n a recent Saturday morning,The Wedding Salon ofManhasset, a 10,000-square-foot shop adorned with crystalchandeliers and silk flowers,was bustling with happy cus-

tomers. Brides-to-be stood on pedestals asthey sampled dresses for their wedding daywhile their mothers, fathers and bestfriends gathered around.

Not all the shoppers would purchase adress that day – even after a salespersonspent hours helping them try on gowns. Butthat’s expected in the wedding business.

More important, say partners NancyAucone and Susan Finale, is that the cus-tomers are treated with the best serviceand given a good impression of the opera-tion. If that happens, the customers arelikely to come back later.

It’s something the partners learnedfrom their mentors, Hedda KleinfeldSchachter and her husband, owners ofKleinfeld’s, the legendary bridal power-house in Brooklyn.

“The best salesperson nurtures thebride,” Aucone said. Even if the weddingday isn’t until 2006.

At a time when retail shopping seems tofall in either the department store category,where both shoppers and staffers assume acertain level of anonymity, or the exclusiveboutique, where casual browsing isn’talways welcome, The Wedding Salon can’tbe classified as either.

Instead, it looks to offer solid serviceand exclusive collections, including severallines that are not available anywhere elseon Long Island.

There’s also a clear attention to detail,because this is an industry where thegowns often feature petticoats and intri-cate beadwork.

The attention to detail and hard-to-finddress lines have helped Aucone and Finalegrow this single storefront business theypurchased in 1996 into a $3 million enter-prise that occupies three storefronts andan additional 2,000 square feet of nearby

warehouse space.That’s not bad, considering that this is

an industry in which retailers often don’tlook good on paper to bankers since asmuch as 10 months can lapse between thetime a bride leaves a deposit and makesher final payment, Finale said.

But as long as the orders keep coming in,the partners don’t lose sleep over a tightcash flow. As the Schachters taught them,“Worry when your bills are not huge.”

To differentiate themselves without cut-ting prices, they offer what no one else onthe market can deliver. Aucone and Finale,for instance, are the only Long Islandsalon owners to sell gowns by Vera Wangand Amsale, among others.

Much of the service entails holding thehand of the customer – or on occasion, thecustomer’s father – and letting them knowthat while the salon doesn’t run sales, abride needn’t spend $5,700 for a dress ifshe remembers to check in periodically foravailable samples.

“You can get a dress for half the price

and just as perfect and beautiful” andreceive the same level of service, Auconesaid.

The salon is too small to fall into therealm of a Kleinfeld’s, which theSchachters sold to Michel Zelnik in 1991,and has changed owners several timessince. But it is reminiscent of the fourKleinfeld’s satellite boutiques that Zelnikopened through an agreement with SaksFifth Avenue. Aucone and Finale servedas two key executives that helped launchthe boutiques in locations such asManhattan and Beverly Hills.

“We were there nearly five years. Itbecame very corporate,” Aucone said. “Wedidn’t love it. We loved working with theKleinfelds.”

Then a designer told them that theManhasset salon was up for sale, and afterconsulting with the Schachters, Auconeand Finale decided to purchase it.

“We went in undercapitalized. Thebanks were not welcoming us,” Auconesaid. “But we knew we could do it. We had

L o n g I s l a n d

June 25-July 1, 2004A s S e e n I n

The Wedding Salon maintains close customer tiesB y A D I N A G E N N

O

THEY DO: Susan Finale, co-owner of The Wedding Salon of Manhasset, took lessonsfrom the owners of Kleinfeld’s, the legendary bridal powerhouse in Brooklyn to buildher own business with partner Nancy Aucone.

Bob

Gigl

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vendor relationships.Amsale Aberra is one of the vendors

whose line can only be found on LongIsland through The Wedding Salon. Herwork has been featured inbridal magazines and TheKnot, a wedding portal, aswell as Vogue and People.

“We’re very carefulabout who we work with,”Aberra said from herManhattan office. “Mostimportant is customer serv-ice. I knew Nancy andSusan from Kleinfeld’s.They’re well experienced inworking with brides. Theyhave high integrity. Theywork nicely with us, and I know they’ll begreat with their customer. They’re incred-ibly pleasant, pleasant, pleasant – I can’tsay it enough.”

That kind of vendor support is crucial,said Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter. “In ourbusiness – it’s a small business – youhave to have good relationships with ven-

dors to satisfy customers. Youhave to be very responsible.You can’t say, ‘It’ll be readytomorrow’ and [not deliver].”

“[Aucone and Finale] havea way of putting people atease,” Schachter continued.“You have to have the person-ality to go along with the goodand the bad.”

Customer service trainingis ongoing, Aucone said,adding that they keep an eartuned to what’s occurring on

the floor at all times. “Anyone with anattitude doesn’t last here,” she said.

But they also serve as role models.“We do everything – registering brides,

vacuuming, plumbing,” Finale said.“Nothing is beneath us. The staff sees us – we’re hands-on. There are no pri-madonnas.”

Nancy Aucone

The Wedding Salon toasts successTips of the trade• Nurture clients, even if they

aren’t ready to buy.• Cultivate vendor relation-

ships.• Offer continual customer

service training.• Let employees know that

poor attitudes aren’t welcome.

• Serve as a role model.