cont'd from home page...

In fact, it’s pretty much accepted that anyone who comes to work with us will experience personal transformation, especially their first year. When Paul came to work for us, he was our handyman. He fixed stuff, painted walls, ran errands, even cleaned up after a few house parties that got out of hand. “The one thing I didn’t think I’d be doing a year later was going to hair school,” he said. Today, Paul has graduated from the Aveda Institute, and in August will complete our Auditioning program and become a Fresh Talent stylist.

Three months after Shirley started, she almost got fired. “I was going to school more than full time, was in the midst of moving, and then tried adding a full time job to all of that – and I had a bit of a meltdown. They took me out into the hallway and told me they didn’t think it was going to work. I burst into tears and said, ‘I’m just overwhelmed right now. Give me another chance, because I really want to be here.’” Today Shirley has grown to one of our senior stylists, and was recently promoted to a $68 haircut (her fourth promotion since coming to Green Peridot).

“I feel like Green Peridot is what has made my career – I learn something every day, not just about hair but about life. Katie and Jenny have shown me the most guidance as to how to be a grownup: how to talk to people, listen to people, give people what they want, and most importantly how to not be thinking about myself all day,” Shirley said.

Austin was referred to Green Peridot by his sister-in-law. (Paul is Austin’s brother-in-law, so Green Peridot is a bit of a family affair now.) Austin had never worked in a salon before, so at first it was a bit of a culture shock. “When I first started here, I didn’t know what to expect – was I just going to be working with a bunch of girls playing around all day? I didn’t know how seriously everyone here took their jobs. Then they showed me how much they cared, and it changed my perspective completely.

I realized that I was going to continually grow here, and it kind of gave me the final push to be an adult. I had just moved away from home and gotten married, so it was time, and they guided me through that process.”

Austin continued, “This is the first place where I’ve felt ownership – where I feel like this is our business, not just the owners, and it is on us to make it successful. Now I get really frustrated when I don’t get great service somewhere. We value our clients so much and try to treat them like people we care about, so when someone at a restaurant forgets my order it really drives me crazy.”


Shirley echoed Austin’s sentiment. “GP is definitely not like any other place you’re going to find. There’s no one I can look at and say ‘they’re the same person they were when they started working here.’ I know it sounds cheesy, but GP is a place that wants to help you fulfill your hopes and dreams, even if it’s traveling to Europe every six months!”
 

###