Cultural Mix Makes for Better Business Owning Experience at Santana Row
As I walked along Santana Row last week, the murmur of voices enveloped me like a fog. I heard different languages and accents, which wove in and out of doorways and walkways like a familiar tune. I caught myself consciously thinking about how the cultural mix adds so much to my experience as a business owner at Santana Row.
Like spices in a pot of soup, each culture brings a flavor to the environment I work in, and the people teach me so much about parts of the world I've never been to.
We have salon 'guests' (we call our customers guests because we like to treat them as such) from India, Russia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, Mexico, France, as well as points farther and closer. I am so fortunate to have found a salon team that speaks many of the languages that our guests are fluent in. Alejandra and Beatriz both speak Spanish, Masaya hails from Japan, Natalia and Anastasiya speak Russian and Ukrainian, Jaimee is from Korea, and the list goes on. It's nice to know that for people who have difficulty with English, we can understand their desires when it comes to beauty. I can't imagine being in a salon in a country where I don't speak the language well, trying to explain how I want my hair cut!
When I travel, I really notice the cultural mix in different areas of the U.S., and I miss the diversity of the Bay Area and the interesting points of view people bring to us. I'm so grateful to live and work in the Bay Area--it's like being all over the world, without ever having to step on a plane!