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Meet some of Amazon’s neighbors in Tennessee.
See how our $15/hr starting wage is helping this salon
bounce back from the pandemic.
Rising Tide: The Comeback
Murfreesboro, Tennessee is home to both an Amazon fulfillment center and The Parlor Salon and Spa. While Amazon was able to stay open safely through the pandemic, Parlor needed to close for a time. Now, as Parlor gains momentum toward its full economic recovery, the smiles are big, and there’s relief bordering on giddiness.
Welcoming
everyone back
Just about everything that makes Parlor a
unique place for its customers also made the small business extra vulnerable to COVID-19. Owner Susan Waggoner built her salon around connection and closeness and welcoming many customers inside—especially the customers who’ve spent
a lifetime being told that their hair is untamable. The stylists know how to do right by all types of hair. They cut, color, straighten, and curl at styling chairs placed close together. Many of those chairs sat empty over the last year.
Federal
Min. Wage
$7.25
Tennessee
Min. Wage
$7.25
Amazon
Starting Pay
$15.00
Scruggs gets her hair done by Danielle Cash, who worked at Amazon while she trained to become the master cosmetologist she is today. “Making $18 an hour from Amazon, when you’re in hair school, that’s good money, even if you’re part-time. The schedule was flexible.
I was able to work and get off in time to go to bed, take the kids to school, and get myself ready for school and be back to do it all again.”
Amazon’s investment in
Tennessee since 2010, including infrastructure and compensation to our employees.
$13 billion
Tennessee jobs created
by Amazon as of Q4 2020.
(full and part-time roles)
25,000
All Amazon employees earn
a minimum of $15/hr.
$15/hr
Amazon’s impact in Tennessee
Like all Amazon workplaces across the
U.S., the fulfillment center in Murfreesboro
offers starting pay of at least $15/hr for all
full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees. That's more than double the U.S.
and Tennessee minimum wage.
Good, steady paychecks earned by Amazon employees were also a key part of helping the salon stay afloat and make a comeback.
“In 2020, it was day to day,” Waggoner said. “Like, what’s going to happen?”
Some of her staff chose to adapt to the challenging times by working at the Amazon fulfillment center in town. The facility, which had implemented hundreds of health and safety measures, remained open to serve customers ordering essential items.
Steady work, good
pay from Amazon
She added that having Amazon employees as clients means free advertising on a huge scale for a small business like hers. “They go back to Amazon, and there’s thousands of people that see our work. The word of mouth just within that community is everything to us.”
Summing up why she's thrilled to be part of Parlor's comeback season, Cash said, “Hair is not just about looking good. Sometimes when you look good, you feel good. It makes people feel better. To see the smile on their face, it brings me joy.”
“We love our Amazon clients,” Waggoner said. “They have been consistent and loyal. They’re in good spirits. They can add on services that normally people who are on budgets can’t.”
Parlor customer Sonya Scruggs has worked
at Amazon for seven years. She gets her hair done about twice a month. “Given all the job loss, I feel like I was really blessed working
at Amazon,” she said.
Joy makes a comeback
Meet the stylists of
The Parlor Salon and Spa
In case you missed it
Watch The Parlor Salon and Spa’s comeback from COVID story.
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These days, as clients return, the salon is getting back to the bustling place
it was before the pandemic.
Waggoner said having Amazon employees like Alexis Tyler (right) as clients means free advertising on a huge scale. “They go back to Amazon, and there’s thousands of people that see our work.”
The stylists are experts at the art of braiding.
Waggoner colors a customer's hair.
A regular customer relaxes as life at the salon returns to normal.
The salon and its stylists are enjoying their comeback from the economic challenges of the pandemic.
Parlor owner Susan Waggoner (center) staffed her salon so that it would be
a welcoming place to customers with all types of hair.
Explore this photo gallery. Sonya Scruggs (left) has worked at Amazon
since 2013. Stylist Danielle Cash worked at Amazon to pay her way through cosmetology school.