Ansela / Who it’s for / Salons and barbers
For hair salons and barbers
Foils in, timer on, and two waiting on the sofa. She books the next one.
Ansela answers in your salon’s name, books with the stylist the client asks for, at the length that service takes, and writes up anything that needs you.
£1.99 your first month, including VAT, then from £99 a month + VAT. 60 minutes in month one. No contract.
Set up in about 15 minutes.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
Is there an AI receptionist for hair salons?
Yes. Ansela answers your salon’s phone in your salon’s name while you’re mid-cut. She books with the stylist the client asks for, at the length that service takes, into her Ansela diary. She gives the prices you’ve set and takes messages. Plans start at £99 a month + VAT.
01
The call she took while Gemma had a head full of foils
A Thursday lunchtime call to a two-chair salon. The client adds a colour halfway through, changes the time, and spells out a Welsh surname.
Example call; Maple Street Hair and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Maple Street Hair. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Maple Street Hair, Ansela speaking. How can I help?
Hi, can I get in with Lauren on Saturday? Cut and blow-dry. Actually, no, I want my roots doing as well, it’s been ages.
Of course. Roots and a cut and blow-dry with Lauren takes about two and a half hours. Have you had colour here before?
Yeah, back in the summer. Gemma did a patch test then, I think.
Thanks. Lauren has Saturday at ten, or a later start at half one. Which suits?
Half one. Wait, no, I’ve got a party at six. Ten’s better.
Ten it is. Can I take your name, and how do you spell the surname?
Beth Llewellyn. Double L, E-W-E, double L, Y-N. Everyone gets it wrong.
Got it, Beth. Saturday at ten with Lauren, roots and a cut and blow-dry. I’ve noted the patch test for Gemma to check.
02
What she does for a salon, and what she won’t
She works from what you tell her: your services, who does what, how long each takes, your prices and your hours.
- Cuts, colours and blow-dries, booked with the stylist the client asks for, at the right length.
- Moving an appointment or cancelling one, without you stopping mid-foil.
- “Do you do men’s cuts on a Sunday?” and “Is there parking round the back?” answered from your own list.
- A message for a stylist who’s with a client, taken and written up.
- Only books slots that are free in her diary. If a slot is taken, she offers another or takes the details.
- Won’t book into Fresha, Treatwell or Booksy. If your diary lives there, she takes the details for you to put in.
03
What happens when a hair salon misses a call?
Foils in, a client in the chair, and the phone going by the till. If you can’t answer, it rings out. The caller wants a cut or a colour, and often wants it before a date: a wedding, a holiday, a party. They ring the next salon.
Saturdays are the worst, because the people who want the Saturday slots are ringing the whole street at once. A barber with a queue and clippers in hand has the same problem, with a customer who wants to know if there’s a gap this afternoon.
04
What does she ask when someone rings a salon?
Which stylist they want, if they have one, and what they’re having done: cut, colour, roots, blow-dry. Colour takes longer than a cut, so she books the length you’ve set for that service. She asks whether they’ve been before, and whether they’ve had a patch test with you if that’s your rule.
She takes a name and number, and spells back a surname she isn’t sure of. If a client changes their mind halfway through, she works with the final answer. Anything she can’t answer, like whether a stylist does a certain colour technique, she takes as a message for the stylist.
05
We use Fresha, Treatwell or Booksy. Is she any use?
Only if you set her up to match. She doesn’t connect to those platforms, so if she books into her own diary while clients also book through an app, you could end up with two diaries and a double booking.
There are two safe ways. If you’re happy to run the salon diary in Ansela, she books straight in. If your appointments live in an app, she takes the details and a message and you enter the booking yourself. Most salons without an online booking system will find the first one simpler.
06
Can she handle a barber’s or a walk-in?
She answers what people ring about: hours, prices, whether you do skin fades or beard trims, and whether there is parking. If you give her a rough Saturday wait, she can pass that on. She won’t guess anything that isn’t in what you’ve given her. She takes a message and says so.
Plans start at £99 a month + VAT: see what each plan includes. Paying a per-call service now? See how Ansela compares.
07
Where the phone usually is while the foils are in
We built Ansela because we kept ringing tradespeople who couldn’t pick up, and then booking someone else. She isn’t a call centre. She answers in your name, says what you’ve told her to say, and writes down what the caller wanted.
If she gets a call wrong, forward us the recording.
Anselahello@ansela.ai
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How do you set up Ansela?
You choose a plan before your number goes live.
For hair salons and barbers: keep your current number and divert it to Ansela, or take a new UK business number for your website and cards, or use both.
- Give her your website or your Instagram. She reads it and comes back with your services, prices, lengths and who does what, for you to check.
- Pick a voice and try her. Have the Saturday call above with her yourself, in your browser, before she takes a real one. Change your mind twice.
- Divert your mobile. We give you a UK number. One short code diverts your mobile to it when you don’t pick up. Another turns it off.
09
What does Ansela cost? Three plans, no contract
Starter suits a one-chair salon or a barber on their own. Team when each stylist needs their own diary, up to 10.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
| Plan | A month + VAT | Minutes | Calls at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterSole traders, one or two vans | £99 | 600 | 1 |
| TeamDiaries for up to 10 people | £279 | 1,800 | 3 |
| ScaleSet up with you, not self-serve | £499 | 3,500 | 3 |
Minutes are time she spends on the phone with callers. Extra minutes are 20p each, up to a limit you set.
First month £1.99 including VAT, with 60 minutes, on Starter. Card needed; nothing else to pay in month one. Cancel from your billing page and it stops at the end of the month you’ve paid for. Plan prices exclude VAT.
Not VAT-registered? With VAT that’s £118.80 a month on Starter, £334.80 a month on Team and £598.80 a month on Scale.
Scale is set up with you. Need her plugged into your own systems? Talk to us about Enterprise.
10
Questions hair salons and barbers ask
We book through an app. Will she clash with it?
If your diary lives elsewhere, set her to take the details and you book them in. If you’re happy to run your diary in Ansela, she books straight in.
Can she book with a particular stylist?
Yes. On Team each stylist has their own diary, up to 10, and she books with the one the client asks for.
We’re a walk-in barbers. Is she any use?
She answers what people ring about: your hours, prices, whether you do skin fades or beard trims. If you give her a rough wait on a Saturday, she can say that too.
Can she cancel or move an appointment?
Yes, in her own diary and inside the notice you set. If your bookings live in an app, she takes the message and you make the change.
Do I have to change my number?
No. We give you a UK number and you divert your own to it with a short code (codes by network). Turn the divert off whenever you like.
What is a minute, and can she take two calls at once?
A minute is time she spends on the phone with callers. Starter includes 600 a month, extra minutes are 20p each up to a limit you set, and Starter takes 1 call at a time. A caller who rings while she’s busy can leave a voicemail, which doesn’t use your minutes.
Is there a contract, and what happens after the £1.99 month?
No minimum term. After the first month it carries on at your plan price plus VAT unless you cancel, which you can do from your billing page at any time.
Keep your hands in the colour, she’ll answer.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.