BENGALURU: Stopping over to trim your beard or have a quick hair cut before boarding your Metro train to work is set to become a reality now. Initially proposed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) nearly six months ago, the first hi-tech unisex salon is set to open shop at Trinity Metro Station on Sunday.
A Hyderabad-based popular salon chain ‘Sooper Xpress’, which has bagged the five-year contract, will open its doors from 6 am to 10 pm to suit timings of Metro commuters. This will be the first Metro station in the country to have a salon inside its premises.
The main USP is the concept of ‘Vacuum Washing’. “After the hair cut is done, instead of a cleaning brush used in other places, a vacuum cleaner type of equipment is used so that bristles of cut hair are not left behind on the person,” proprietor Sridevi Reddy, told The New Indian Express.
“In addition, the comb used for a customer will be given away to the person as a freebie. This is done to ensure good hygiene on our premises,” she said.The group has also bagged the contract to set up shops at MG Road, Indiranagar, Baiyappanahalli and Mahalakshmi Layout Metro stations.
Sridevi said, “We planned to launch our business at Metro stations in Bengaluru in 2012. However, the poor patronage in the past made us bide our time. We now see trains overflowing with at least 10,000 footfalls at every Metro station. So, this seems to be right time to take the plunge.”The time factor and reasonable pricing are spelt out as USPs of the salon. “Our promise is a maximum of 15 minutes from entry to exit. The actual service time will only be 10 minutes,” she said. The salon’s motto runs thus: Happiness is a good hair day!
An eight-member all male staff, comprising experienced senior stylists, will run the show here. “We expect the beard trimming service, priced at `150 (plus 18 per cent GST) to catch up in a big way. Similarly, the hair blow dry for women using dry shampoo (`200 plus GST) is bound to get very popular among the ladies. The dry shampoo technique is an international concept that we are trying to bring in here,” Reddy said. Any hair cut will be priced at `200 plus GST, she aded.
Without getting into the specifics, Sridevi expressed optimism about having a good business here. The group plans to expand its footprint at Hyderabad next after ridership picks up there.Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, U A Vasanth Rao said, “Bringing a salon of international standards to our stations will be another major convenience Metro is offering its commuters. It will be of great help to office-goers.”