that ALL our clientele could be kept together on one simple database.

 What’s your favourite feature? 

Having all the Booksy users together on a database means you get to finally learn everyone's' names, which makes for a more personal service. After having so long of taking walk-ins, you could move away from saying "that electrician guy who has a 3 back and sides"... or "the car guy with the low skin fade" and we don't have to name anyone 'mate' anymore! 

What other features have you found you like? 

If we need to get in touch with a client, it's super easy. The way we can let them know about any offers and keep everyone in the loop has the potential to get a better reach than social media posts, in my opinion. 

What kind of changes have you noticed since using Booksy?  

There's been a lot less No-Shows & Cancellations with our female clientele since using Booksy - mainly because of the Text Reminder feature. Before having this feature, we'd find that people would simply forget about the appointment they'd made 8 weeks ago, and we were left with time wasted and having to phone them to reschedule it. We've also noticed that after a while of the gents using the app to book themselves in, they must have become more aware of the weeks in between haircuts, I guess because of having the dates right in front of them on their app. So some gents have even been returning a week or two sooner than they previously would have done (when comparing it to 'the walk-in days'). So some returning customers have definitely been coming in more regularly, and a growing number of gents are rebooking their next cut before they leave the shop... Laid-back Cornwall is becoming more organised! Completely different from the 'guessing game' of having walk-ins.  

How long before you started noticing these changes? 

It's hard to say, as it was only after a year of introducing Booksy that we made another massive change to our business: moving from surf-town Newquay to the city of Truro, which was definitely another reason for a change in people's usual patterns. However, I'd say the 'Ladies VS No-Shows' saga was almost an instant change for the better. We had a real problem with it before we started getting more organised by using Booksy. 

How has your work/life balance changed?  

With an organised diary of a day laid out in front of you, we never turn up to a big queue of guys wanting the first slot anymore, there is less pressure and stress on the staff, and we actually get to finish and close the shop on time now! Plus after the majority of women who previously would've booked over the phone have started using Booksy instead, we found that we are interrupted less by phone calls during our time with another client. Almost all of our clientele, both male and female, are now using the app for its simplicity and convenience; so this means for our home life to stay separate and to keep a good healthy balance, my wife and I had to turn off all the app and email notifications when we first began using it, to stop us from constantly checking who was booking in!! We have also found that now there is a way for clients to book themselves in outside of working hours, (through our website as well as the app itself) there have been fewer enquiries through social media messaging, meaning more free time at home keeping work a little more separate. 

Have you got any new clients that found you through the Booksy Marketplace? 

We find that anyone discovering us through Booksy are clients visiting Cornwall from somewhere else upcountry. It doesn't happen all that often, but they'll come down on holiday at least once a year, so the opportunity for repeat business is still there even though they aren't locals. They mention that they use the app for different services upcountry which is what leads them to find out about us. 

What do your clients think about the app? 

All our clients think it's fantastic, even new ones who try walking in are happy to put their name down to come back later; it makes sense to them, being able to save their spot in a queue without physically having to be there. In today's world of technology, we have quick and easy access to so much, with same or next day delivery, so nobody really wants to wait for anything anymore! This being said, we were pretty nervous at the time of having to change 5 years worth of walk-ins to a booking system. We made sure to advertise it well in the weeks leading up to the switch-over, so everyone had notice and became used to the idea... But that's not to say that the first couple weeks of using the app weren't hard; not everybody who was used to just turning up had heard about the change. So this especially made the busy Saturdays difficult. I'm quite speedy with my scissors, so often I would end up being ahead of schedule and squeezing walk-ins between bookings, to begin with. Then I could explain how easy it is to book for next time whilst they were in the chair. Everybody understood the change and were happy to convert! 

Would you recommend Booksy to others in the industry?

Definitely!  

What are your plans for the future of Prime Truro? 

We take things week by week, as they really fly by so quickly... One moment you're unlocking the doors on Monday morning, and the next you're sweeping up on Saturday! We hope to continue to grow, both as a brand and as a team. We are fast approaching our first year in the new premises- so plans are in progress to make that memorable, as well as keeping up with our regular events. Lizzy is also busy in-between hair cuts writing and gathering articles for a brand new 'zine (independent fanzine) we'll be bringing out. It will be all about Truro as a city, it's music/art scene and it's expanding coffee culture! 

If you could have anyone in your chair, who would it be and why? 

Without a doubt, Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've loved the Chili's since starting to learn guitar at age 12, and I feel he would be a good laugh to talk to in the chair. As a kid, I remember watching a clip of him getting a hair cut in Australia on one of their world tour DVDs. I admired the way he would always change up his style, that always stuck with me. 

What are your most memorable moments so far? 

Getting the keys to my first shop 7 years ago was a big milestone. Cutting hair at Barber Connect for King Brown's Pomade was a good highlight too! 

Have you got any tips/advice for inspiring barbers/stylists? 

Be inspired by others, but don't waste too much of your time looking into their way of doing things; stay focused on you and what's going to make your work the best it can be. 

Who do you admire within the industry? 

It's taken a little extra thought to think of someone that I admire because most of what we all have for reference is a collection of 'best moments' on social media. However, I do admire the HardGrind boys, as I feel they are open and honest about both the highs and the lows of their time in the industry. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

That's all... Over and out!

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Photo credit to Craig Taylor Broad Photography craigtaylorbroad.com