Alkmaar has had it since 1999, when the Rob Peetoom salon opened its doors on the Ritsevoort. By the initiative of Kim and Marion, who embarked on this adventure together. Twenty-five years later, there's a talented team of hairstylists and the salon has grown in every respect.
ROB HAD A BETTER IDEA
Kim and Marion both worked in the Rob Peetoom salon on the Grote Markt in Haarlem, and one day they went to Rob. They wanted to start a salon together, preferably in Overveen. But Rob had a better idea. Because Marion lived in Alkmaar and many customers came from the North in Haarlem, he thought it would be a good idea to open a salon in Alkmaar. The third branch, or as Rob calls it, the third 'store'. And so it happened. 'We haven't regretted a single day,' Marion and Kim say in unison, 'what a good step that was. It was extremely exciting, but the best thing we have ever done. Because we were part of the Rob Peetoom organization, we benefited from all the training at the Academy where young hairdressers are trained and stylists are continuously trained. The Academy guarantees the quality of the salons.
'Kim was 26, Marion 31. Kim remembers: 'Rob always says: 'you should do what you are good at', and in our case that was cutting. We didn't like the administrative side as much, but that also turned out well. Just like the other salons, we use a price differentiation system whereby a stylist can be booked for every budget. Marion and I are Master Stylists, just like Anouk, who came to work with us two years after opening. Rochelle Peetoom has now taken over the management of the organization. We have a good relationship with her and believe that she is taking the right course with the company.'
DEEP BOW
Anouk: 'I came straight from high school in 2001 to intern with Rob Peetoom Alkmaar as a student and grew to become a Master Stylist and ultimately a partner. I had only just started working there when I went to the Rob Peetoom sports day, the dynamics were great. I thought the company was absolutely wow. At home they also read the Libelle, which Rob appeared in every week.'
Marion even remembers exactly which dress she was wearing when she came to apply for a job in the salon in Haarlem. 'I want to be part of this!' I thought, 'I had that 'deep bow feeling', enormous respect for what Rob did. The vibe of the company was great.”
As new salon partners, life became a little different. Kim and Marion learned to lead. 'In the beginning I was very concerned with the details,' says Marion. 'Whether the chrome of the chair legs had been properly polished. That passed quickly because running a salon is much more than cutting. An important aspect of running a salon is mentoring young, talented Stylists. Each of them has his or her unique personality and skills, with some perhaps being more confident than others. The staff comes in very young and grows with you, allowing you to build a bond of trust. We have an exemplary role. We have undergone enormous development in terms of leadership.'
WEEKLY
"We now have a team of 11 that we are extremely proud of," Kim adds. When asked whether working with women is complicated, as is sometimes claimed, Marion reacts a little surprised: 'We do have a few house rules. We make it clear from the first application that we do not like gossip culture, but we do like talking things out with each other. We think it is important that we can discuss everything with a 'buddy' or with us, the partners. We will then have a conversation together and look for a solution. We strive for empathy and collaboration within our team. We are all extremely connected, even though we are all different. Every Saturday afternoon the three partners have a drink and discuss the week. 'We use a special booklet in which anyone can write ideas or comments. This is used to write down general information about, for example, new products, launches or things you have encountered in the salon.' "We call this booklet weekly," Marion jokes. 'If you come across something or want to share something, you write it down and it will be discussed at the end of the week.'
BYE BYE PERMANENT
It is clear that much more has changed over the 25 years. Anouk: 'We didn't have computers or an online reservation system yet, to name just an example. We wrote down agreements on a letter and then put them in the appointment book.' They already served freshly ground coffee, although it was not yet a cappuccino with frothed milk. A major change took place in the hair area in the salon in Alkmaar. Kim says: 'We were good at cutting and did not want to do a permanent cut, which was not on our price list. Permanent went against our vision of 'looking at what the hair wants'. It was a fun challenge to convince the ladies that a perm was not necessary. This was accompanied by good personal advice. We have often heard: 'How wonderful, my hair looks much better without it. I wish I had known that sooner!' We also showed that a beautiful color was much more important than the curl. Everyone was happy that it was no longer necessary.' Marion: 'We didn't say no, but did it differently. Short hair was our USP. And the quality of the hair has always been very important to us. That really wasn't the case in the rest of the Netherlands, we were at the forefront in that.'
COLOR TECHNIQUES
'What has also changed enormously over the years are the coloring techniques,' says Anouk. 'We can do so much with color now. Babylights, face framing, where the face is framed by highlights. Or balayage, where the color is, as it were, 'outlined' on the hair. And we can guide the customer to gray hair by softening the entire graying process with high and lowlights. Less intense than what is seen on social media, where hair turns gray overnight. We do that in steps.' Marion adds: 'We also really encourage customers, knowing that gray hair is beautiful and has nothing to do with being old. It is actually very powerful and strong. If customers are tired of the growth, we make a step-by-step plan with them. And we help them with the mindset. Because what often bothers them the most is the reaction of others. Then we teach them to immediately shout 'it looks nice, doesn't it?' at the first comment. '
CONFIDANT
They think it is logical that the mental part is also part of it. Marion: 'As a hairdresser, it is not only important to be skilled in cutting and styling, but also to have an empathetic and helpful attitude. It is essential that this feels natural. The relationship with the customer is a bond of trust and it is extremely valuable to be able to share moments together. We have customers who have been coming to us for 25 years. So we have known them for a long time. The children now also sit in our chairs.' Anouk adds: 'We sometimes act as confidential counselors, for example, we are the first to know that someone is 6 weeks pregnant. Or what goes on in love. People can say a lot to us, we are neutral.'
INSPIRATION
Anouk: 'I used to look at hairdressing magazines and fashion magazines for inspiration, at photos of shows. Now we get more inspiration from social media and from series. And of course we have the training courses, where we also inspire each other.' Marion: 'Our customers often come in with a picture, nowadays on their phone. We like that as a starting point, so we know what they want. We then discuss this with them, whether it is suitable in terms of hair type, face shape, body, height and posture. Is that person classic or sporty? We also ask 'what do you do with your hair?' 'Kim: 'We have never been very sensitive to trends, we always looked more at the customer in the chair in combination with what was going on in hair fashion.'
BIG ANNIVERSARY
Marion: 'As far as the future is concerned: we have no point on the horizon where we want to go. But our salon will grow organically in the coming years. We now also do make-up and eyebrows, we might dream of a little more space for those other services. We keep our company healthy, that's the most important thing.' On March 9, the official day of the 25th anniversary, there is a party in the salon. There is cake and bubbles for customers. In April, the entire team goes away for a weekend to celebrate success together. The three of them would like to thank their husbands. Anouk: 'They have to move along, our passion is very important to us.' And Marion, joking: 'They are allowed to come in for fun, but never interfere with anything.' <
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