Bosses Day!

Today is Bosses Day and boy, did we surprise our bosses! When we called them in to the break room and they didn't see anyone at their desks on the way there they thought they might have a coup on their hands.

Far from it. In fact one of the great things here is the culture and atmosphere that "the bosses" have allowed to happen. I have worked at jobs where the main thing people do all day is complain about working. While all of us have had a bad day every now and again, this is generally a pretty fun place to work.

This might be a reason some of our hair replacement customers have left voicemail praise for our customer service. Though I'm not an expert, I'm sure a great environment makes it easier to give better customer service and keep friendlier attitudes.

Thanks Bosses for allowing Hair Direct to be a great place to work!

HD-Bruno: Unedited.

Today I photographed our new Hair Techs. These are the pictures that we use on our Meet the Techs page.

It isn't easy being put up on a public website. For this reason I thought I would post a picture of me just so all the techs know that I can do it too.

This picture is not retouched, altered or anything. It's the real HD-Bruno!

I hope this act of solidarity shows that I know it isn't easy, but I understand.

Have a great day!

Goodbye and Good Luck!

Yesterday one of our Hair Techs, Mel, wrapped up her employment with us. She left on good terms and is pursuing a career in medical assisting at a dermatologist which she has professional training in. She will be starting at Dermasurgery Center in Lancaster, PA on Monday.

Mel did not work with customers directly but instead did a majority of the cleaning, cutting-in, and repairing hair systems. She will be missed as a valuable member of our team.

As always, we threw a small party.

Good luck Mel! All the best in your new endeavors.

Good Luck Mel!

As always, Nikki divides the goodies

Bill Sr say a few words of thanks.

New Editions to the Hair Direct Family

Hi Friends,

As you may have already read in the previous post by Bruno we've hired 3 great new hair techs. We are very thrilled to have them here and they are already making themselves at home here. Hair Direct makes it pretty easy to feel like you belong as soon as you walk in the door.

These ladies offer a lot of talent and come from diversified backgrounds.

Camille has 36 years working in a salon and not only does hair but is certified as an electrolysis technician! She even owned her own shop for several years.

Margaret has 5 years experience in a salon and also has some with marketing. She has a cool hairstyle to boot!

Krystle has 4 years experience in a salon and also at one time got to work at one of my very favorite places to shop... QVC - sweet! Of course they are all wonderful girls and you should be seeing much more of them.

Till next time! -Nikki

Hair Direct Pizza Party

Left to Right: Hair Tech Lisa with one of our new techs, Krystle!

Our marketing chieftain Brandon, was hoping to get pizza in peace. He wasn't successful.

Bill Jr grabbed a slice and quickly got back to his meeting with Su and Ma.

In honor of our guests this week Hair Direct bought the staff pizza! Pizza varieties abounded and I'm sure everyone was filled and fulfilled. We got the pizza from our favorite pizza place, Little Italy, down the street. Like always, when Hair Direct buys us food we are happy, and within 10-20 minutes, someone is usually moaning, "Why did I eat so much pizza?" But who that may be is a secret I'll keep to myself. I value my health.

Speaking of health. Our hair techs are multiplying. We've added three new hair techs but I don't want to get carried away. Tomorrow Nikki will be blogging to introduce these lovely ladies to you. I'll just let you know that they come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Tune in tomorrow and learn more. Thanks!

Factory Reps Visiting Hair Direct

Su, pictured left, is our factory liaison. Ma, on right,
owns the factory that produces your hair units!

Today some of our factory reps from China came to Bainbridge, PA to our office. Both play essential roles in ensuring that your hair systems are made precisely, accurately and on-time.

As you might know all of our hair systems are manufactured in China (like most of the hair systems worn in America and abroad) so it's important that we actually meet face-to-face every now and again. Bill Sr, Bill Jr and Brandon, our marketing guy, made the trip to China to see the operation and meet with the factory workers in February.

A few months ago Su came to see us and work out HOP program issues and how it will effect her and the factory. Today and the rest of the week Su and Ma will be discussing quality control, turn-around issues, new hairstyles, our plans to introduce full cap systems for women, broadening our African-American/Ebony hair systems offerings.

In fact, as I write this the hair replacement techs are meeting with Su and Ma discussing issues that they have had as they deal with you as customers each and every day.

As you can imagine dealing with a factory in another country and culture can be quite a challenge. But you can rest assured that we are and will always be commited to working hard for your hair... so you don't have to! :)

Thanks Su & Ma!

Kathy's Cryin'

Kathy was crying today because we were out of Poptarts! She didn't know what to do without breakfast!

As soon as Bruno got here she expressed her concern and he joyfully noted he would make his biweekly run to BJ's Wholesale Club to pick up the goodies. Which he did!

We are lucky enough to have a small "store" to purchase things like mac 'n' cheese, candy bars, granola bars, soda, water, juice etc. at a very small price.

So hopefully Bruno learned his lesson and will stop making Kathy cry! Keep those Poptarts stocked man!

Some of our HD snacks!
Kathy's smiling once again!

The Dark, The Dymo, The Day.

Today was really quite interesting, productive and at times frustrating.

Before I arrived at the office I learned that the power was out. I tried to get in early enough to get pictures... But it was restored in short order. By the time I arrived the florescent ceiling panels were beaming.

Several of the Hair Replacement Techs had issues printing labels on their Dymo printers. The issue really had to do with Microsoft Office not being installed completely. I reinstalled MS Office 2003 and from there I reinstalled the Dymo software. At least I tried to.

On both computers I had problems either installing or getting the Dymo software to interact correctly with MS Office.

I need to say this... Dymo has GREAT customer service! Both times I called Dymo today I spoke with Heidi and each time she easily guided me to the root of the problem and the issue was resolved.

Today actually was the 2nd and 3rd time I called Dymo Customer Service. I didn't have to push a bunch of buttons, (only once) nor did I have to talk to a voice guided machine that never quite gets me where I want be, nor did I have to be frustrated by someone I didn't understand. All three experiences were great and though no one ever wants to contact technical support, I'm glad to know Dymo will at least make it a good experience.

Today, as I sat amongst the Hair Techs fixing computers, I really got to hear a dose of what they have to go through. Giving great customer service is never easy and in fact takes an extra dose of care. I'm glad to know that though our Hair Techs at times suffer through the day they work hard to continue to bring our customers the best service they know how.

Thanks Techs!