CHAIN SALON OWNERS 'JOIN THE NETWORK'
Association rebrands itself to position the association for future leadership. Members present “Legend” award to Vidal Sassoon, and Congressman Neil Abercrombie tells how salon professionals can be more powerful on Capitol Hill than the Teamsters.
Amelia Island, FL-May 20-22, 2007 - Paula Malloy, president of the association formerly known as the International Chain Salon Association, kicked off the association's annual conference by announcing the renaming and repositioning of the group as the International Salon Spa Business Network (ISBN) at The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, FL. The ISBN will continue to be comprised of owners and senior management of multi-unit salon and spa companies (two or more), but the new name will place less emphasis on “chain” and more on networking.
Attending the conference was the most famous hairdresser in history, Vidal Sassoon, who received ISBN's Legend Award. In addition, he and Mary Rector-Gable, founder of behindthechair.com, introduced Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, their new program to build houses for those who lost theirs to Hurricane Katrina.
In presenting the ISBN Legend Award, ISBN Board Member Charles Penzone, said, “Vidal Sassoon single-handedly changed this industry. He represented us 24 hours as day as a gentleman. He legitimized us and our profession by his behavior and I'm grateful for that. His influence still remains today. The first time I ever saw a hand-held blow dryer was in his hands. Each of us is a beneficiary of his creativity and genius. We have lived lives that hairdressers before us were unable to live. If that's not enough, this weekend, we were all beneficiaries of his graciousness. Personally, I'd like to say thank you.”
Added Board Member Paul Brown, “Vidal Sassoon brought a new attitude, self respect and dignity to the hairdresser. Besides profoundly changing the techniques that hairdressers used in the salon, he also allowed consumers-our clients-to do their own hair. As a result, they bought products to use at home for the first time. So even those in this industry who aren't licensed hairdressers still benefit greatly from his legacy every single day.”
On accepting the award, Sassoon, who lived in an orphanage as a child, introduced Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, the new campaign that invites hairdressers to lend their hands to rebuild homes lost to Hurricane Katrina. “We have to do something about New Orleans, because it could happen in any city in America,” said Sassoon, who with his wife, Ronnie, has already built homes for two families.
Congressman Neil Abercrombie, a democrat who has represented the first district of Hawaii for almost 20 years, delivered an eye-opening presentation about government affairs.
“You have a better opportunity to succeed with your legislative figures than anyone else, because of your direct connection with your customers,” said Congressman Abercrombie in directing members about how to get the industry's proposed Tip Tax legislation voted into law. “Your issues are real and comprehensible. You have incredible power, incredible numbers and a customer base that pays attention to what you do and is interested in what you think. If you combine that grassroots reach with the work your lobbyist does and a federal political action committee, you will succeed in getting what you want. In fact, you could be more powerful than the Teamsters.”
On the education front, speaker Judson Laipply demonstrated “Life is Change” through the Evolution of Dance, the last 50 year of dance in one 6-minute routine, as viewed on U-tube more than 49 million times. “The majority of our life is determined by the choices we make,” he said. “Life isn't always the party we hope for, but while we are here, we might as well dance.”
And what's a stay at the Ritz Carlton without a behind-the-scenes view into the company's Legendary Service? Jeff Dziak presented the company's philosophy and core values and how to translate them into exceptionally high levels of employee and customer satisfaction and loyalty. “Engaged employees and engaged customers create the Ritz Carlton experience,” he explained. “Customers judge the quality of your institution by the responsiveness they experience from the first person they come in contact with to discuss their problem. In fact, 67% of customers will leave because of an attitude of indifference by just one employee. That's why employee empowerment is so important. We empower our employees up to $2,000 per day per guest to solve a complaint, so the guest's satisfaction can be immediate.”
The networking continued in the Link-Up Lounge with companies that presented their newest offerings. Sponsoring at the platinum level was Colomer USA, which includes ABBA, American Crew, Arosci, Creative Nail Design, Framesi, MOP Organic Products, Professional Systems Group, Roux and Voila. Gold level sponsors were Matrix and Redken, which also jointly sponsored the golf tournament. Sponsoring on the silver level were behindthechair.com, Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, whodoesyourhair.com and Your Name Professional Brands. Bronze sponsors included Aldan, Alterna, Award, Belvedere, Brocato, Dudley's Q, Equibal Labs, Essie, Kenra, KPSS (Goldwell and KMS California), L'anza Healing Haircare, Metropolis, Millennium by Harms Software, Modern Salon Media, Nioxin, Paul Brown Hawaii, The Pavilion, SalonBiz, SexyHair, Shortcuts Salon & Spa Software, which presented Speed Dating for Business, Simplicity Hair Extensions, Takara Belmont, Veeco and Zotos.
As always, the conference featured the golf tournament, First-timers reception and the President's Pancake Breakfast.
The International SalonSpa Business Network is comprised of more than 50 top companies, owning two to 11,000 salons each, with combined gross sales of more than $10 billion annually. The membership represents more than 25,000 salons and employs more than 250,000 people licensed in the cosmetology field, who facilitate more than 500 million client transactions per year.
Call 1-866-444-ICSA-4272 for more information on joining and on attending and/or exhibiting at ISBN's next Conference, May 4-6, 2008 at the Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, CA.