Case Study: Exhale Therapy Salon

Case Study: Exhale Therapy, Didsbury. Owner Saj Akram.

Saj Akram and his wife have two Salon Spa’s in East and West Didsbury, Manchester. Exhale Therapy opened their first salon in 2014 and their second just last March. Saj says “We were looking for a second location and considering Wilmslow when this salon became available during lock down. It’s just two miles away from our original salon but serves a slightly different catchment area. Both locations are busy but being so close to one another has the advantage that we can direct customers unable to book in to one to the other and sharing staff across the locations works well for us.”

Exhale Therapy took on the second business as a going concern and their Salon Gold insurance came along with it. Thankfully their Salon Gold insurance policy came along with the it because earlier this year the boiler in the apartment above began to leak. By the time the staff arrived a torrent of water was flowing into the treatment rooms, staff kitchen and hallway through the ceiling causing significant damage. The electrics were shut down, the shop closed and all bookings were either moved or cancelled. The tenant was contacted but they did not know where the stop cock was to switch off the water and while the landlord had been called, a plumber wasn’t due to attend for another five hours! Saj took matters into his own hands and located the stop cock for the tenant in order to minimise further damage.

Saj found the process of making a claim seamless. The business was losing around £1300 a day by being closed and in order to mitigate losses, Salon Gold told him to go ahead and get repairs done quickly. The damage had been thoroughly documented by video and images and the loss adjustor was happy to accept this evidence to assess the claim. The claim was paid out promptly. Lots of salon businesses are beneath residential flats leaving many vulnerable to problems. “As soon as you take on a lease, touch base with the occupants of the flats above your business and establish where their stop cocks are. It’s also wise to establish a relationship with the landlord of those properties just in case you need to contact them in an emergency,” says Saj.

To review your policy or get advice go to www.salongold.co.uk

Saj Akram

Saj Akram has two Salon Spa’s in East and West Didsbury, Manchester. Exhale Therapy opened their first salon in 2014 and their second just last March. Saj is a Salon Gold customer.

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