Phorest FM Episode 332: The Bot-tom Line: Jules Molina & Ashley Prowell on Turning the Front Desk Into a Profit Center

Episode Transcript

Jules Molina: [00:00:00] Get systems in place, check-ins, check-outs. And by the way, those systems that you put in place, the check-in, the check-out, the phone script, that’s not for you. It’s for the guest experience. If you wanna do what you’ve always done, keep doing it. But don’t expect a different end result if you’re not willing to change the behavior.

Change the goal, which means that you’re great at what you’re doing, you’re content where you’re living, but then don’t complain about the thing that you can change. 

Ashley Prowell: Right. Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Just say, “I’m not willing. I don’t want to.” 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. Right. 

Jules Molina: And own it. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

PhorestFM Intro Music/Theme: We have an obligation to the industry we serve, that we serve it in the right manner. Being a business owner ain’t for the weak. The expectations are just different. There’s always a way. When you’re born into something this special, you can’t help but fight for it. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Cade Mila Falta. 100,000 welcomes to the PhorestFM podcast, brought to you by Phorest Software.

I’m your resident host, Alex Belisle-Springer, and joining me in conversation today are Jules Molina, salon owner and Salon Summit Business Center front desk trainer and salon coach, as well as Ashley Prowell, [00:01:00] North America education specialist at Phorest.

Time travel with me back to a smidge over five years ago, the spring of twenty twenty-one. Starting in the UK and Ireland and quickly reaching the ears of countries around the globe, articles announced that Amazon was entering the hair and beauty space with a salon landing on London’s high streets. The first ever Amazon salon opened in partnership with Elena Lavagnino, owner of Neville Hair and Beauty.

Its promise was to trial some of the latest technology available at the time. Amongst other things, augmented reality and hair consultations, entertainment on Fire tablets at each styling station, and point and learn technology for digital brand videos and educational content about products found on shelves.

There are a few things I remember vividly from my experience watching this piece of news land in the industry and the discussions that unfolded. I remember people having lots of questions, some of those being underlined by fear, like, “What does this mean for the industry going forward?” and, [00:02:00] “Will this become the new norm?”

While for others, the reaction was more akin to outrage, uh, “How dare they? No amount of tech will ever be able to do what we do at the standards of service and care that we do,” kind of sentiment. We didn’t officially cover any of it on Phorest FM. It didn’t really feel aligned with any of the themes that we were exploring at the time.

But I do remember it being on people’s mind quite a bit and having more than one off-air conversation about it with podcast guests. And now here we are in twenty twenty-six in a deeply tech-driven world, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and a similar response still emerges. The recognition that this industry is deeply, deeply human, that we must protect that aspect of it that makes it so special, and to use technology to make more time for connection.

It’s a huge part of what I feel transpired as we talked about AI and automation with Jennifer Jade Alvarez and Rich Cullen earlier this season on the podcast. It was also reflected in how AI was introduced at the Phorest Summit twenty twenty-six and discussed in the context of our latest features [00:03:00] launch.

In late April, Tamara Reid, who did feature on the podcast back in season three, authored a piece for the Phorest blog. In it, a section where she wrote: “Clients don’t want robots performing treatments. They don’t want automated facials or algorithm-driven consultations. What they do want is a seamless experience around the treatment, one that removes friction, stress, and unnecessary admin so the human moments can shine.

Here’s the part that often gets overlooked. Clients actually love AI, just not in the treatment room. They love it when booking an appointment is easy, instant, and available at the exact moment they think about it, which, by the way, is often between eleven PM and one AM, that late night scroll. Suddenly, I need to book this moment.

And no matter how dedicated your team is, you physically cannot have a receptionist at the desk at midnight. AI doesn’t replace that role. It extends it. Clients want appointments booked at the most convenient times, even when the business is closed, retail products that are easy to purchase, in stock, and linked to their treatment [00:04:00] history, automated reminders that feel thoughtful, not transactional, and post-appointment check-ins that show care without adding to staff workload.

When done well, none of this feels cold or robotic. It feels considered. It feels professional. It feels like the salon, spa, or clinic they love, just more organized.” I bring up her article specifically for two reasons. First, that part where she says, “They don’t want automated facials or algorithm-driven consultations.

What they do want is a seamless experience around the treatment, one that removes friction, stress, and unnecessary admin so the human moments can shine.” I can’t help but wonder if she too remembered what the Amazon salon was trying. There are layers to that, you know, that I won’t get into here, but I don’t think it was ever about rejecting tech back then.

The professional hair and beauty and medi-esthetics industries have been and continue to adopt tech. My personal observation is that adoption seems to be, and perhaps [00:05:00] might always remain, generally speaking, coming from a place of does this solve an actual point of friction or problem far more than it ever comes from a place of let’s just add this in because it’s new.

And maybe that speaks to the perpetual weight of the to-do lists carried by so many beauty and wellness owners and the reality of those navigating slim margins, where ultimately focus is reserved for the foundational elements that truly make a difference on the balance sheet and the day-to-day of putting out fires Second reason why I bring that article up.

Tamara then goes on to mention the front desk and reception. This will also be mentioned in an upcoming conversation with Scott Buchanan, president of Intercoiffure America Canada and owner of Scott J. Salons. Gregory Twohig, in another Phorest blog article published this time three days after the official launch of Phorest’s latest features, early May, wrote, “Your clients expect the best of you.

Fast replies, personalized service, and streamlined communication are all part and parcel of a [00:06:00] modern client experience. These expectations put pressure on beauty and wellness businesses to deliver consistent results. That pressure shows up in two places: at the front desk, where messages stack up while your front of house team are busy trying to check clients in and answer the phone, and between appointments, where there’s rarely any time to prep, leaving you scrambling for information right before the client arrives.

During these peak moments where your schedule is packed, you and your staff require additional assistance. Phorest AI is designed to provide that vital support during your busiest hours, all while preserving the essential human connection. We’ve built our AI tools in collaboration with our clients with a primary focus on supporting your team, not replacing them.”

And so, of course, you’ve read the title for this episode. You see where I’m going. Are we going to brush off AI and the way it can support front desk workflows? Sure. And if you’ve ever wondered, is going deskless the future of beauty and wellness businesses? Is going deskless right for me? Or how can I turn my front desk operations into a profit center?

How do I approach changing conversations with my front desk team when it comes to AI? What am I willing to automate versus what am I going to protect from AI automation and/or agents? Then this is the conversation for you. On the show with me today, Jules Molina, salon owner and Summit Salon Business Center front desk trainer, associate trainer, salon coach, team leader, and shareholder, and Ashley Prowell, North America education specialist at Phorest.

Jules started in the industry as an associate, grew through the level system, and became a high-level service provider and associate mentor. She found an additional passion behind the front desk and works in a dual capacity as a service provider, front desk leader, and shareholder in her salon company.

Ashley’s career is also deeply rooted in the salon and spa industry. She’s held nearly every role in a salon, from assistant and front desk to manager, general manager, COO, and alongside her operational career, she worked as a coach across the East Coast, helping salons and spas increase profitability by transforming their front of house into a powerful profit center.

And so my hope for this conversation is that it brings some confidence, levity, clarity, and momentum in perhaps what you already know is the right direction for your front desk operations to scale sustainably, whatever that may look like. Now, before we get into the conversation, a brief reminder that if you enjoy listening to Phorest FM, if you resonate with what’s being shared, or if you have diverging opinions and wanna share them with us, you can reply to the polls on Spotify, leave a comment there or on social media.

And if you’re listening to the show on Apple Podcasts, my biggest ask this year, one of the best ways you can support Phorest FM and help us bring more voices into the conversations we have here, is to rate and review the show. It is deeply appreciated, and it really does make a difference. I hope this conversation sparks something for you, and if it does, I’m looking forward to hearing what that is.

Jules, Ashley, thank you so much for joining me on Phorest FM. It is such a pleasure to have you on. Thank you. 

Jules Molina: Thank you so much for having me. I- it’s like I get to hang out with my besties. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yes, that’s exactly how it feels. Yeah, so honestly, like I’m, I’m excited for this because, well, A, we’ve just recently released our Front Desk AI feature in Phorest, but we also have been really, really intentional about reassuring people that, you know, we’re not replacing the human connection.

Both of you are front desk experts, and I feel like this conversation around the front desk, there’s multiple layers, there’s multiple ways to go about it. There’s even, you know, a whole discussion around front desk versus deskless that has been going around for years, and I was trying to remember when the first time I heard about it was, and I couldn’t really pinpoint it.

I was telling Ashley earlier, I was like, “I think it was at least 2024,” but actually I think it’s maybe even like before that, during COVID or something. When’s the first time you remember hearing about this, and why, why does this debate, discussion even exist in your opinion? 

Ashley Prowell: I think around, like towards the middle after COVID, like what I was saying to you- Mm

’cause like that’s when we got like the apps that you could like text back to the clients or like, you know, they left a voicemail, and that voicemail would come, like Google Phone or whatever, all the IT stuff that I obviously don’t know ’cause I couldn’t help with anything today. But I think that’s when maybe it was like a thing probably, maybe from a financial standpoint or like, hey, like- We did without it this whole time with, like, what we’re doing in this mix that we just don’t necessarily need it.

I don’t know. I would say that that’s, like, for, for me, maybe it’s been, like, a debate. I hate it. Mm. We’ll get, we’ll get into that. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Yeah, we will. 

Jules Molina: We definitely will. Um, for me, I would say definitely after COVID, like 2020, right? So even to 2021, 2022 is when I started really noticing it. I mean, if you think about it, in all of the major places, the profit margins were getting tighter.

Um, COVID really propelled us to make us have to use, um, technology- Yeah. Mm … to a new level, right? And then you started seeing it pop up on, you had to digitally check in before you even came into salon organizations, right? 

INTRO: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: So it’s like, I think that innovation aspect is what propelled it. It’s like, oh, if this works for this, what about this?

Yeah. Profit margins are tight. What can we do? How can we jump in to create, um, an, honestly, just a new experience? Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. So, with everything shifting so fast, you know, like the digital side of things, the human side of things, um, in reaction to the digital, like where, where did that conversation land back then for you both?

Where does it land today in the context of, like, AI coming into play? What’s it been like- Yeah … for you watching it play out? 

Ashley Prowell: I’ll let you go first. I see your face. She’s like, “Let me have it.” You go after. 

Jules Molina: Doctor, he’s like, “My jabs. Go.” 

Ashley Prowell: I put this in my pocket. This, this. You know? I 

Jules Molina: let you go. I can pull from my own experience.

Like, I was her. As a salon owner, a stylist behind the chair, like all of those things, like that was me. You know? That was like, “Mm. No. No. No. Still no.” And, you know, um, it kind of felt like, for me, it felt like we were playing in the sandbox, but we were throwing sand in each other’s eyes. Right? Right? And, the bot was winning.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Right. 

Jules Molina: Then the, the… Everything changed for me when I really started looking at this as like, you know, here’s the truth. You know, people buy people before they buy the things that we sell, and what we sell are services. Like, there is no… This isn’t The Jetsons. You know? It’s not like this bot is gonna come in and be like all of a sudden changing everything.

Because I, as a consumer, am still pressing zero to talk to a human. 

Ashley Prowell: Operator. 

Jules Molina: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Agent. 

Jules Molina: Literally. Mm. Literally. Like, and I am living in both spaces, right? Like, there’s still that. Like, you can get a chat that pops up on my, on my Mac, and I’m still gonna be like- Let me talk to somebody, please. Right? So that’s for me, like I think it is like I really just started understanding how we were working together and understanding that, like they can both exist in the same space.

Mm. And why am I pushing something, like pushing it away when it could take not only myself, but our organization to the next place that we’re gonna go. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. No, I agree with that, and I think, you know, going back to being desk-less, I don’t even know if it’s like frustration- ’cause to each his own, right?

Like, how you run your stuff and how, you know, maybe you’re solo and just like trying to do it and like to do all the things and, and, and that works. 

Ashley Prowell: For me, and the, the mindset and the space and the salons and spas that like I, you know, was in, or me as a person, you’re taking away a part of that customer s- service part and that customer experience for me with having like a laptop for me to put my phone number in and then check myself in, and then like figure it out.

‘Cause like our front desk, like that’s… We have a whole experience, right? Like, it is part of your whole entire journey. Like, the front desk is the first thing, and it is the last thing after everything. And, and you’re m- removing such a big chunk for you, you know, coming in, but also just- To me, like measurable, like value and higher tickets and everything that they can do to help grow, like the salon and the experience. So, um, AI is slow, I know we’ll get into it, starting to be my friend, and I kind of have the same thing, like I’ll still do that. But in my mindset, going back to the customer-like experience, it is allowing that group or that position in the salon to focus and tackle exactly what they need to do and why, like they were hired. Not to do all the million things, you know, the phone, you know, this, that, running back. So that part, like I’m excited about for them, ’cause we’ve been doing it without it right now, right? So something has to give, so. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: You mentioned the customer experience, and that’s actually something that I, I was thinking about a lot, putting together an outline for, for our conversation, and I think it’d be really interesting to even start with that. Like, you both have been advocates for keeping the front desk in, well, currently in your salon, and then Ashley, when, you know, when you were running your salon.

So what was that piece in the client journey that demanded that you were like, “I’m going to keep this as, as part of the operation”? 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, do you mind if I go first on this one? Yeah. Okay. To me, like when I was creating stuff, like for the front desk, they have like so many multiple roles that they have to do.

So to me, they are, you know, your, your butler. Like you’re the front of the house, right? Like if you came to my house right now and you guys have never been here and you’re a guest, like to me, I would be like, “Here’s the ba- here’s the bathroom. Do you want a drink?” Obviously, a little bit more casual coming to my house than going-

to a salon. I’ll give you a tour. Um, but to make you comfortable in my home, right? Like you have to be comfortable and it’s intimidating sometimes to go to salons, you know, or spas that you’ve never been to. So to me, they’re that. They’re also like real estate because I want them to sell that gray area on that book.

I really don’t wanna see any gray. So they’re selling it and growing that utilization. They’re also a matchmaker and playing Cupid because you could give me the best whatever, but like if we didn’t vibe, like I’m probably like not coming back to you, and then maybe I’m scared that you’re working that day, so I’m not coming back to you, you know, in the salon in general.

And then, I just think they’re doing multiple roles to like, you know… That’s even just like making the client, you know, happy. That isn’t even diving into, you know, increasing the average ticket and all of their goals that they could have to literally run the salon’s goals, you know- Yeah, I get excited.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm. 

Jules Molina: Oh my god, everything that Ashley’s, you know, saying makes sense to me, and it’s what I coach and speak to on a regular basis. And I think for me, one of the things I think of a lot about are, um, stats, figures, numbers. Like, that really allowed for me as an owner, um, as a service provider, it allowed me [00:18:00] to not be reactive, and to allow myself to look at things a little bit differently.

And so one of the stats that I love by Five, they said 75% of consumers prefer talking to a real human in person over the phone for customer, um, support and experience. And so I’m like 75, just out of easy math, there’s 100 guests. 75% of them are saying, “Hey, I still need a real human. I prefer a real human.”

Mm. So how do we look at this as like, um, enhancing that guest experience? Because that is the truth. Um, you know, I work behind the desk as well, and, you know, we’re, we’re doing all of the things. We’re answering the phones, we’re h- taking care of what’s in front of us. We’re putting out the fires, um, because you wanted to 

Ashley Prowell: bring us- The fires.

I didn’t even get into the fires. 

Jules Molina: What? 

Ashley Prowell: Like how- Everybody’s bad mood, and why did you book that? And … 

Jules Molina: Right. I wanted to leave early. It’s like, “Not today, boo bear, you don’t.” Yeah. You don’t. Like, you got, you got a child to co- I know you’re nichey and you don’t do that, but today you do.

Yeah. But like, you know, these services aren’t blocking up, putting a Post-It on your desk And, and you’re like, “I’m literally a human punching bag right now, and I’m smiling while I’m doing it. It’s fine. I’m repressing my emotions.” You know? Like, like that is real life. And so when I think about that, when I heard that stat, that 75% – Yeah

I open the c- you open the conversation with your team with that. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Not the- Mm … “Hey, we’re bringing on artificial intelligence.” Let’s not induce panic. But let’s start with, “Did you know that 75% of consumers still want human interaction?” 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm-hmm. Mm. “

Jules Molina: And here’s how we’re gonna maintain that. Here’s how we’re gonna grow.

But this is to make your life easy so that you can still have that human connection.” Um, and guest experience- It’s 

Ashley Prowell: to assist you … I’m so with you. Yes. 

Jules Molina: Right? 

Ashley Prowell: Like, let’s take you … Le- let me remove the, can I say, uh, BS. You know, let me remove the BS of your day-to-day and all your duties and the responsibilities, and allow you to like lean in to be a part of…

And I think sometimes, like, they’re almost, like, forgotten, right? But like Jessie said, they’re doing everything. Like, I don’t know. I just appreciate them. So I would actually have my service providers, like, work the front desk to, like, understand, like, what happens in there to relate to it. But yeah, so it’s not here to replace you.

It is here to remove your frustration of all that stuff you don’t have to do. Mm. And that’s great, right? And it remembers everything, and probably remembers more than I do on a daily basis. I don’t know if you guys watch Finding Nemo, but my kids call me Dory. Like, I am just like… Like, she’s like, “What, why am I in this room again?”

But- Yeah … let me elevate that part of the team 

Jules Molina: Well, and you know, we’re having really young service providers. My youngest person at my front desk is 16. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Right? Um, at the front desk. And I always think it’s really interesting because here’s the thing, this is the first time ever that we have seen five different generations, not all working under the same roof at the same time, but also five different generations of consumers shopping at the same time.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm. 

Jules Molina: About humanness, love me some AI, but AI cannot figure that part out. Mm. That comes from you understanding what is that generation, how do you communicate with them, how do they hear things in a way, um, that is, is deep, and how do we see, hear, and celebrate the person in front of us? Mm. And AI cannot do that for you.

But what they can do is as that phone is ringing and going off the chain and you’re working here, it’s picking up the slack in the other spaces. 

Ashley Prowell: Yep. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. That’s one thing that was coming to mind, you know, like at our summit, for example, I’ve been working on a, on a podcast episode upcoming for, um, the history of the, the, the Phorest Summit, [00:22:00] and I was just reminded, so many of the summit keynotes that we’ve had have touched on how to create a wow experience, how to create this magical, like go far and beyond like what you think the client might want or expect, and really create like this memorable experience.

And I remembered this anecdote of, um, and I can’t remember what salon it was unfortunately. They had extra umbrellas in the salon, and it was a rainy day- Yeah … and, um, they, they literally just walked the client back to the car with the umbrella, with the umbrella, then they went back to the salon.

That’s like something that goes far beyond the bare minimum of service, but you have to have… Like obviously the phone’s not gonna stop ringing, but if you have something to help you in the background, you can allow yourself to have more present moments with your clients. 100%. That’s one of the things that it reminded me of.

I think this is a good segue to talk about the myths versus reality, something that I know, Jules, you were really excited to talk about. So, I don’t know. I feel like you had maybe a small list of certain myths. Do you wanna, do you wanna name a couple or like two, three, and then we can go through them and discuss them?

Jules Molina: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I mean, I feel like it’s like MythBusters. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Here we go. I think the first myth that, um, that I have heard like, you know, when I’m out in the, in the universe- … is like how is this gonna make it better? I’m like, that’s the first one. How is this gonna make it better? Like what we’re doing is already working.

And my always question is always with a question for owners is like how is it not? 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Like, what, like- 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah … 

Jules Molina: tell me, like, do you work behind the desk? 

Ashley Prowell: Right. 

Jules Molina: Like, real talk. Because if you did, you would know you are like…

Meantime, you’re like, “I just need to use the bathroom and not get a UTI.” Like you- Real. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Real 

Jules Molina: talk, right? You… Alex said that we could be our authentic selves, so- 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Oh, yes … 

Jules Molina: That’s, yes, yes. Um, I would say that would be my very first myth buster. How is this gonna save me? How is this re- not gonna take away jobs?

And how is it, um… because our profit margins are tight. Mm-hmm. But how are you- how is it not gonna take away jobs from my local economy? Because I prided myself on growing people, and this isn’t a person. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Right. 

Jules Molina: So those are… I would say let’s start with those two. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Ooh, I like both of those. I mean, what’s coming to mind for you first, Ashley?

I’m, I’m gonna leave you on the floor. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. I was… I like the… You know what I think it is? It’s a little… and it’s with everything. I feel like our industry, and correct me if I’m wrong, they are so [00:25:00] hard to even think about change. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm. 

Ashley Prowell: I changed the lampshades in the color room once, and it was like, “Where’d the old ones go?

No one asked me.” And I’m like, “Oh, my God.” So I think it’s a little bit like it’s changed, and then it’s fear-driven with what you said. Like, you know, like the replaceable, what’s gonna happen, and it locks into the, the, the negative way of thinking about it. So, like, I appreciate that, like, you challenge it, where it’s like, “Well, let’s talk about how I can make it better,” or it’s like, “You know, well, we’re already doing all the things.”

Are you? Like, I could sit there and be like, but like, you know, are you supersizing any service that comes in here? Is your team asking questions of, like, what their lifestyle is to place them with the correct person in your salon? Like, did they mention what the cancellation and no-show policy was, that new client that just called, just to let them know in the beginning of the journey, “This is how we do things”?

No. The answer would probably be no, so then I’d be like- Mm … “You’re not…” This… Right? It… I think it’s just so easy- It’s, I think people just think it’s going to replace it. 

INTRO: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: And the bottom line, what all three of us have been saying is that, like, that connection is unreplaceable. Yeah. Like, you can’t. 

Jules Molina: No. And, and to piggyback off what Ashley’s saying in here, and here’s the thing, you have to be willing.

You know, I- in this industry, we change hair, skin, and nails on a regular. That is how we make money. Nobody sits in our hair, in our chair saying, “Hey, do the same thing that you’ve always done for the last decade of my life.” Right? We would be, like, unemployed. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Right? 

Jules Molina: Right? So but yet to her point, we’re the s- the same industry, if we’re gonna be real, we’re the same industry that fights on it.

So if, and when I talk to owners and I’m just being super straight with them, I’m like, “If you wanna do what you’ve always done, keep doing it, but don’t expect a different end result if you’re not willing to change the behavior.” Change the goal, which means that you’re great at what you’re doing, you’re content where you’re living, but then don’t complain about the thing that you can change.

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. Right. Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Just say, “I’m not willing. I don’t want to.” 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Right. And own it. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. ‘

Jules Molina: Cause we can, uh, we can either coach to two things a- at, you know, as a consultant and a coach myself for Summit. You can change and coach to, you know, behaviors, but if they’re not willing and they’re low in willingness, you can’t change that.

It’s a mindset. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: It’s a, it’s a stuck mindset, and I think that’s a lot of what changed for me because that was me. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm. 

Jules Molina: I was like, “Yeah, but no.” And then it turned into, “Yeah, but have we considered, and can we stay curious?” 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: You know? 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Agreed. I wanna talk about the second one that you were bringing up about, like, the, um, like, it’s really important for me to grow people and, like, this is not a person.

When we [00:28:00] think about that, like, who, who works the front desk? How do you keep them? What’s the career path for someone working the front desk? How can we make that appealing and still grow people and still make their lives easier, I guess, is what I’m trying to say. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. Um, the number one thing for me that, like, really hit home, ’cause, like, everybody has, like, their main person that’s at the front desk, right?

It’s usually, like, your full-time worker, you know, obviously, like, probably not in high school, not any of that stuff, and your clients, like, love them, right? For me, and, like, sometimes, you know, to be honest and to be frank, like, I’m not gonna lie about it, and anybody listening in this industry is gonna know it too, like, sometimes those part-time shifts, like, that is a revolving door when it comes sometimes to hiring, depending on what you have.

For me, we just, like, we have a level system with our service providers. Why wouldn’t I have a career path that somebody else is within the salon? So I mean, we had tiers, like, for the front desk, depending on, like, how much you wanted to be involved. Like, [00:29:00] obviously, like you said, 16 years old in high school.

Like, she’s not doing, like, managing things or, like, owning the new client callbacks or, like, doing all of those things. Like, she wouldn’t fall in that tier. But I’ve, if I have somebody that loves the industry and, like, wants to move up and see some of the things, you know, in the back end and, like, grow that way, y- you have to create that career path for them as well.

And the number one thing that, you know, people would say at the front desk is like, “Oh, I just answer phones at the salon or spa,” or, “Oh, I’m just front desk,” and it’s that just word. And it’s like, no, you’re not just front desk. So- In my mind, I, I needed to get rid of that, like that- Mm … word, you know? Because we have so much power in this industry, and we’re such creative people- Mm

and we’re, like, kind and… Like, we got into this industry to make people look and feel pretty. Like- Yeah … bottom line, right? So just with anything, ’cause there’s so much power there of being in charge of, like, your paycheck for being a service [00:30:00] provider. But in my mind, I’m like, “All right. Well, I just can’t have a front desk then,” right?

I’m gonna have a profit center. No one’s saying, “Well, I just work at a profit center.” People would be like, “I work at a profit center.” Like, I’m the growth, you know, of this business. Like, I’m in it. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Um, so back to your question, Dori. See? Um, it’s just, it’s a career. It’s bad. It’s really bad. Twice yesterday, I couldn’t find my glasses, and I got on a Zoom, and they were on my head, and I was like, “Okay.”

I was like, “But yeah. Hold on.” Um, so yeah, just creating that, that visual as well of like, you know, you’re starting here. There is a path for you if you want to. These are the responsibilities that, like, fall into it. Like, just like a service provider, you know, I’m not giving out, increasing it, ’cause they just wanna…

“Hey, can you give me a price increase?” You- No. You know? It doesn’t work that way, you know? So here’s a visual as well for you, and [00:31:00] I w- I would love to grow, you know, that part of the salon as well, and, and we did successfully. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: I loved all of those things. Right. It makes me so pitter-patter, ’cause I’m a systems girl, right?

So, like, I- Oh, yeah. You’re a systems girl. 

Ashley Prowell: I have an SOP for an SOP. Me 

Jules Molina: too. Like, that’s why I always joke, I’m like, “Mario saved my life.” I’m hitting those mushrooms and stars to speed up. 

Ashley Prowell: I was in a golf lesson the other day, and I was like, “Give me a minute,” and I brought out a, i- uh, the Word doc, and I typed in, like, what she was saying.

And my brother’s like, “You’re- you have a PDF right now from your golf lesson?” I’m like, “I have to. It has to click somehow.” 

Jules Molina: Exactly. I’m with you. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Wait. And you were both… Wait. What’d you say your signs were? Virgo and Capricorn? Yeah. It just makes sense. Yeah.

Jules Molina: End result, beginning, focus 

Ashley Prowell: Right. 

Jules Molina: Yeah.

And do it. [00:32:00] Um, oh, my poor, my poor other half. Um, I think, so for me, it’s very much similar to what Ashley said. I go a lot to the owners first, because I believe your end result is based off of the leadership that you provide. Um- The 

Ashley Prowell: fish starts from the head down … 

Jules Molina: right? And so I think about that at the beginning.

It … And, and, um, first profit center. Words matter. We teach this. Like, all of us do affirmations, manifestations. We do all these things. Words matter, yet we’re giving them words that have low value, and you expect them to provide a high-value experience on a word that is low value. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Like, that’ll make no sense.

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Also, I, when I’m ta- sp- talking to even owners or people that are bringing on maybe their first one and they start off the conversation with, “This generation is dot dot dot,” um, lazy, entitled, dadada, I’m like, “That’s why I don’t wanna work with you.” Start there. Like, maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s [00:33:00] you.

Ashley Prowell: Right. 

Jules Molina: Right? Yeah. But that’s part of it, though, is because they’re hiring just warm bodies, and they’re not really vetting out what they’re… Because they as owners aren’t clear- Right … or even clear about what they’re looking for. If you’re looking for someone to answer phones, you did it. But if you’re looking for somebody to generate revenue, um, offset how much the money is that it costs to have a front desk, you need to have a system in place.

Um, you know, at the Summit we teach them a system. So you need to have a check-in process, a checkout process, 

Ashley Prowell: a phone- First they check in, first they check out. Nailed it. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Okay, I feel like we’re gonna have to get into that because people are gonna be like, “Wait, what?” 

Jules Molina: Right? Mm-hmm. Slide into our DMs. A 

Ashley Prowell: small PowerPoint presentation and SOPs around that.

That’s 

Jules Molina: right. Ashley’s gonna start working for Summit now ’cause I’m recruiting her for our division. She’s gonna be bi-local. Um, and so I think that’s exactly it. You have to have systems in place. You have to have touch [00:34:00] points. Like, the… We’re not doing Crock-Pots, set it and forget its. This is a constant conversation, a constant…

Like, we’re, we’re talking, we’re touching, we’re, we’re having conversations with them, and I think that’s the biggest, biggest thing that I’m running into is, um, whether you are the front desk, whether you have a front desk, having a training process or for… I’m talking to my Canadian friends. Front desk.

Having a training process in, in place, and then starting with the end goal at the beginning. So, hey, by the way, this is a profit center, um, your guest experience team, and what we’re gonna be doing is driving sales and customer service in the same breath. And here’s how we do it. Here’s why we do it. Mm.

Right? And so that they have a very clean, um, version, direction on what they’re doing every single day. Do they have a mission? [00:35:00] Because if they don’t- It’s like the blind leading the blind. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. They’re just the front desk then. 

Jules Molina: They’re just the front 

Ashley Prowell: desk. Just the front desk then, yeah. 

Jules Molina: Right? And so I, I go back to a lot of that because I think oftentimes…

I love me and I’m an owner, but I like, oftentimes I don’t think we’re clear about what we want. 

Ashley Prowell: Right. 

Jules Molina: And if- 

Ashley Prowell: How would anybody else do- Yeah. 

Jules Molina: And if we don’t, if we don’t want it, um, a profit center, then let’s just say that, and accept the responsibility that comes attached to that. But what you can’t do is complain about how they don’t do something when they were never coached, mentored, or led on how to do that.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Right. Ooh, some accountability talk here. 

Jules Molina: Let’s go clean the window. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Let’s go clean. But yeah, no, but I, I love this, and I, and I would love to, like, if you, if either of you wanted to share a little bit more, just like the, you know, how, how you turn [00:36:00] whatever model of a front desk you feel like you want in your salon, how you turn it into a profit center.

What does that actually look like strategy-wise? Um, and what are the KPI attached, or the KPIs, sorry, attached to that? 

Jules Molina: Um, so for, for us at Summit Salon Business Center and in my organization, our… We keep it simple. So we completely keep it simple. We have a goal for additional services. We have a goal for gift cards.

We have a goal for referrals. We have a goal for rebooking. We have a goal for retailing, right? Those are the five major goals that we have, and when you hit those goals, you get a bonus attached to every goal that you hit. So it’s like- Yeah … a whole process on how you do that. And then I don’t know if you know, but I work for a tracking company.

Um, and- Surprise. And it’s weird. We collect data like y’all do. Right. And so we are… have a tracking system on how we [00:37:00] track these things, um, on a, you know, on a daily way, and then accountability on how to do those things, too. And then we bring in coaches and mentors to help support you in the journey. Like I said earlier, it is not a set it and forget it because- Yeah

you’re gonna forget it. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah, 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: yeah. I think also, like, in business, there’s n- there’s no such thing that should be set and forget it. Like- No … things evolve. Things change, and the pace of things changing is, like, increasingly faster. 

Ashley Prowell: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, my answer is identical, almost verbatim for what she said.

Um, I just say, um, just to add on to that, some- if they hit all of their goals within a month or, you know, how we bundle them. So my front desk goals are what the salon’s goals are. So, you know, I had four KPIs, service sales, retail sales, average ticket, and new guest. That then became my front desk goal to lead that.

Nothing touched what the service providers got. They had their retail commission. They had anything, like we’re not in here to double dip. We’re here to hold each other’s hands. Um, but if they hit a lot, they could get paid vacation. So it’s like that career mindset of, you know, bonuses, paid vacation of what they’re doing.

A, a huge part of it, to be honest, is they were a part of all of our education. Not technical, but you best believe that they were products, you know, experts if anybody came in and asked a question to finish that sale. Mm. Like, they can’t be like, “I don’t use it.” And we give, we give it to them. Like, each month they had something to go home.

I… “You also have to have this product and use it and have it at home. And so, like, here you go. Like, you’re, you’re part of this whole vibe.” So basically, I could have, like, just moved my mouth as she was talking.[00:39:00]

Alex Bélisle-Springer: We have the same technique. 

Jules Molina: Yeah. Hope I get, like, the ’80s, like-

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Um, so curious, like if- If the front desk became a profit center for both of you, what percentage, when you look at, like, all the, you know, different, like, profit centers of r- like, the running of your business and h- and how it, like, equates to, like, 100% of your bottom line, like, what percentage are we looking at in terms of the contribution from the front desk being a par- like, a profit center as part of many others?

Is my question making any sense? 

Ashley Prowell: Kind of. I’m gonna, and I’m gonna kind of answer that to see if we’re on the same page. If we, if no, that’s not it, then, then Jules can take the question. For me, like, one year when I was, like, doing research, I looked at what went out in payroll [00:40:00] for just my front desk team.

Now granted, multi-location and a call center, right? So, like, we- Okay … had lo- lots of people, you know, working that role. It was over 100,000 that went out on payroll for this position. To me then, that money wasn’t coming back in, right? So the fact that I’m even setting you up with KPIs and we’re hitting them and increasing them, even to me, if it was $10, we became a profit center that day of $10.

Yeah. You know what I mean? 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah, yeah, 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. It was a lot more than that obviously, but you know, and it’s slow-moving because the KPIs attached to those service providers, like, they can… Like, they’re, they’re physically, like, doing them, where the big picture of numbers, like, it has to grow. We have to, like, learn it and change that mindset, not just front desk.

Um, so to me it was, it was seeing the increase where, like, the payroll, like, didn’t hurt, like, so hard. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm-hmm. Right. 

Ashley Prowell: Did that answer your- 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. That’s, that’s the thing. Like, I don’t… [00:41:00]Like, I’m obviously not on your numbers, so I don’t know. But, like- Yeah … I was kind of curious. Like, obviously if you’re a strong advocate for having a front desk, then it means that, you know, it’s providing something positive.

So it’s like, okay, well, what, what is it outside of the human element, which is huge, um, but like, you know, financially wise, like, what does that look like? So yeah, it did answer my question. What about you, Jules? 

Jules Molina: Um, so for me it’s a, it’s very similar to what Ashley’s talking about. So what I look at is, um, so when we have, like, budget guidelines.

So we know our budget for the front desk is at 5% of total gross sales, which is a shoestring budget. So I kind of, what I do is I look at how much are we doing in payroll, what does that cost look like? And then as I’m getting their tracking systems and I’m getting their numbers, that’s allowing me to see what that increase is.

You should start to see your average service ticket go up. Yeah. Your average- Mm-hmm … add-on service goes up. And if it’s not, that means you’re flat lining, you’re plateauing, right? Um, I also am always looking at, like- What is my profitability number? My times 12, [00:42:00] right? My times, what is my breakeven number?

Right. And I’m looking at those things. So it’s a kind of Rubik’s Cube type question, but I think the easiest thing to look at is look at how much your payroll is for your front desk, create your goals on increase through there, and then do the math backwards, and that can, you can just start off your KPIs like that.

Um, I have one that’s super great. She literally, um, is in college, 16 years old. She just texted me yesterday, did over $2,000 in gift card sales, um, and $1,000 in additional add-on sales. She- Wow. It’s been since December. It’s May. She’s in college right? And it’s about loving her and coaching her where she’s at, and celebrating her to where she can be.

Ashley Prowell: That’s what I say, celebrating. Is celebrating. Instead of like, “You did this wrong. We’re not doing that. Well, F your goals.” You know what I mean? You can take your goals and shove them. Yeah. Literally. Like, “Oh my God, hey, that was awesome. Did you see?” Like, you know, “The toggle moved a little bit,” [00:43:00] you know?

Yeah. “And it’s better. You were a part of…” And even that to me, I’m like, “We freaking did it, man. Look at that.” Like

yay. You know? No, it’s, it is… Yeah, yeah. 

Jules Molina: Yeah. So that’s $3,000 since December, and it’s May. 

Ashley Prowell: That’s awesome. 

Jules Molina: And she’s in college for, like, in a sorority and all the things. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Like- That’s 

Jules Molina: huge … you know, but she still sh- she still meets my requirements. She still has to come to the front desk sales team meetings the second Sunday of every month.

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: She still has to show up for product knowledge. She still has to be a part of this team. Yeah. Part-time people don’t have to have a part-time mindset if you’re clear with them about your expectations. 

Ashley Prowell: Love that. Ooh, 

Jules Molina: love that. Love that. 

Ashley Prowell: You have so many good one-liners. Oh, my God. That was a good one.

There’s so many. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: I know. There’s so many. I’m like, wow. Yeah. Wow, wow, wow. Um, and we’re not done, because I feel like- Need more than one episode … the one part that Yeah. Because I feel like the one part that I do feel like we need to address and [00:44:00] talk about is, okay, well, what if you are adding AI into the experience?

What does that look like? What should and shouldn’t it be replaced? And then my juicier question, which I really like, is what happens when AI is used as an excuse to not invest in the human experience at all? Because that has happened. I’ve literally heard, um, a colleague of mine share that she had gone to a salon, I believe it was a salon she used to go to, hadn’t been in a while maybe or something like that, had to check in, and she was left completely to her own devices.

Like, it was just like, “Oh, yeah, you can check in here,” and then that person was gone. No, no indication of, like, where anything is, where to wait, like how, like, you know, what’s next. Nothing. And, um, that really tainted the experience. And, uh, yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Well, Jules, I think to your point that you said, you know, before, where you start with the owners to, like, figure that out, like that is, that is mirroring what is okay and, like, how they show [00:45:00] up, you know?

Like, to me, if somebody did that in my location, and I’m assuming, Jules, like it- that would probably be your last day. Right? 

Jules Molina: It is 

Ashley Prowell: so, 

Jules Molina: like, yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Like, that would be asinine to, like, even do then. So to me, that is mirroring it, and, like, they’re okay with that, and utilizing it in a different way than I, I would never utilize it in that way ever.

Hmm. Uh, yeah. I did your second question. I forgot your first question. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: I know. I, like, raffled quite a few- Can I say it again? … in, in a row. But essentially- 

Ashley Prowell: Oh, how does 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: it looks? … open discuss- Yeah … o- open discussion, what does, like, adding AI into the experience, what does that look like, and what should or shouldn’t it replace?

Ashley Prowell: To me, it’s giving the front desk a tool. 

Ashley Prowell: You know, service providers have all the products, they have all their tools, their sheers, and everything. Like, let me give you a tool to help you, you know, with something so you can work on the things that not only benefit the salon, but [00:46:00] benefit you. Like, let- it’s allowing them to work in the area of being able to level up.

Um, it’s not gonna replace, you know, our culture or what we do. It’s not gonna replace the, you know, customer experience. It’s not gonna replace that interaction when they come in. Like, no one’s, you know… I, I wouldn’t want it where you check in yourself. To me, you’re losing that touch point and you’re losing that connection.

It’s- Yeah … it’s not gonna do that for us, you know? So it’s gonna, it’s gonna do what makes sense in a way that our clients are supportive and taken care of, not screening agents the whole entire time, you know, to do it, which I do all the time. Like, “Agent.” I don’t even hear it. You know? But then they can focus on all of these things, which it seems like there’s a lot of celebrating and a lot of good over here.

And if that was my mindset, to me, I think that they would be like, “Okay.” Like, even the most pushback ones, like, “I don’t wanna do it,” like, “I’m worried, is it gonna replace me?” Like, it’s, it’s how I [00:47:00] probably also would show up and, and represent that, too, 

Jules Molina: so… Yeah, I think, you know, everything that- Mm … Ashley’s saying-

I’m mirroring as well. Um, I think it’s important for you to decide what degree you want AI to be a part of your organization. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: You know, like, start with that first. Like, do you want, like, a soft launch? Because that would be, like, me. That’s… I was like, “Mm.” You know? ‘Cause I need to feel what winning feels like, and I need to feel safe doing it myself.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Right. 

Jules Molina: Um, it’s not like, “Okay, we’re jumping in deep.” Like, you don’t have to do that. Let’s pause. Let’s not, like, b- let… No. Like you have to, like- … accept it, right? And, and for me, like, like, it was the stats- Yeah … it was the figures, it was the math. It was… That allowed me to have a lot of peace. Like, I told both of you when we were talking, I’m like, “I wanted to know, I’m in Ohio, what are the names of, of, like, if I had an AI agent, what are most liked?”

Like, we’ve got Susan, Molly, Mike. Like, these are likable names for Ohio. People just like you [00:48:00] more, and of course, they’re gonna get me, who’s Jules. Like You know? Like, so it’s like, that a- that allowed me to feel safe, though. I’m like, “Okay, so if we bring on an AI agent-” See- “… an AI friend-” Yeah “… she needs to be like Susan and Molly or Mike,” because those are likable names in Ohio.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Jules Molina: And I didn’t make that up. Like, that’s what people are saying, so it’s gotta be true, right? Um- It’s gotta be true. Um, I think that’s the piece, that’s also… And then- Yeah, I think I’ll also, like, be vulnerable with your team. Say, “I’m a little scared too.” 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Like just- Mm … be transparent with them.

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: You know? I think- And 

Ashley Prowell: It’s such a simple thing. 

Jules Molina: Yeah. That’s something 

Ashley Prowell: We forget to do it. Like, I don’t have to stand here and have all the answers and be masked. Like- Yeah. It’s, yeah. No- We’re doing it together, guys. We’re jumping in together and yeah. 

Jules Molina: And you know what- Yeah … we’re, and it’s, and I think given the correlation [00:49:00] of the two, like, I talked to my team when I first started this conversation in our one-on-ones.

Um, w- we started this conversation months ago. Yeah. “Hey, what are your thoughts on… Have you ever considered it? What do you think it means?” Like, I’m just kind of- 

Ashley Prowell: Planting the seed … 

Jules Molina: planting the seed for our flowers to bloom. 

Ashley Prowell: Right. 

Jules Molina: Mm. Um, versus like tomorrow, guess what? Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Moozy is doing your job. Mark 

Jules Molina: will be answering everything for you.

Let me know what questions you have. And he sends a group chat with emoji. 

Ashley Prowell: Right? 

Jules Molina: You know? So I, I think that’s the thing I think about the most is like, how are you presenting it? How does this feel? How does it feel to your team? If you’re someone who’s like, “You know what? I am the team,” it’s like, great.

If you’re an independent contractor, you’re out there working, doing your… How can we make this work for you- Yeah … and with you, not feel like it’s being done to you? 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. And if you’re [00:50:00] open about, like, how you see it, h- like your degree of comfortability, and as an owner, per se, and, and you’re vulnerable with your team, you can, you can shape that together.

You can shape what that looks like together, and people are gonna respond really well to that because if you wanna create, like, a sense of belonging for people, make them part of the decision-making process for things that affect them directly. Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: I mean, I, I think about it this way, is like, this is always a collaborative conversation.

It’s not always a collaborative decision. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. Yep. 

Jules Molina: You know? It, it, like, I’m not saying I’m not open to hearing what you… I am, but I also… We’re held responsible for the growth of legacy and the next generation, and there’s only two ways we make money, service sales and retail sales, and that’s through guests.

So what are the consumers saying? Mm. You know? Like, if you thought this was about [00:51:00] you, yes, and… Yeah, 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: yeah, yeah. And I totally understand and, and agree with what you’re saying. Like, I, I guess what I, what I was trying to, to convey is more so, like, you know, to, to your point, like, to have that conversation so that you hear people’s fears, that you can be vulnerable with each other and can see, like, okay, well, like, this is something that I wanna move forward with as an owner.

But let’s work together on- Yeah … you know, tackling whatever fear that might be you have or, um, you know, addressing this part that feels stickier, whatever it is. But at least you- That’s that … you’re allowing, you’re creating the space to have that conversation and to have people feel involved in, like, this is a step that we’re taking together and not just something that we’re- Mmm, yeah, kind of like forced to do now.

Yes. And we don’t understand the reasoning behind it, you know? Exactly. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: I did have a note. You said, like, time to supersize. Did you wanna expand on that or? 

Ashley Prowell: So the supersizing of, you know, what my front desk did [00:52:00] is, like, for example, I had to work the front desk and I made an oopsie, right? So it was a big oopsie.

I came up and this woman was like, “Hey, I’m here for Joel’s.” And our cuts were called the signature haircut. And I said, “Oh, you’re here for the specialty haircut.” We didn’t have a specialty haircut. Got the words wrong. And she was like, “I don’t know what that is, but I’ll do that.” And I was like, “Awesome.” And then I’m like, “Shit, like I have to think, like, what is this?”

So in my head, she was like, “What’s involved?” And I was like, “Oh, well, it’s the signature haircut and a customization of a back bar conditioning treatment all in one.” She’s like, “What’s the cost?” And in my head, quick math. Thank God that stylist cuts were 50 and our conditioning treatments were 35, so I was like, “Yes, I don’t have to do anything.

I just said this.” So there was no discount. And she was like, “I’ll do it.” And then the person next to it that was in for a signature was like, “I’ll do it.” So I’m like, “Okay, if we just…” The verbiage again. Like, I just changed the verbiage, but I just… All I did was, like, morph two services together and called it something [00:53:00] different.

Mm-hmm. But I just upsold. I just supersized basically that haircut, where somebody could come in for a signature haircut and me as a service provider could say, “Hey, like, do you want a custom conditioning treatment mask?” And they’re like, “No, okay, I don’t want that,” right? Like, it was so not that time, but when I said it this way, it was so easy, and they were like, “Yeah, I’ll take it.”

So, like, for me, if AI is removing the bottle stuff that they don’t have to do, and now has so much time for them to upsell or supersize any service. And not just because I wanna make you pay more money and increase your average ticket. I mean, we, we really all could probably use some sort of conditioning treatment-

or anything on the add-on menu. So it’s like if they got a facial, would you like the glow and go? Made that one up, you know? L- leave with tinted moisturizer. I won’t even go to the mailbox without my eyebrows on. So it’s like, what makes you feel comfortable and just… So that to me, we spent a lot of time on [00:54:00] that as a group- Sure

of figuring out how to supersize in a beneficial way every single service in the salon. Because your clients- Mm … don’t know what they don’t know, right? And they tell you what they want, but in between that we have to learn that all of those wants, like this is what you need to get there. And I am the expert, which is lacking in that.

Like, we are the experts. We went to school. We did all this. I have the tools to let you know here are all the things that you need to do, and here’s all the costs, because I’m not gonna sell myself short, that you have to do for this service. And the front desk can kinda like get involved in that in the beginning of the consultation.

So that to me, removing… giving the front desk time to do, to do supers- Mm. Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: And I’m gonna flip the question over to you, Jules. Like, maybe you wanna speak to what you’ve set up in terms of how you’re working with AI maybe right now. Um, what does that look like, and what does it allow you to [00:55:00] do more of?

Jules Molina: Yeah, I think, you know, on, when it comes to that client experience, having them as simple as, like, opting in and really doing, like, your automatic, you know, text message, your client campaigns, your marketing campaigns, all of those things that as an owner you don’t even have some, honestly, the time to do.

And, and, and that’s not what you want to do. Let’s just be super honest, right? Every owner I’ve met is like, “I got this ’cause I wanna do hair.” Nobody, nobody, zero, said, “I got into this because I wanna learn how to market.” Right? “I want to know how to do an ad campaign.” Right? And so I think that’s one thing, uh, the follow-up, the follow-through.

Um, consistency, like, as we are asking, you know, guests, “What are you looking for?” Efficiency, consistency- Yeah … transparency. And here’s the truth. Humans aren’t always consistent because we have emotion. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Mm-hmm. 

Jules Molina: Right? Yeah. We 

Ashley Prowell: have a lot of that. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: And thank God we do. [00:56:00]

Jules Molina: Yeah, that’s what makes us, like, so special, right?

Yeah. You think about AI, and you think about it that way, you know, they have consistency. They have transparency. They’ve s- separated a little bit of that emotional aspect of because, uh, they don’t have a heart, you know? Um, but they are consistent, they are efficient, and they are transparent without feeling like they got personally attacked by Judy, who just yelled at them on the phone.

Yes. Right? Um, so I think about it that way, and so what I love about that AI aspect is it allows me as a mentor to be able to spend more time in developing my people, developing that front desk team to supersize, and grow. Um, a big one for me is verbiage. It is not what you say. It is how you say it. Mm. I want you to stop selling services, and that’s what I tell my team, “Stop selling services.”

And they’re like, “What?” I’m like- … “Start selling experiences.” 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 100%. 

Jules Molina: Right? Like, what is the best [00:57:00] experience we offer, and how do you sell that? L- like, and you start with why, then the what, and then the how. Why you do it, what it is, and how you get it done. And you will never feel like you’re selling then because you’re- Mm

pulling from authenticity. 

Ashley Prowell: Mm. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. So 

Jules Molina: That’s what I love is it allows space for, for, um, us to be able to coach, mentor, and lead the people that are working at that front end. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. Love that. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Love that too. Wow. What a juicy, jam-packed episode. Um, I feel like we could go on too, but I’m like, “Okay, this is, this is probably gonna be a whole lot to even just process in one go.”

I imagine people would want to listen back to this, take some notes. If, if I’m thinking of actionable steps for folks, what’s next? What’s your suggested action step from this? 

Ashley Prowell: Find out what you wanna track at the front desk. You know, um- [00:58:00] Yeah, I would say that and figure out what type of experience. You only have one shot to do that, so they’re the first thing that they’re either gonna hear on the phone or see face to face, so what does that look like?

Um, and if it’s not looking like what you’re visualizing, I would, I would start doing that. Well, it would come down to your three things that you just said. What was it? The what, the how, and, um, what’d you say, Jules? The 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: why, the how. 

Ashley Prowell: Why- 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: The why, the what, the how … the 

Ashley Prowell: how. Yeah. You know, a- and what that looks like, but they have to have, if you want them to push forward, they have to have something that they’re push forwarding towards, I guess, like for me.

Mm. Figure out what you wanna track. Get a four-step check-in and a four-step check-out. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: And be honest with yourself also when you’re doing that. Yeah. That’s the key part, ’cause if you’re doing it and you’re not fully honest with 

Jules Molina: yourself, 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: That’s, you know. Yeah. Yeah. It’s not gonna go anywhere. 

Jules Molina: Don’t commit to doing it, right?

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah … 

Jules Molina: if you’re gonna commit, commit with the same audacity of growing your business to begin with. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Mm-hmm. You know? Um, after thoughts will produce after-thought results. Um, so I’ve, you, like- 

INTRO: So good. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: So good. 

Jules Molina: You know? Like, I think about that a lot. Like, if I was- Yeah … if I were to go back and I would think, “Okay, what do I wish I would have heard that I wish somebody would have told me?”

Think about what your outcome is that you want. Do you genuinely want them to be a profit center? If you, if you’re, if you’re a yeah, but, that means you’re not all in. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Jules Molina: Right? And then, um, create goals that are attached, um, to the growth of the organization. Add-ons, gift cards, referrals, um, service sales, retail sales.

Like, these are gonna push and propel you, but you have to, have to, have to coach your people to those targets. Yeah. You can’t just give them the number and [01:00:00] say, “Have fun.” That, they don’t get that. 

Ashley Prowell: No. 

Jules Molina: Um, it took us years to do that. So I think those are the things that I would do. Get systems in place.

Check-ins, check-outs. And by the way, those systems that you put in place, the check-in, the check-out, the phone script, that’s not for you. It’s for the guest experience. That is why people love going to chain companies, because they’re consistent. Whether I’m in Canada, I’m in Mexico, or I’m in the States, I know that, uh, that chain is gonna be consistent- 

Ashley Prowell: Mm

Jules Molina: with their results. Yeah. That’s what made them successful. 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yeah. 

Ashley Prowell: Agreed. Mm. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Thank you so, so much. Yes. Um, this was super fun, as expected. Yes. But also, I appreciate just how much, like, of your personal experiences you’ve shared and added into the conversation, into the mix. Obviously, Ashley, you run a ton of education sessions at Phorest.

This is your whole jam. Do you want [01:01:00] to share, you know, how people can hop onto that if they’re using Phorest in their business? 

Ashley Prowell: Yeah. No, that would be amazing. Um, so right in the system, when you’re in support, you hit your guides. You can type live classes. My face will pop up. Um, and it’s right there. You can register for all of them.

So I try to do around 20 live webinars a month. Um, and the profit center is actually one of the ones that I do talk about. Um, so I can dive into more detail on that as well too. Um, but yeah, I would love to see more people on the live webinars. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Amazing. Yeah. And Jules, how can people get in touch with you?

Jules Molina: Um, so you can find me on social, molina.jules. You’ll, you’ll get my link on there. You can go through my Instagram, slide into there, and I’ll respond to you over on those. Um, you can find us on our website. So one of the tools that I love, and I’ll give you all this information out too, is, um, the SalonIQ. So it’s like a cool calculator [01:02:00] that tells you what your organization is, where are the blind spots, and what action items you can start with right away to grow your business and scale your business- Mm-hmm

um, which I love. And we te- like, I teach front desk programs, um, customized coaching, all the fun things, so. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Lovely. Thank you so much. This has been- Thank 

Jules Molina: you … 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: the nicest way to close out a Thursday. Thank you so much for your time. Yes. 

Jules Molina: Yes. We have to do this again. This was so fun. I feel like I’m gonna be lonely without you guys now.

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Aw. That’s the nicest compliment. And yes, I am so down to hang- Yeah … and chat anything salon related, um, again at some point- Yes … on whatever platform. 

Jules Molina: Yes. Yeah. I, like, went through and I tried to, like, you know, stalk y’all to find you through social because, you know, as a- Oh, God, 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: yes … 

Jules Molina: merch, I have a lot of friends, and so when I find two that I love, I’m like, “Oh, we, we…

You don’t know this, but we became friends.”

Alex Bélisle-Springer: Yes. Yes. [01:03:00] Thank you so much for spending the past hour or so listening to this conversation, absorbing, integrating. We’ve covered quite a bit of ground in it, and naturally, the question remains: where do we go from here? What’s next? As you weigh the future of your front desk against the standards of excellence we strive for in this industry, I think it’s worth remembering that your business carries a unique DNA, and that means you need to explore and find the right strategy fit for your culture.

In my intro to this conversation with Jules and Ashley, I mentioned my hopes for this conversation, that it would provide you with the confidence, levity, clarity, and momentum needed to scale your operations sustainably, moving you closer to the vision you’ve already begun to cultivate for your team. In that spirit, I wanna leave you with an invitation.

As you take a moment to reflect on your front of house philosophy, really dig into what defines your operations. What’s the core ethos that drives your team, and how do you want your guests to feel at every single [01:04:00] touchpoint of their journey? With AI coming into play and already creating change, it’s time to get radically honest with yourself, and if something isn’t working, then maybe it’s time to try something new, something different.

Change, especially when it feels big, can feel momentarily painful, and it is perhaps the only way to truly transform a situation at its core. Changing things up doesn’t have to feel like a failure. It can be a reason to celebrate. We often talk about being disruptive. Well, to me, it’s not just a buzzword, and in this context, I’d argue that being disruptive can absolutely look like having an embodied knowing of your vision to innovate and the drive to make it happen.

So lean into that. Bridge the gap between those big ideas and execution. Makayla, Tom, and Jig Foss. Together, we grow

PhorestFM podcast is brought to you by Phorest Software. More than software, we’re on a mission, together with our community, to build a stronger industry. 

Alex Bélisle-Springer: This episode was edited and mixed by Audio Z, Montreal’s cutting edge post-production studio for creative minds looking to have their vision professionally produced and mixed. Great music makes great moments.