SALON SALUTES DISTRIBUTOR PARTNER

David Honeycutt and Charles (Buddy) Dudley are partners in the Charles David Salon in Hanover, Massachusetts. At this year’s Redken Symposium, Charles David Salon was honored as Redken Salon of the Year for the third consecutive year. Unsolicited, David Honeycutt called MODERN SALON to tell us how, in large part, he credits this, and other successes of the salon, to the long-time support of distributor partner Masello Salon Services of Cranston, Rhode Island.

Honeycutt had worked in the hospitality business and when he and Dudley, a stylist and colorist, decided to open a salon 13 years ago, Honeycutt was unsure of what his role would be. He wasn’t a salon professional, and didn’t know the business. He felt frustrated by the difficulty in securing education for the staff and knew he needed help. The help arrived with Ron Baccala Sr., principal of Masello Salon Services, and Sammy LaQuale, the DSC who convinced Honeycutt that he had an important business building role in the salon. “Sammy and Masello Salon Services believed in our potential when we only had five chairs,” says Honeycutt. “Sammy saw our potential long before we did.”

For Honeycutt and Dudley, Masello’s support came in big and small ways. “One day I came into the salon and saw a pair of legs sticking out from under a shampoo station. Ron was installing water savers on all my sinks—no charge, just because he knew it would save us money,” Honeycutt says.

Honeycutt and Dudley wanted to give their stylists the best education, but found that even though they were spending a lot of money, they couldn’t get access to top educators. Masello Salon Services convinced them to become a Redken Elite salon, which has the perk of offering excellent educational opportunities. “We were bombing in education until Masello got involved,” Honeycutt says. “Now, after our long relationship, we can make a phone call and have the biggest name educators coming to our salon.”

Several years ago, Honeycutt mentioned to Baccala and LaQuale that he wished he could meet with other salon owners in the area, who were not his competitors, to share ideas and learn from each other. “The next thing I knew,” says Honeycutt, “Ron had arranged a dinner with three other salon owners. He took the idea to a new level and created our S.W.A.P. group. Salons With A Purpose is a gathering of Masello salon customers and their staffers. We meet quarterly and hold conference calls to work together on promotions and share ideas.”

The group recently held its fourth annual conference attended by 150 salon professionals who have become part of a supportive community, thanks to the direction of their distributor partner.

The sense of community has extended to charitable activities that have become an important part of the Charles David Salon culture. Its most recent fundraisers have been on behalf of a local hospital where Honeycutt is a board member. When the salon decided to involve other salons in a “Journey of Hope” fundraiser for the hospital’s cancer center, Masello Salon Services was on hand to help with the planning, pay for the food and provide unique advertising by driving its “media” truck through town with graphics announcing “Salons Unite for Journey of Hope.”

Honeycutt and Dudley offer outstanding salon services and a beautiful environment. They’ve done everything right, and have been recognized repeatedly for their successes, but with family-owned, full-service independent distributors disappearing from the business landscape, Honeycutt felt compelled to let us and our readers know how vital a distributor partnership can be. Honeycutt remembers reluctantly calling Baccala for a favor and being told, “If you can’t count on family, who can you count on?”

“I don’t know anyone who exemplifies ‘family-run business’ better than Masello Salon Services,” Honeycutt says. “I know the fate of many distributors is shaky these days, but the ones that are run like Masello are invaluable to salons.”