Although hair salons were allowed to stay open in the latest round of lockdown, Bradford home hair salon owner Angie Hart, of Angie's Hair with Heart, says she is struggling to keep appointments due to the number of clients being infected with COVID.
Just this week alone she had to cancel seven appointments and was unable to fill all the empty time slots. She says in most cases it is a last-minute cancellation because the client wakes up with symptoms. She says it has been like this all month long.
"This is the first week I have had so many cancellations," she said. "When they don't come, I don't get paid. When they are clients who are receiving a colour service, it's a big chunk of income."
Hart says she has been able to rebook the cancelled appointments, but sometimes they are not able to come back until weeks later, due to quarantine and scheduling.
The Omicron variant is ripping through the province, infecting more people than seen in the past waves of the virus. While provincial testing guidelines prioritize testing for people living and working in high-risk congregate care settings and hospitalized patients, and test results are delayed by several days, yesterday, the health unit reported 245 new cases in th region.
Hart predicts this cycle of cancellations will continue into the foreseeable future until the wave dies down.
Businesses all over are grappling with the loss of customers and staff shortages due to infection and quarantines. Hart has been running her own in-home salon business for the past seven years. Throughout the pandemic, she has seen a fluctuation in clientele, and increased costs of products.
Hart told BradfordToday that the cost of her colouring products has gone up three times in the past two years.
"Even styling products and back bar products have gone up," she said. "I'm probably spending about 30 per cent more than I was two years ago for my supplies."
Despite the rising costs, she has tried her best not to pass them down to her customers, having increased her prices once so far.
To minimize her risk of catching the COVID-19 virus, she has only taken on a few new clients.
"I have taken on some new clients when numbers were low and I felt comfortable letting new clients in my home," she explained, "However, right now I am not taking on any new clients because of the numbers. My main priority is keeping my regular clients, myself, and my family safe and healthy."
With a hit in her income, she says she and her family have had to make a few lifestyle changes.
Hart is hopeful that once the wave peaks and starts to come down she will be able to resume her regular scheduled appointments, invite new clients in, and keep her customers happy and safe while generating an income to support her and her family's lifestyle.
"It's amazing how supportive this community is to small businesses like mine," she said. "I'm thankful to both live and have my business in such a great community."
-with files from Erika Engel
