A quirky Aberdeen hair salon and juice bar has been picked as the winner of a national award after competing with the best of British business.

Hatstand Nelly, in Holburn Street, scooped the British Chambers of Commerce coveted Award for Excellence in Customer Service, sponsored by AXA PPP Healthcare.

David Frost, Director-General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The team at Hatstand Nelly has invested time, money and effort into training and creating high standards for staff – with great results for its customers. It has taken an innovative approach demonstrating that it’s the small things in life, like free umbrellas on a rainy day, that make a real difference.”

Hatstand Nelly was set up in 2004 by Lorraine Watson-Buchan, with the uncompromising ambition of becoming nationally-recognised as having the ‘best total salon experience’ in Scotland.

To accomplish this, as well as strictly measuring staff performance, the salon uniquely has a fresh juice bar as well as offering relaxing treatments to customers, with the aim of making sure the client has a fantastic experience every time.

Staff also offer free umbrellas for those who don’t want to ruin their newly-coiffured hair on a rainy day, free fringe trims between appointments as well as free consultations.

Judges were also impressed with the salon’s relentless insistence on getting the dynamics of the team right. Last year Lorraine preferred to see turnover dip due to a staff shortage rather than have the wrong employees.

Lorraine said: “This award is fantastic because our customers are our whole business so it’s great to have our efforts rewarded. We’ve got where we are through sheer hard and determination and we’ve still got so much we want to achieve.”