Denman Ambassador Skip Fellers is a hair stylist that knows her worth and charges from $95 to $240 for a cut at her salon, Neon Moon, in Asheville, North Carolina. Last September, Skip and her team chose to offer ‘pay what you can’ days where clients can receive Neon Moon service and literally pay whatever sum they can for their appointment.
Skip says, “I am adamant about charging my worth with an hourly rate that includes gratuity. With that being said, I still wanted to find a way to be accessible to my local community which is made up of artists, musicians and service industry folks. I've done raffles, giveaways, and even free haircut days on occasion but I wanted a more permanent fixture on my books. From there, I decided to offer one ‘pay what you can’ day each month and I encourage my stylists to do the same. All of the stylists who work at Neon Moon salon are passionate about accessibility and giving back with our craft.”
Skip opens her calendar on days that she would typically have off and promotes the ‘pay what you can’ day on her social media. While the previous events have been ad hoc, Skip plans to make it a regular fixture on the 1st of the month giving more people a fair chance at grabbing an appointment. As the economy cools and tough times start to bite, the ‘pay what you can’ day is an especially wonderful way to embrace the community and make people feel a little better.
“It's so sweet hearing feedback from the people that book on these days. they're so grateful and appreciative and there's definitely been some teary-eyed moments. One of my favorite aspects of being a stylist is meeting new people and having that human connection. I love the fact that offering this day allows me to touch more lives with a great haircut at a time that potentially they need it the most. On top of that, my regular clients have voiced how this makes them even more happy to pay my usual rate, knowing that it helps fund these community give back days,” says Skip.
Skip advises any stylist considering offering a similar service to “‘go for it’ as it’s a fulfilling, feel good day behind the chair and who doesn’t love that?”