I sip piping hot home-made tea, as I soak my weary feet in a tub of warm water. I chit-chat with my daughter who is playing in the living room, and relax, as a beautician works her magic on my feet.
I am trying out the beauty@ home service of the BookMyHairStylist app. As I fit my feet on the acupressure base, there is a prickly sensation. “The acupressure points stimulate the blood flow and helps relieve stress,” says beautician K. Jayalakshmi.
S. Keerthana, the beauty assistant manager from the company who accompanies the beautician, says the focus is to encourage organic beauty services.
As Jayalakshmi files my nails, applies cuticle cream, scrubs my feet clean off dead cells, and massages with herbal massage cream, I keep a watch on my daughter’s snacking. My feet glow and I grin holding my daughter on my lap.
One of the reasons why Vishal Venkatesan started the app was to help new mothers get pampered in the comfort of their home.
“My younger son Krithik is less than a year old and my wife couldn’t step out to get a beauty service. And, whenever I took my older son Vidyuth for a haircut, I had to wait endlessly at the salon. I met a lot of parents who complained about wasting time at the salon. That was the starting point for the app,” says Vishal, who co-founded the app.
An IT guy who worked in the software industry in Bengaluru and Pune, Vishal quit his job to start the app. It’s been three months since the app was launched and it already has 750 users in Coimbatore, he says.
Once you download the app, you get a listing of salons in the city and you can choose the salon based on customer ratings and the locality.
“We have roped in 160 salons from the city and over 50 freelance beauticians too. We screen their background, and the services they offer before bringing them on board. The salon’s popularity or the freelancer’s is purely based on the customer rating,” he explains.
Through the app, you can block a time slot at a salon of your choice for a particular service too. “We have a web portal through which the salons get a notification of the booking,” says Sai Aswin, who takes care of user engagement lead.
“People from places like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, who have moved to the city, use the app to locate a salon in their locality,” he adds.
Vishal says the mobile marketing space has a huge potential. “I have tied up with several local stores and distribute their coupons to our customers. Even online groceries has picked up in a big way. The possibilities are endless. We want to expand to Chennai, Kochi and Bengaluru too. ”
The app, which is currently available on Google play store, has a rating of 4.9 on 5. Vishal says it also highlights lesser known salons that provide unique services.
“There is Nefarious Yasr salon where kids can get a haircut seated on bikes! Then, there is Adaengappa 007 where the stylist dances to the beats of dappankuthu as he gives his customers a haircut.
“There is another stylist who has been running a salon for 40 years and charges a minimal amount for a haircut. He refuses to charge more. We do a lot of digital marketing for the salons and promote them extensively on the social media. We share with them the number of likes on the Facebook page and also upload video testimonials. It brings an instant smile on their face as it translates to happy customers.”
To know more
Visit the Playstore at http://bit.ly/BMHStylist
You can also log on to the website http://bit.ly/BMHStylist-Corp
The app allows customers to add salons and freelance beauticians to the list
Freelance beauticians can also get in touch to be listed
Call: 0422-4393889/ 78458-41229 or e-mail pr@techbreakthrough.co.in
