Lee’s Summit style: You’ll wait in your car to ‘process’ at this newly reopened salon

On Monday, May 11, clients entered Coco’s Style Lounge for the first time in two months. The salon was one of many businesses to close operations in Lee’s Summit in response to the county health department’s effort aimed at limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Phase one of the Jackson County Health Department’s plans to “return to normal” began Monday, allowing certain businesses that were deemed non-essential to re-open with strict guidelines.

Coco McKie, owner of Coco’s Style Lounge, says the ramp-up to reopen has required a lot of coordination, including getting an OK on the date, coordinating schedules with 15 stylists and waiting on the rules.

“It’s a big change for our industry. It will test a lot, but we are all very excited to get back open. I think the most frustrating was waiting until the last minute to get the rules,” McKie said.

Regulations that allowed the salon to reopen were extensive. In addition to masks on everyone, the large salon can only have five stylists and five customers on each side of the space the one time. In normal times, most stylists will double book customers in order to account for long processing times on some styles or treatments.

Now, clients requiring processing time will have to wait in their cars instead of under dryers inside the salon. The system is not ideal, but it allows the salon to be able to get as many waiting clients on the schedule as possible.

“People have to wait in their cars for their appointment and then we text them. It makes me anxious to know people are waiting, but a lot of people have been great,” McKie said.

The salon also is not providing any blow-drying or styling at this time. That rule serves the double purpose of allowing people to not stay in the atmosphere of the salon any longer than necessary and allowing time for an extensive disinfecting regime.

Stylists have to disinfect each station and shampoo bowls between each client. The stylists must also take everyone’s temperature and keep a record of who has been in the store. Magazines are removed. No clients can touch retail products, and the wine and beer usually offered at Coco’s during appointments is gone.

Despite the regulations, McKie says, like other businesses in Lee’s Summit all of her stylists are glad to be back at work. They have only seen each other all together one time during the shut-down. It allowed them to talk about plans and needs for a potential re-open, but also gave them time to re-connect.

“We all met up about two weeks ago, and got into a big field and made this big circle,” McKie said. “That’s what we all needed. We needed it for our mental health. I didn’t feel at ease until I saw them.”

According to the recovery plan set out by the Jackson County Health Department, which includes rules for Eastern Jackson County, the “return-to-normal” for area businesses will go through several phases. Guiding principles of the order include masks in public, maintaining 6 feet of distance between individuals outside your household and staying home with any signs of sickness.

In phase one, some non-essential businesses, like Coco’s, have been allowed to re-open with the implementation of a social distancing protocol. Hair salons are allowed to be open by appointment only. Gyms, entertainment venues and playgrounds are all still closed. Phase one of the recovery plan is expected to last until the number of new cases of COVID-19 have declined for at least 14 days.

The plan also requires for more COVID-19 testing capacity, healthcare system capacity and contact tracing capabilities to be in place.