With a wealth of experience: The Tinette & Teng adventure (Sabong News)
Author
Philip Cu Unjieng
Date
MARCH 18 2022
It was on social media that I first got wind that Tinette Ozamiz-Puyat and Teng Roma were collaborating to reopen the Tinette & Co. Salon. It was such a mainstay of my life, given its convenient location at the San Antonio Plaza, Makati.
When I heard about the partnership, phrases like “wealth of experience,” and idioms like “embarrassment of riches” came to mind. For this was like two giants, two institutions, of our salon industry, joining forces. Tinette and Teng make no bones about the fact that they’re both card-carrying senior citizens. And my joke was that if you put together the years of the two in the hair salon industry, you’d have a third senior “in the house.”
But don’t be fooled! When I met with the two about this new collaboration, they were as excited and enthusiastic as twenty-year-olds forming a new start-up. Teng kept talking about how he’s retired, but given the expansive plans the two were visibly looking forward to exploring, I was reminded of film director Steve Soderbergh and his “retirement from Hollywood.”
For those who aren’t cinephiles, Soderbergh first made waves with his indie film “Sex, Lies and Videotapes,” went on to direct films like “Erin Brockovich” and the “Ocean’s”’ franchise, then announced in 2018 that he’d retire from Hollywood. He’s been busier than ever, directing six films in four years for the streaming services. It’s that kind of retirement I believe Teng is talking about.
Tinette likes to remind me that I was her first “boss” in the local Salon industry, as she was one of the senior stylists at the very first James Cooper Salon back in the late 1980’s. And so I ask her why, given that both she and Teng are so well-established, this partnering makes sense now. I also comment on the fact that it’s not like there isn’t already a lot of overlap in the client base they each hold sway over.
Tinette tells me that Teng is excellent with training and mentoring, with up-do’s and makeup. While there is a lot of shared clientele, the aim is to establish a new brand and update the clientele, broadening it even more via the synergy that the two can create together. She also loves how Teng is so good with the little details, from the supplies they carry, to the interiors of the salon and how they’ll pamper the clients. A young barber for the men clients is also on the cards.
Half-joking, Tinette also mentions that Teng is smarter than her. As from day one, he’s always left handling the salon operations to a partner or third party. With the new setup, both Tinette and Teng will be creative directors, leaving the day-to-day, the HR (human resources) aspect, and the operations to their partners. It’s a situation that Tinette saw as win-win as it allows her to concentrate on her clients and the cutting of hair, leaving a lot of the operational headaches to a third party.
As for the “retired” Teng, he’s still available by appointment at two of the salons that carry his name. For the first few months, he’ll be dropping by the San Antonio salon on most days of the week to supervise and ensure things are going smoothly. His Emphasis Salon at Rockwell and this one at Forbes share unusual proximity in terms of distance, but we are talking about the crowd that makes convenience a basic necessity—and crossing EDSA can be such an inconvenience.
The plan is to hire senior stylists who will work on flexi time. This means if their regular clients want to start early in the morning, before they head to their respective offices, then the Salon will accommodate and open early. It’s all a matter of planning ahead and plotting these things out. The appointment book will be crucial here, and that the Salon has enough time to plan it.
The quality of service, the expertise of the two creative directors, the popularity and appeal of this match—these are all strong given’s. When those social media posts I was referring to at the start of this feature came out, you can’t believe the quantity and the quality of the people who were reacting favorably to the news, giving their thumbs up to the partnership. So it’s now up to Tinette and Teng to show us how far they want to take this. For so many are ready to “sign up for the ride.” This is where both Tinette and Teng were playing Cheshire cats for the day, and keeping mum on the subject for this partnering can’t be just about one Salon.
