Salon Website Chat: The Questions Clients Ask Before Booking

It's 9:40pm on a Tuesday. Someone is on your salon website, looking at balayage. They want to know how much it costs for long hair, whether they need a patch test first, and if you have anything on Saturday. Your phone is off and the salon is closed. If the answers aren't on the page, they'll probably try the next salon in their search results.

Most salon clients ask the same handful of questions before they book. This guide covers what those questions are, how to answer them clearly on your website, and how a chat on your site can handle them when you can't.

The questions salon clients actually ask

• Prices. "How much is a cut and blow dry?" "Is a full head of foils £95 or more for long hair?" "Do you charge extra for thick hair?"
• Patch tests. "Do I need a patch test for colour?" "How long before my appointment?" "Can I pop in for one on the way home?"
• Opening times. "Are you open late on Thursdays?" "Do you do Sundays?"
• Parking and getting there. "Is there parking nearby?" "Which bus stops outside?"
• Cancellation policy. "What happens if I need to cancel?" "Do you take a deposit?"
• Which stylist. "Who does curly cuts?" "Is there someone who specialises in blonde?" "Is Jess still working there?"

None of these are hard questions. The problem is that they arrive at all hours, often while you're mid-colour with a client in the chair.

Put the answers on your website first

Before you think about chat, make sure your site actually says these things. A lot of salon websites have a lovely gallery and a "call us to book" button, and very little else.

1. Publish a price list, even if it's "from" prices. "Cut and finish from £42" is far more useful than nothing. If prices depend on hair length or stylist level, say so.
2. Write your patch test policy in plain words. For example: "New colour clients need a patch test at least 48 hours before their appointment. It takes five minutes and is free." Use whatever your actual policy is.
3. Add your opening hours, address and parking notes in one place, not scattered across pages.
4. State your cancellation policy clearly. If you keep a deposit for late cancellations, say how much and how much notice you need.
5. Introduce your stylists. A short line on what each person loves doing helps clients pick the right one.

This also gives any chat assistant something accurate to work from.

How a website chat answers these questions

Lots of visitors won't scroll through your price list. They'd rather just ask. A chat button on your site lets them type "how much for a balayage on long hair?" and get an answer straight away.

The important part is where the answer comes from. You don't want an assistant guessing your prices or making up a patch test rule. (We covered this worry in more detail in Will an AI chatbot make up prices?.)

KipDesk works like this:

• It reads your website and drafts your key facts, such as services, prices, opening hours and contact details. You approve, edit or remove each one. It only uses facts you've approved.
• You can upload a price list (PDF, Word or text), paste text from your Facebook page, or write your own answers, such as "When a customer asks about patch tests, answer with...".
• It copies prices and times exactly as you gave them. Each answer shows where it came from, such as "From Prices".
• When it doesn't know something, like whether Jess is in on the 14th, it says so instead of guessing. It takes the visitor's details and adds the question to your to-do list. Once you answer, it uses that answer for everyone who asks after.

It also replies in the visitor's language.

Capture a number to confirm a time

Answering questions is half the job. The other half is turning a curious visitor into a booking.

When a visitor wants an appointment, KipDesk asks for their name and phone number or email. It then emails you the lead straight away, with what they asked about and the full chat. So when you open your inbox in the morning, you might see something like: "Sophie, 07700 900123, wants a cut and colour with Jess, Saturday morning if possible, has had a patch test before."

You can then ring or text to confirm a time. Leads that arrive before 8am, after 6pm or at weekends are marked "after hours", so you can see how many enquiries come in while the salon is closed.

If you'd rather move the conversation to WhatsApp, you can switch on a Continue on WhatsApp button. Once the visitor has left their details, it opens a chat with your salon's WhatsApp number, with a short summary of what they need already written.

Booking in the chat is coming soon. Online booking with Google Calendar, where the client picks a real free slot, is on the way for Pro and Business plans, but it isn't live yet and there's no date to share. Until then, the chat takes the client's details and the time they'd like, and sends them to you to confirm.

When a client wants to talk to you

Some questions need a person. "I had a reaction last time, can you help?" is not something you want an assistant to handle alone.

Visitors can press "Talk to a person" at the bottom of the chat at any time. You get an email with a "Reply now" button, and if your dashboard is open you also get an alert. Your reply shows up in their chat. At the same time, the visitor is asked for their name and phone number or email, so you still have their details if you're busy with a client.

Find out more

There's more on how this works for salons on our salons page, and a broader look at the basics in AI chatbot for a small business website.

Your clients will keep asking the same questions. Answer them clearly on your site, let the chat pick up the rest, and make sure every late-night enquiry ends with a name and a number you can call back.