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Pilotiko for hair salons
A two-and-a-half-hour colour cancelled without notice leaves a stylist's chair empty for half a day.
Pilotiko helps a hair salon keep its chairs full: online booking based on each stylist's real availability, a set length for every service (cut, colour, highlights), proposed assignment by workload, and social posts drafted for you to approve. SMS reminders are being commissioned, so nothing is texted to clients yet.
In short
- Health Canada advises repeating a patch test before every use of permanent or semi-permanent hair dye [1].
- In Quebec, a gift card redeemable for a specific service cannot carry an expiry date [2].
- Every service has its own length and buffer, and the calendar never double-books a stylist.
- Automatic SMS reminders aren't sent yet: they're being commissioned.
Why is a salon calendar harder than it looks?
A 30-minute men's cut, a three-hour balayage, a Saturday-morning wedding updo: service lengths vary sixfold. A salon that books everything in fixed blocks either wastes time between clients or, worse, stacks two demanding services on the same stylist.
Colour adds a step some clients forget. Health Canada describes the patch test: apply a little product behind the ear or on the inner forearm, let it dry, and wash it off after 24 hours. It recommends repeating the test before each use of permanent or semi-permanent dye, because sensitivity may only appear after repeated use [1]. In practice, a first colour often means two trips to the salon.
What rules apply to salon gift cards?
Gift cards sell mostly in December and ahead of Mother's Day. Quebec's consumer protection office states that for a prepaid card redeemable for specific goods or services, merchants may not indicate an expiry date, and a card bought for $50 keeps that value even if the service price goes up [2]. As a general rule, merchants also can't charge activation or usage fees [3].
For a salon the consequence is practical: a card sold in 2024 might come back in 2027, after your price list has changed. You need to be able to find what was paid.
| Service | Working time (example) | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Patch test before colour | 10 min | At least 24 h before the colour, per Health Canada's method [1] |
| Cut and style | 45 min | Buffer to clean the station |
| Full colour | 2 h | Processing time included in the service length |
| Balayage or highlights | 3 h | Block both the chair and the stylist |
| Off-site wedding styling | varies | Venue address and travel time |
Lengths are examples; you set your own.
What do no-shows cost a salon with 4 stylists?
How does Pilotiko organize a salon?
On the virtual office, the salon becomes a set of rooms: front desk, cutting, colour, retail. Each stylist has a desk with their day and workload. A delay that pushes the 2 p.m. colour past its slot shows up where it matters.
Clients book a specific service with the stylist they want, in a slot that's truly free. The patch test can be offered as its own 10-minute service, booked ahead of the colour appointment.
When a new client has no preference, Pilotiko proposes the stylist with room and the declared skills (colour, men's cuts, bridal styling).
- Content agents draft your seasonal posts (prom, the holidays, back-to-school); you approve them, then publish to Instagram or Facebook with guided copy-and-paste.
- Reports show services per stylist, no-shows and hours actually booked.
- Your website, built and hosted by Pilotiko, lists services, lengths and the booking link.
What doesn't exist yet?
What client information should a salon keep?
A useful client card is short: name, phone, past services, colour formula, date of the last patch test. There's no need for a date of birth to book a haircut. Under Quebec's private-sector privacy act, the business that collects personal information is responsible for protecting it [4].
Esthetics studios keep similar client cards for their treatments, and pet grooming salons juggle the same mix of service lengths, with a four-legged client.
On a wedding morning, the stylist shares the timeline with the photographer and the caterer: everyone plans around the same ceremony time.
Frequently asked questions
Can clients choose their stylist online?
Yes. The client picks the service and the stylist, then a slot that's actually free on that stylist's calendar. With no preference, Pilotiko proposes whoever has room.
Can we block a colour booking until the patch test is done?
Pilotiko doesn't block it automatically. You can offer the test as a separate service, and the front desk checks the date of the last test before confirming.
Can our gift cards expire after a year?
No. For a card redeemable for a specific service, the OPC says the law prohibits an expiry date. What was paid stays valid until the card is used.
Are SMS reminders live?
Not yet. Confirmations and 24-hour and 1-hour reminders are being commissioned: the code exists, but nothing is sent to clients for now.
Does Pilotiko post to Instagram on its own?
No. Posts are drafted and scheduled, then approved by you. Instagram and Facebook use guided copy-and-paste; automatic LinkedIn publishing is being commissioned.
What about stylists who rent their chair?
Each stylist can have a desk and a calendar in the virtual office. Billing between the salon and a chair renter stays in your usual tools.
Sources
- Health Canada, Hair dyes (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Office de la protection du consommateur, Cards redeemable for specific goods or services: expiry date (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- Office de la protection du consommateur, Cartes échangeables contre un bien ou un service précis : frais d'activation, d'utilisation et de remplacement (accessed on October 15, 2026).
- LégisQuébec, Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (CQLR, c. P-39.1) (accessed on October 15, 2026).
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