Services That Deliver the Goods : Office: A growing number of businesses--including hairdressers and manicurists--cater to executives who can’t leave their phones or computers.
Though some Los Angeles executives skip out of the office with laptop computers, cellular phones and portable faxes in tow, others simply won’t leave their corporate premises--even for a haircut.
It is for these clients, whose time is valuable, that beauty professionals take their acts on the road.
Johnny Carson sometimes sends out for a Jessica Salon manicurist to groom his nails in his NBC Burbank office, salon owner Jessica Vartoughian says.
Raoul D’Amantte, owner of d’amantte Salon in Studio City, estimates that about 40% of the clients he handles himself request an out-of-salon service at one time or another. Those who take a liking to the service often work out a regular arrangement with the stylist. The fee for a weekly visit from D’Amantte ranges from $100 to $150.
For some of his clients, being too busy is not the only reason for avoiding beauty shops. “I really hate being in a noisy salon. It’s agitating and nerve-racking. The sprays make me sick after a while,” says Studio City attorney K. Dawn Langdon, a D’Amantte client for about three years.
Langdon says she will only patronize a salon that offers home or office visits. D’Amantte visits her weekly for what he calls maintenance: doing whatever it takes--a trim, a color touch-up or a simple styling. On request, D’Amantte will do Langdon’s makeup for special occasions.
While her hair is being done, Langdon often talks on the phone or works at her computer. Although D’Amantte’s salon is only a few minutes away, “being physically here is more important than you might think,” Langdon said.
“If I had missed a call on an international adoption case about three weeks ago, that client probably would have called somebody else,” she said, explaining that the client had found her name in the Yellow Pages and might very well have continued down the list.
Jona Willis, owner of a Studio City signature boutique, gets her hair styled in her conference room about twice a week. She usually conducts meetings with her staff or catches up on paper work while D’Amantte is there.
During a recent office visit, employee Maureen Norton flashed Polaroid shots as Willis decided which dress to buy.
“Is it too Lacroix?” Willis asked, as D’Amantte smoothed her hairdo.
“Yes, but it’s prom,” Norton said.
Willis gave thumbs up on three new dresses. In this case, D’Amantte’s salon is just footsteps away, but, Willis says, “I just don’t like to lose the time in my own business . . . I go over there for a vacation!”
One family business makes the office visits of hair stylist Giovanni Ramos a family event. Christie Claridge-Florimbi, Miss Los Angeles 1982, Miss California 1983 and Miss International 1984, now works in her family’s interior design business, Claridge House in Northridge.
Her mother, Gail Claridge, says, “I definitely think office visits are a trend for the ‘90s. The convenience of him coming and going--rather than us--is perfect for our busy lifestyle.”
Ramos, of Michelangelo Hair Designs in Woodland Hills, has been doing their hair once a month for about six months.
He charges between 10% and 30% more for office visits than patrons would pay in the salon, depending on the travel time involved. Minimum cost for an office visit--he says men constitute about 30% of these--is $50. For that, the client usually gets a trim. His office services are limited to cutting and styling because, he says, more involved chemical processes such as perms and coloring are easier to handle in the salon.
At Jessica Salon, the fee for an office or home manicure is double the usual $22 for an in-salon appointment. But, said owner Vartoughian, special circumstances are usually involved when manicurists go out on call.
“People who are getting ready for a special occasion, or if they are ill, will sometimes request it,” she explained.
According to Jeff Weir, assistant executive officer for the state Board of Cosmetology, ill or physically incapacitated patrons are the only people who may legally receive beauty services outside a salon. Otherwise, licensed cosmetologists face a misdemeanor charge, he said.
If convicted of practicing their trade outside the salon setting, violators face “any penalties which would result from the crime that the judge saw fit to levy,” Weir said.
The punishment could range from fines and suspension of a license to a prison sentence, although jailing is unlikely, Weir said. At present, the state board cannot regulate unlicensed violators, he said, adding that the board is considering a change in regulations so unlicensed operators can be fined as well.
Stylists such as D’Amantte say the law is not only unenforceable, but ridiculous.
“You have to be sanitary,” he said, “but in most of the homes I work in, the client’s environment is cleaner than that of many salons I’ve been to.” D’Amantte carries disposable styling capes when out on the job. One Brentwood client for whom he makes house calls keeps her own brushes, combs, hair products and cutting shears at home for D’Amantte’s use.
“The law is bogus,” said Ramos. “You have a license, and you went to school. If you make sure your area is sanitary--with alcohol and the whole nine yards--then I think you should be able to do it.”
Those who are interested in arranging for office visits are better off working with a stylist in a salon before scheduling appointments at home or at the office, D’Amantte advises.
“We don’t advertise our office call setup,” he said. “The best way to get that kind of service here is to establish a relationship first. Occasionally we will go to their homes for the first time, but I’m more willing to go out of my way for someone I know.”
