Visavis in the Eastern District of Taipei is a high-end hair salon. While most local hair salons compete on price, a haircut by one of Visavis's top stylists costs a staggering NT$3,800. Nita Ing, chairwoman of Continental Holdings Corporation, and other female executives and socialites are regulars at Visavis.

In March Visavis, which will celebrate its 23rd anniversary this year, will expand beyond its Taipei base and open a hair salon in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, the sixth branch overall. Visavis founder T.R. Teng is an industry pioneer when it comes to reducing business hours without sacrificing a single cent in revenue.

Unlike other hair salons Visavis does not open at dawn and close at dusk. The hair salon is closed on Mondays. On four days, including Saturdays, the salon operates from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. But on Thursdays and Sundays the hair stylists call it a day at 4:30 in the afternoon.

The salon has been operating smoothly with these unusually short business hours for the past 16 years. "It's good to let the stylists finish work when it's still light outside, don't you think?" Teng muses. While Teng looks back on a highly successful 28-year career in hair styling, he originally got off to a rather bumpy start.

Teng, who turns 53 this year, took a few detours before discovering his talent for hairdressing. After graduating from the sculpture department of Fu-Hsin Trade and Arts School, a vocational senior high school in Taipei, he hopped from job to job. When eventually someone pointed out to him that hair styling is also a form of sculpting, he joined the trade, starting as a humble apprentice at the somewhat "advanced" age of 24.

During his first six years he washed and massaged legions of heads. Teng's only lasting impression from these days is that it was dark outside whenever he left the salon after work. "I felt it was a pity to go to sleep, but I had to sleep, because I needed to get up early the next day," Teng recalls, sitting on a leather sofa in the Visavis flagship store on Taipei's Renai Road.

Watching the Sunset

As a rookie, Teng felt strongly that something was wrong with the hair styling business. Top stylists often suffered poor health, and due to the long working hours, many had emotional problems or were ill-tempered. When he suggested that staff work shorter hours, he was written off as a fantasist and even accused of being lazy.

After six years as a hired stylist Teng opened his own salon and, of course, put his fantasies into action. At the time he hired three stylists and laid down the rules: The salon would only accept customers by prior appointment and not serve walk-in customers. Every Monday and Friday the salon would close at 5:30 p.m., and it would stay closed one day per week.

Why did Teng think that his stylists needed to finish work in time to see the sun still in the sky? The salon owner believes that design is a trade that has to do with people. But traditional hairdressers live as if they are locked in a box. Aside from styling hair, they don't understand a thing and are completely closed off from what's going on in society at large.

If the stylists finish work earlier, they won't neglect their families, or at least won't have a pretext to do so, Teng reasons. Second, with more leisure time stylists have an opportunity to get to know people from all walks of society. "They can see what other kinds of businesses look like in the light of day," Teng notes philosophically.

More importantly, Teng believes that if staff members have more free time, their emotions will improve and their ideas about hair design will progress. If they get enough rest, they don't have a reason for angry outbursts. As a result, the stability of the entire team improves. More than ten of Visavis's current 60 stylists are married and have children. The most senior stylist has been with the salon for 18 years, and more than 20 stylists are company shareholders.

Reform No. 1: Upgrading Service

Sixteen years ago Visavis saw its biggest crisis since its founding when a whole group of senior stylists left the salon, causing revenue to drop by more than half.

Leading a group of junior stylists, Teng made the painful decision to transform Visavis.

When business is good many necessary reforms are put on the back burner, because the staff is too busy. Therefore, the period with fewer customers provided a good opportunity for implementing change. "With a full stomach people want to rest. But when they are hungry, they want to learn," Teng explains.

Subsequently, the salon renovated its interior, switched to higher quality haircare and beauty products, and raised its prices. Teng insisted that his employees gradually improve any details in customer service that had previously been overlooked. He also strongly urged second-line stylists to make speedy progress to move to the first line. "We repositioned ourselves in a way to get those customers back who were very particular about service," Teng recalls. A year later, revenue had recovered to the original level.

Reform No. 2: Accurate Appointments, Process Control

While Visavis works shorter hours, it does not do less business than other hair salons, because its stylists are never idle. Teng notes that accurate appointments and process control are crucial for a seamless workflow.

At Visavis stylists don't stand around waiting for customers. The receptionists who take customer calls clearly know how much time the various procedures such as washing, cutting, perming or coloring take. When making appointments customers are informed at exactly what time their appointment begins and when it ends. If a customer is not sure what she wants, the stylist will personally communicate with her and then decide how much time the desired hairstyle requires.

For each appointment a certain amount of extra time is scheduled just in case there are unexpected developments. "The key is that every technical procedure is calculated very precisely and that there is certainty about the understanding reached with the customer," Teng explains. "In six hours we serve as many customers as others serve in 10," he adds proudly.

The unconventional ideas that Teng fancied as a hairwashing apprentice 28 years ago have come true. More importantly, Teng has proven that even in an old craft like hairstyling, change is possible.

Transalted from the Chinese by Susanne Ganz