Courtney Lawes’s mother, left, helps the stylist to braid a long fake hair while waiting for her daughter’s hair to be done.
BY YAN NIE
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Finding someone to give you the haircut, color or style you have been waiting for is not easy.
In Meme’s Beauty Gallery, four professional trained and licensed stylists have their own hairstyle that matching face and personality.
“Professionalism is what I am expecting,” said Y. Renne Mosley, a loyal customer who has been coming to Meme’s once a week for three years already. “I am very satisfied, and I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
Meme’s Beauty Gallery is located at 1782 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg, Fla., in the same plaza where the Sweetbay grocery store had been and where the Wal-Mart neighborhood market will be. Jamekka R. Harris, owner of Meme’s, wants to draw attention from grocery shoppers, and therefore increase the salon’s customer base.
Harris joked about her ultimate goal to expand business to other locations and to be able to run the salon without working so hard. After more than 20 years of working as a professional hairstylist and seven years of being the salon owner, Harris is confident with the good quality of work and services that Meme’s provides to its clients.
“There are other salons in this area, but not as competitive as we are, because we do provide full service,” Harris said. Meme’s offers facial and nail treatments as well as a warm environment to win more customers.
“The employees are fabulous; they really care and if you tell them the problems you are having with your hair, they take immediate action,” Mosley said. “They are very knowledgeable about the latest hair styles.”
Harris said that like any other small business the majority of Meme’s clients live in the community. The most effective method of advertisement for Meme’s, besides spotting on the Internet, is word of mouth.
“A lot of our costumers are like our family,” Harris said with a smile on her face. She then shared a story about one of her customers who was in depression, and who eventually gave up her thoughts of committing suicide after chatting with Harris about her life struggles.
Harris said that even though their “no-children-in-the-salon” policy upsets a few costumers, she believes that this policy would keep children away from chemicals and hot irons inside the salon, and the salon would have fewer risks to be involved in possible lawsuits.
“That’s natural in any business. You are not gonna be able to satisfy everyone. But we just try to find what exactly they are not satisfied with, and then we try our best to make them happy,” Harris said.
Meme’s strives to create a nice clean and warm environment for customers. “For anyone interested in receiving a great service, come to Meme’s beauty gallery and you will enjoy it.” Harris said.