27/06/2023
Lia Kefalianos and her husband Jim always dreamed of running their own salon, so when they finally opened Sueño Hair in 2010 they wanted to make sure it stood out. And for them that meant providing the best customer service while offering a broad range of chemical-free treatments.
And for thirteen years, Kefalianos says “the business has been built largely on customer recommendations and a really loyal client base… our clients might go overseas for a year but they come back to find the same staff who greet them by name and make them feel comfortable straight away.”
In fact, business is so good that a year and a half ago Sueño moved across Magill Road to a larger premises featuring sixteen salon chairs, a “men’s den” with two barber chairs and a private room. A symbol of the lengths Kefalianos will go to for her customers, that separate space allows Sueño to offer a full range of styling services to customers who need privacy for religious reasons as well as anyone with special needs or auto-immune conditions which mean they have to avoid crowds.
It’s a level of service that few salons can match, and this emphasis on the customer experience is a big part of the reason that Sueño was voted Best Hair/Beauty Salon in the Eastside Business Awards. And while Kefalianos admits that she doesn’t usually enter competitions, “this one is special because it’s not people in our industry voting – it’s voted on by the public and the people who use our services, so it felt really good to be recognised by them.”
Despite the win, Kefalianos has no intention of resting on her laurels. Instead, she’s continuing to invest in creating a welcoming and chemical-free businesses. As well as bringing in alcoholic drinks and organic teas for clients and collagen products for injected beauty, a recent overhaul of the product range means Sueño offers a range of gentle ammonia-, sulfate- and paraben-free products.
But more than anything it’s the customer service that sets Sueño apart. “With enough time, you can train anyone to do hair,” says Kefalianos, “but you can't train people to create relationships. It sounds a bit old school, but we’ve chosen our team very carefully so that the salon has a great atmosphere from the moment you walk in. That means you can walk out looking beautiful and feeling great every time.”
