The Grooming Guys Blog

Don't Rain On Our Parade. When Was The Last Time You Were In Men's Vogue?

The kind folks over at Men's Vogue showed their kindness (and great taste) by featuring the Grooming Lounge in this month's issue.  The issue, showcasing a shot of the great Daniel Day Lewis on the cover, takes a page to talk about the opening of our new store in Atlanta and makes reference to the "sense of humor" we try to bring to men's grooming. Basically, the article and the crew at Men's Vogue appreciated the fact that while we take great service and products very seriously, we don't take ourselves too seriously.  As they quoted us as saying, "we're helping men groom... not splitting the atom."

Anyway, wanted to take a chance to brag about this great piece and give you the opportunity to view it here.  Or, of course, you could spend a few bucks and grab a copy yourself.

And by the way, our Atlanta joint opened last Friday (nearly six weeks late). It's worth the wait though, as the place is beautiful and our team is top notch.  A special thanks to Nicole and Amanda, two of the most talented Grooming Experts on the planet, who made the move from our DC store down south.  Stop in and see them if you're in the area.

Grooming Lounge Atlanta To Open This Week

Grooming Lounge's first outpost outside the DC-region is ACTUALLY going to open this week.  We've passed inspections and aside from a few minor details, we are looking great to start making appointments for this coming weekend. We've got a first-rate team in place and the benefit, to you as our guest, of our huge delay is that our team is trained to a degree that you will not believe.  We mean, what else are you going to do when you're delayed for a month but train, train, train?

Anyway, this huge delay has been extremely stressful to say the least -- and in the spirit of that -- we wanted to list for you a few of the stress relieving/energy refreshing  products we carry that the Grooming Guys have been using as of late to take the edge off and keep our spirits up:

• Molton Brown Invigorating Bath & Shower Gel: Provides a little pick me up when you're feeling like "hey... this store is never going to open."
• Menaji 911 Eye Gel: Missing out on the holiday season and consistently missing targeted opening dates is enough to make someone, like us, lose sleep.  You'll look no worse for the wear with this.
• Ritual Nature Calls: The stress of opening a great new store is sometimes enough to make one #&%* their drawers.  This will help ensure it doesn't smell that way.
• Malin+Goetz Cannabis Candle: Rumor has it cannabis can relax a person.  Burning one in candle form can't hurt?

Take great care of yourself in ATL this week and call us at 404.467.7766 to make your appointment.

Good Service Is The Best Form Of Marketing

Got a call today from an extremely aggressive advertising executive representing a local DC media outlet.  He wanted the Grooming Lounge's ad dollars and when we politely declined, the hyped-up gent went as far as to question the GL's business and marketing strategy.

"Well just how exactly do you guys expect people to find out about your company? Don't you want to grow your business?" he queried. 

While we we're put off a bit by his delivery, it was actually a really good question and method of dumbing down the Grooming Lounge's overall business philosophy. You see, when it comes down to it, our entire business plan can be simplified in one insanely simple mission:

TO PROVIDE REALLY GREAT SERVICE

Yeah... it's that easy.  We know, believe and are beholden to the notion that if you offer great technical service (haircuts, shaves, massages, etc.), and quality products (stuff that does what it says it does and exceeds expectations) and provide both of these in conjunction with first-rate customer service (smiles, knowledgeable staffers, fast delivery), you've indirectly done the best ad campaign available.  We trust that if one guy comes in and is blown away with his haircut and the way he's treated, his recommendation to  friends is 10-fold better than any glossy ad.  Same goes for the on line customer who gets his order faster and packed nicer than expected.  Basically, do things the right way and let your customers (or guests as we call em') spread the word.

Make sense?  Do you care?  The reason it might be of interest to you is to realize that we depend on you to help us grow and the only way we can earn your trust, en route to having you as our best spokespeople, is to treat you right. To make you trust us, believe in what we do and in turn spread the gospel. Of course, surrounding and superceeding all that is the belief that men should always be treated like kings and get more than they are paying for everytime.

Not sure our "provide great service" mission statement would get us funded in the VC world or other, but we're sticking to it and like going at it oursleves at this time.  As for the slick ad pitch man, we didn't have the heart to ask him if he needed a haircut?

Real Men Don't Eat Quiche... Or Rush Into Elevators

You probably clicked on our blog to learn a thing or two about grooming or a tid bit in regards to our growing company.  Who knows, maybe you just liked the picture of the two goofy guys and said, "hmmmm... got nothing better to do."  Well, sorry to disappoint this go around, but we're not writing about our usual fare.  Instead, as a result of our very intensive travel as of late, us Grooming Guys have noticed a few very un-gentleman-like habits from guys around this great country. They are all fix-able, but any guy guilty of these snafus should shape up right away.  We guess good grooming goes beyond a pretty face. Read below and you'll know who we're talking about (not you of course)

LET THEM OFF... THEN GET ON: Whether it's an elevator, a bus, a subway or airport transit, good manners dictate that one must let everyone OFF before one gets IN.  Even if you start to walk IN before noticing there's people trying to get OFF, you just gotta' give an "oops-like" look and step OFF.

THAT SEAT IS ATTACHED TO SOMEONE: When you stand up on a plane or at a movie, real gents should note that the seat in front of you is NOT a tool to provide  leverage to get you vertical. Instead, someone is sitting in that seat and when it's pulled back or shaken, it has an effect on the schmuck sitting in front of you.

WHO CLEANS UP THOSE BUTTS?: When you see a guy walking down the street smoking and they flick their cigarette onto the street, who exactly do they think should pick it up? Not a very considerate gentleman-in-training indeed. Instead, there are plenty of trash cans or ashtrays around that don't require somebody to clean up trash.  This certainly goes for the folks who like to enjoy a quick cig in front of our D.C. store (us Grooming Guys have picked up our fare share of those).

JUST SAY NO TO EMOTICONS: We can't even force ourselves to make one to show you what we're talking about, but you've seen them.  Little sad, happy or goofy faces people make out of symbols on the keyboard and send along in e-mails to show emotions. Naahhh... not for gentlemen.

Thanks for visiting www.groominglounge.com. We thank you for a great '07 and look forward to introducing you to our new products, Atlanta store and much more.