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You've signed the lease, chosen the chairs, booked the sign-writer. Somewhere on that list, usually near the bottom, sits the phone. A lot of new salon owners leave it until the week they open and then find that a stranger still can't call the business and book an appointment. That gap costs money, because the first few weeks are when every booking counts and you have no regulars to fall back on.
New businesses rarely fail because the work was bad. About 21.5% of US businesses close in their first year, and 48.4% are gone by year five, according to LendingTree's analysis of federal data. When founders are asked why, the reason that comes up most is running out of cash, which CB Insights found in its review of startup post-mortems is almost always the last symptom rather than the root cause. For a salon, cash runs out when the chairs sit empty, and the chairs sit empty when bookings don't come in.
The phone is where a lot of those first bookings live. Around 60% of people say they would rather call a local business than reach it any other way, and only about 4% pick a web form, per a BrightLocal survey reported by Search Engine Land. Small Business Trends reports the same preference: calling is how most people want to reach a small business. A new client who finds you, picks up the phone, and gets voicemail usually doesn't leave a message. They call the next salon on the list. You can put a number on that with our guide to what missed calls cost your salon.
Settle on one number that takes both calls and texts, and set it up weeks before you open, not days. If you're moving an existing number to a new provider, porting can take several business days and sometimes longer, so a late start can leave you without a working line on opening day. Our guide to getting one number for salon calls and texts covers text-enabling your line and what 10DLC registration means for sending booking confirmations by SMS.
Then choose how calls actually reach you. A cell number is quick to start but hard to share across a team and awkward once you hire. A VoIP line gives you a proper business number, call routing, and voicemail that reaches whoever is free. We weigh the trade-offs in landline, VoIP or cell for salons. Whatever you pick, test it the way a client would: call it from a phone that isn't yours and see what happens at 9am, at lunch, and at 8pm.
Phone habits do shift with age. In YouGov's research, most Americans still use phone support, while younger customers lean more on text and chat, which is why a line that handles calls and SMS serves a wider range of new clients than voice on its own.
Most salon owners are small operators. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that about 48% of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists are self-employed, which means the person cutting hair is often the same person meant to answer the phone. That is the problem your booking system has to solve from day one: it has to let someone book without you stopping mid-service.
Pick software that shows live availability by stylist, takes the deposit or card you want to hold a slot, and sends its own confirmations and reminders. Set your services, prices, and the gaps between appointments before you open, so the calendar a client sees matches what you can actually deliver. If you want new clients to pay a deposit, read how to do it without scaring off first-time bookers first. And write down what you'd say on a booking call, because a consistent answer books more than an improvised one; our salon phone scripts are a good starting point.
A working phone is no use if nobody has the number. Claim your Google Business Profile as early as you can, because Google only shows your profile to searchers once it is verified, and verification can take time. Google's own guide walks through signing up and verifying, including what to do when someone has already listed your address. Put your bookable phone number and a booking link on the profile, not just a website URL.
Reviews matter from the first week too. In BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey, most people read reviews before choosing a local business, and far more will use a business that replies to its reviews than one that ignores them. Ask your first happy clients for a review, and reply to every one. A profile with ten real reviews and a working call button will out-book a prettier website that sends callers to a dead line.
Here is the honest version of a new salon's phone: it rings while your hands are in someone's hair. You can send it to voicemail, but most new clients won't leave one, and the missed call quietly becomes a booking at the salon down the road. We've put numbers on that in the missed-call cost guide.
So decide in advance what happens to a call you can't take. A good voicemail greeting with a text-back is the floor; here are examples you can copy. The step up is an answering service or an AI receptionist that books the appointment while you keep working, so the caller never hits voicemail at all. New clients are more open to this than owners expect, which we cover in will clients accept an AI receptionist.
If you do nothing else, work through this before you unlock the doors:
One number that handles both calls and texts. A VoIP business line is easier to share across a team and route than a personal cell, and text-enabling it lets you send booking confirmations and reminders. Set it up weeks ahead, since moving an existing number between providers can take several business days.
Before you take your first booking, which usually means before you announce an opening date. Load your real services, prices, durations and availability so the calendar clients see matches what you can deliver, then run a test booking from a client's point of view.
Yes, and the earlier the better. Google only shows your profile once it is verified, and verification can take time, so claiming it early means you're findable on day one. Add your bookable phone number and a booking link, not only a website.
Plan for it instead of hoping it won't happen. A voicemail greeting with a text-back is the floor; an answering service or an AI receptionist that books while you work means new callers never reach voicemail. CallPad answers every call and books the appointment for you.
CallPad is an AI receptionist for new and growing salons, spas and clinics. It answers every call 24/7, books appointments in real time on the booking systems it works with, and takes deposits and messages while you keep working. Talk to us, or hear CallPad answer a booking call.
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