Changes: A Stylish Institution In Walnut Creek

For some men, December is the only time they see the inside of the Changes Salon & Day Spa in downtown Walnut Creek.

That's when they come into the salon to buy a gift card for their wife, mother, sister or daughter.

They aren't alone.

Changes will sell between 600 and 800 gift cards this month for the holiday season.

That's in addition to the more than 4,000 treatments, massages and hair stylings they will do this month.

"I think people realize that stress during the holidays is something you need to manage, so they come here," said Bonnie Waters, the owner of Changes.

That kind of care has brought an impressive amount of success to Waters' salon since she closed her nail salon in downtown Walnut Creek and opened Changes in 1984.

Back then, Changes was a salon only and had 1,000 square feet to its name.

Today, Changes is 10,000 square feet and takes up almost all of the ground floor of the building at Lincoln and Broadway.

"As demand grew, we just kept acquiring more and more space," said Waters.

The big change came in 1999, when Waters decided to add spa treatments to the salon.

Therapeutic massages were coming into vogue and Changes caught the wave early.

"We were at the front end of the spa explosion," said Waters.

Waters said her success has hinged on having a well-trained team and treating customers special.

Waters said they modeled their customer service after Nordstrom, which opened a few blocks south a couple years after Changes opened.

"It is all about 'wowing' the client," said Waters. "And that doesn't happen by accident."

Changes has 60 employees now. There are 19 hair stylists, all of whom are employees.

All are trained on how to deliver customer satisfaction.

"We have a great team," said Waters.

These days, the salon still has the front entrance on Lincoln. You can get your hair cut, tinted, straightened, styled or simply blow dried.

The services don't necessarily come cheap. For haircuts, the more experienced your stylist, the more in general you pay.

The price can run from $43 to $66 for women.

Hair coloring can be anywhere from $65 to $125, depending on what you get and who does it.

Customers like Paige Forsberg feel it's certainly worth it.

Forsberg followed stylist Rae Snapp when she moved to Changes in August.

Forsberg was in the salon on Friday to get ready for a weekend event.

"They do a really good job," said Forsberg. "It looks good and I don't have to anything else with it."

The entrance on Broadway side leads you to the spa lobby with the soothing waterfall against the far wall.

The spa has 10 treatment rooms. Five of them are for skin care. The other five are for massages.

There are full body, deep tissue, lympathic and other massages, ranging from $47 for a foot massage to $154 for an 80-minute Thai yoga massage

One of the massage rooms is an Amazon rain experience where clients are given a massage and a full-body clay treatment that is washed off with a simulated light rain.

There's also manicures, pedicures, moisture masks and other services.

"We take pride in the fact we are a one-stop shop," said Changes manager Cristiana Andersson.

The clientele at Changes is about 70 percent female and 30 percent male.

Men can get their hair cut for a little less than women. Andersson said many men also come in for massages, especially the deep tissue and sports massages.

The age range is varied from teens to women in their 80s.

"We are definitely multi-generational," said Andersson.

The spa is busy on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, but it's most hectic time is the holidays.

Andersson said people stream in for gift cards during December. Again, many are men who walking into a world they've never seen.

"We tell them it's OK, that they are in the right place and we'll take care of them," said Andersson with a laugh.

Customers, mostly women, also come in to get ready for the special occasions during the Christmas season.

"Everybody wants to look good for that holiday picture," said Andersson.

During the final week of December there's a wave of customers who are worn out from the holidays and need a bit of pampering.

"They come in the day after Christmas and just need to escape," said Andersson.

In January, clients stream in to redeem their gift cards, using both the salon and the spa.

In the end, Andersson said Changes is a local business that is tied to the community.

Andersson lives in Walnut Creek. Waters lives in Alamo and her children attended area schools.

The salon is also involved in a number of local functions. In 2012, Changes was recognized by state Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan as her district's Small Business of the Year.

Andersson said that is an important component for Waters.

"Community is really, really important to her," she said.