At the beginning of August, Sylvester King, owner of Route 8 Barbers in the Orbital shopping park, announced his new salon Justi’s Hair and Beauty would be moving into unit 89 adjacent to the Barbers, leaving Hair By Sofia and Gemma’s Nails, who had been based at the unit, looking for a new home.
He later revealed on Justi’s Hair and Beauty Facebook page that their opening day would be Friday, August 23, with the space offering a range of services including nails, lashes, waxing, spray tans and massages.
Since then, Sylvester admits the first month has been challenging, but he remains optimistic that the business will soon thrive just like his barber shop.
Sylvester said: “As with every new business there are some teething problems. Clients have raised concerns in terms of prices and making sure everyone offering services is capable and things like that.
“From October we will offer discount days where clients can come in at a cheap price and give us feedback on what we can do better, they just have to look at our social media.
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“I would like to apologise to the customers and reassure them we have made a lot of changes to make sure their experience is better, in terms of making sure our appointments work so there’s less waiting around. The shop always welcomes walk-ins too depending on how busy we are.
“We have changed a lot and we’re getting more positive feedback from our clients now. We’re saying to them that if they’re not happy we will get it sorted, free of charge.
“We’re learning and the business plan is bigger. We’re looking to offer work experience opportunities for people at colleges to make sure it’s not just a business that wants to take but it’s a business that also gives back to the community.
“Route 8 Barbers does a lot of community work and that’s how we want this business to go.
“The Orbital has so many businesses and offers free parking and convenience. British Land the owners have been great and helpful. giving us the support we need to make it work. I can’t fault the Orbital.
“In general we’re happy with how things are going. Nobody gets it perfect in the beginning, but the good thing is we’re learning.”