Hair It Is Barbershop is a vibrant unisex salon based in Boston that started in 1995 and prides itself on being one of the best in the city.
Catering to the cosmetic needs of the Mattapan community, Hair It Is specializes in haircuts, line-ups, shaves, dreadlocks, and eyebrows. Owner Danny Garcia-Decoteau took over the business from his father, who hails from the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. Over the past decade, Danny has given the barbershop a complete digital makeover by investing in branding, creating a website, and using online channels to communicate with customers and broaden the business’ reach.
The challenge
On busy days, fast WiFi is essential so guests can stay entertained before their hair appointment. They stream videos, play games, or catch up on light work. With so many devices using the barbershop’s network at the same time, many of Danny’s employees began to complain that the internet was too slow. He quickly understood the reason why – the business had been using the home WiFi offered through his internet service provider.
He needed to serve both his customers and employees with faster and more reliable WiFi, so Danny knew it was time for an upgrade.
The solution
After purchasing the Meraki Go indoor access point, Danny was won over by its ease of use. He was able to set it up in less than ten minutes next to their existing modem. He was also thrilled to discover how many of his business’ needs it addressed. He loves the ability to go above and beyond for the barbershop’s customers.
“With Meraki Go, I can now easily set up and segregate who’s on which network, as well as get usage and user analytics via the mobile app.”
Danny Garcia-Decoteau
Owner, Hair It Is Barbershop
Danny has been able to create separate networks for guests and employees to better control network usage and bandwidth. “Before Meraki Go, employees complained about the slow WiFi from too many customers sharing the same network,” he shares. “The complaints went away after I set up our Meraki Go WiFi gear.”
Meraki Go has also given Hair It Is more ways to keep guests entertained by channeling their Caribbean roots through live entertainment. Jodie Davis, one of the shop’s barbers, is part hair master and part resident DJ. Danny loves that they can play Caribbean music for their clientele from a separate Meraki Go network without slowing down the WiFi. Everyone at the barbershop is excited they’re able to preserve their culture while keeping their customers’ conversations flowing.
In addition, Danny has used the Meraki Go mobile app to take advantage of insights about the barbershop’s guests, such as which devices guests are using and top social media platforms they visit. This has given Danny a brand new data-driven and cost-effective approach to launching his business’ digital ads.
Small business tips
Danny Garcia-Decoteau shares his top tips for other small business owners:
- I struggled in the early stages with engaging new customers and increasing revenue. If you don’t already have an online presence, it can open up brand new revenue streams by casting a wider net to potential customers.
- Take advantage of Guest Insights in Meraki Go. We now have a gold mine of data for our teams to improve our staffing and happy hour offers, including trends about peak guest times and how often guests come back.
- Use Meraki Go to apply application usage limits or bandwidth limits for your guest networks if you have bandwidth hogs.
Visit the Meraki Go site to learn more about our intuitive and innovative solutions that support small businesses.
