By: Michelle Leach
Thomas Sena, owner of T'eez, and his team of stylists have fashioned a sizeable following with brides, booking 250 wedding packages this year at Omaha Bridal Showcase and the Omaha Bridal Fair. Such a reputation is not built overnight, Sena indicated, noting that stylists at his salon, T'eez, have volunteered their Sunday mornings for years at area bridal fairs, showing brides the benefits of a T'eez wedding package. Now Sena is taking the energy and dedication used to grow the wedding business and applying it to boost interest and demand for Ladies Nights. "Last year we didn't have as many 'Ladies Nights' and this year we felt like we had to flip the top off this thing," said Sena. Ladies Nights work like this: A woman decides to organize a night out with the girlfriends or co-workers. She calls T'eez, schedules an appointment (typically for a Friday night). On said night, woman brings 10 or more friends. The party is treated to a "trend report" presented by Sena. Then they get advice on makeup from an in-house makeup artist. After that, each woman's hair is styled by a T'eez professional, for free. The women also get free gifts, and enjoy complimentary wine and cheese throughout the night. "People always want to know, 'What's the catch?'" Sena said. "The beauty of this is there's no obligation to buy, and if after we style their hair they want to get a cut or color or makeup they'll get 25 percent off." He said the discount applies not just to services or items purchased the night of the get-together, but any services booked on Ladies Night. If there is no "catch," what's in it for T'eez? Judging from the salon's calendar, in which all Fridays are booked this month for these events, the concept is whipping up interest in what T'eez has to offer. "What we're finding, and we just started doing these in the last four months, is that people loved what we did on 'Ladies Night' and they want to work with us," Sena said. "We're getting people in the salon for the first time." Just as Sena's stylists often reinvent their clients, the salon is reinventing itself in some ways through Ladies Nights by focusing its attention on another area for continued growth: bridal parties. If a bride has purchased a wedding package, Sena's team will call her a few months in advance of the event to schedule a "bridal party" -- marrying Ladies Night concept with the successful wedding business. "We ask the bride if she is interested in a ladies night out before the big bachelorette party," Sena said. Sena is also seizing opportunities to work with businesses on two fronts: by partnering with local businesses to offer discounts that bring Ladies Night attendees to their establishment after their hair is styled or their makeup is done, and by playing up the concept to offices whereby more women would arrange such events with their colleagues. "Their bosses could actually offer this to their staff as a party without having to spend money," Sena said; noting that many businesses have cancelled holiday parties in light of economic pressures. And Sena is acutely aware of economic hardship. As evidenced by the freebies offered via Ladies Night, Sena regularly e-mails discounts to his clients, usually offering 20 percent off of a service or product. In addition, those who book wedding packages with T'eez get complimentary champagne brunch; the bride receives free hair and free makeup (depending on the size of the bridal party and when the package is booked). If an existing client refers a friend, both she and the friend each get $20 off of their services. If she refers another friend, the client gets another $20 discount. "With as many offers as we do give out on a regular basis, if they worked the system right, they would never have to pay full price here," Sena said. In its new location at 158th and Maple streets, Sena also hopes to appeal to more families and a wider demographic. They are doing their part to reach out to the area by volunteering time at elementary schools, reading books to children. By pouring their energies into such outreach, Sena is hoping to debunk a misconception about the salon, that it is too expensive. Such a belief may be taken as a compliment, in some respects, as cost is often associated with quality but it is not necessarily good for business. "People have this notion that we're expensive; we are on the high-end but we're not the most expensive," Sena said. "We're really trying to show through these offers that we want to accommodate the whole family and that we're not just for the elite or for the rich." But you can feel like a million bucks. To find out, schedule an appointment with a T'eez stylist by calling (402) 397-9500. For more information visit www.teezsalon.net.
The entire contents of this publication are © Copyright 2010 The Omaha Newspapers and may not ethically nor legally be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the Publisher.