Kelsey — this is the written recap I promised: every idea from our call, how the build rolls out, both ways to run it, and the short list of things I need from you. Nothing here is new; it's our conversation, organized.
All of this came from our call — most of it from your own ideas — and all of it is covered by the core package.
A dedicated Slēk number that responds instantly in Slēk's voice — nights, Sundays, Mondays included — and runs your full intake: name, location, service, timing, hair story, photos.
The same brain as a chat window on sleksalon.com, for the clients who would rather do anything than make a phone call.
Your insight: people do not read. So the assistant speaks the guidance that matters — brief, warm, never a wall of text.
Requests go to your artists; response time varies; and once a client connects with their artist, it is white-glove from there — no middleman.
Location (with a no-preference option for hair emergencies), service, timing — and it returns the artists who fit, with their work and contact info. No more reading through every profile.
Each request posts to the right channel — Clifton Park, Albany, or either — and whoever grabs it first gets it, exactly like today. If nobody claims it, it escalates instead of vanishing.
From the first hello, clients get their artist's contact and one instruction: save it — scheduling, pricing, and changes go through your artist. The "call the salon" confusion ends.
Extensions inquiries get their own flow: consultation-first, routed to you when someone asks for you or your specialty by name, and to the whole extensions team otherwise.
For artists who connect their calendars, the front desk can see who looks free — "Tyler looks open after 2pm" — across Vagaro, Square, and Google Calendar. Each artist opts in; nobody is forced.
Where an artist's system allows it, clients can lock in a day and time right in the conversation — and they still get the artist's contact info every time.
For clients who call instead of text: they leave a structured voice message, and your artist gets it as readable text — no more repeat calls stacking up between appointments.
Each artist sees their day at a glance, posted automatically — fewer surprises, fewer scheduling mistakes.
Included in the build — automatic reminders that cut down no-shows and late cancels.
For the first few weeks, every conversation ends with a chance for clients to flag anything confusing. You see all of it; we fix what deserves fixing.
We ship in stages, and each stage gets tested privately — you and me, role-playing as customers — before any client ever sees it. Your rule, and mine too.
We lock scope, I collect the salon details, and I start the paperwork that activates the business text line — the carriers take days to a few weeks to approve new business numbers, so this starts first while everything else is being built.
From you: the artist list check, your Slack invite, a few business details for the text-line registration, and one decision — brand-new number for the front desk, or keep that on the roadmap for the existing Slēk line.Website chat goes live on sleksalon.com first, then the text line the moment carrier approval lands. Full intake, policies, FAQs, expectation-setting, reminders — the receptionist job, handled.
From you: private testing together, then the go-ahead.Requests post to your Slack channels with a claim button, unclaimed requests escalate, the website matchmaker goes live, and the morning brief starts posting.
From you: nothing new — your Slack already works the way this needs.Artists who opt in connect their calendars — live availability, booking in the chat where their system allows it. The voice line and voicemail-to-text come online for the callers.
From you: per-artist sign-off on calendar access. I never see one artist's details from another artist's view, and neither do they.Exactly what we discussed on the call — pick the one that fits how you like to operate. Either way, the build itself is the same.
One honest footnote: when the voice (phone) line comes online in Stage 3, the phone carrier charges a small per-minute cost for calls. That passes through at cost — I don't mark it up, and texting and chat carry nothing extra.
Five things, none longer than a few minutes — most of it can happen right on our kickoff call.
Or knock most of it out right now — the worksheet →Saturdays and Mondays work great on my end, early mornings too. If you want the standing weekly slot you mentioned, I'm in.
I have the roster from your site — I need you to confirm names, who does what, and each artist's booking setup (Vagaro, Square, Google Calendar, texts, paper). This is also where we see who wants to connect their calendar.
You offered — I accept. I need to see the channel structure to wire the routing exactly to how you already work.
Legal business name, EIN, business address, website, and a yes on the opt-out wording — that's everything the carriers need to approve Slēk's business text line. I handle all the paperwork.
Does the front desk get a brand-new number (my recommendation — your current Slēk line stays exactly as it is), or do you eventually want the assistant answering the existing number? No wrong answer; it just sets the roadmap.
You've seen the demo think for itself. This page is the map. One kickoff call locks it in, and Slēk stops needing a receptionist.