Cost Cutters Offers Convenient, Quality Family Hair Care

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

The price of getting one's hair cut and styled varies widely, but sometimes it can seem as though the price has less to do with the quality of the service than with the ambiance and location. For people looking to get a fashionable, yet reasonably priced haircut without the wait or unexpected charges, Cost Cutters, at 4515 Rosewood Drive, may offer a solution. Cost Cutters is dedicated to providing convenient hair care services by professional stylists at a reasonable price and without appointments. The company, now a part of the Regis Corporation, has over 850 locations across the United States.

Judy Primavera, owner of the Cost Cutters in Hacienda, has five other franchises in the area, with salons in Vacaville, Fairfield, Livermore, San Ramon, and Pleasanton. Each is a family-oriented full-service salon that offers haircuts, hair coloring, permanents, and styling. "We have what we call an ala carte menu where everything is priced individually so that customers can choose exactly the services they want," Primavera says. "If they just want a haircut, they can just have a haircut. Our prices are $10.95 for kids 12 and under and $12.95 for adults. Our chemical services - perms and colors - start at about $35 and go up from there depending on the length of the hair and the type of service."

Cost Cutters' Pleasanton location has eight stylists offering a wealth of experience. The staff strives to provide customers with timely service. "We try for no more than a fifteen minute wait," Primavera says. "We're on a walk-in basis for our haircuts, although we do take appointments for chemical treatments. We welcome our customers calling up to an hour ahead to get their name on the list. It's really important to us that we take our customers in order. The person who called ahead or walked in the door is the next one served."

Cost Cutters also has a web-based reminder service for its customers. By signing up on the salon's web site, customers can specify that they would like to get their hair cut at a specified interval, and Cost Cutters will email them a coupon when it's time for a haircut - along with giving them a dollar discount coupon for their next haircut. The Hacienda location also has another special offer. If you present your receipt from a previous visit, you also get a dollar discount. If you save ten receipts, you get a free haircut. The idea is to build loyalty and a family atmosphere. "We have some very loyal customers," Primavera says. "We've been in Pleasanton for seven years and many of our staff here have been with me for five years. We also welcome customers asking for specific stylists." During their tenure at Hacienda, the stylists at Cost Cutters have no doubt witnessed a variety of different hair styles, but they've also gotten to know a lot of families in the area. "It's been a very nice part of the business for us to watch some of the local kids grow up," Primavera says.

Photo: Left to right: Siavosh Nassiri, his wife Karima Nassiri, Helen Wong, and Donna Jeans were on hand for a recent day at the Hacienda location of Cost Cutters.

Also in this issue...