DONN BROWN / Staff

The staff at Dolce Vita, from left, co-owner Doug Bladich, stylists Amanda Robertson, Samantha Wilkins and Johnny Minter. Seated in front is co-owner Heather Bladich.

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Tucked away in the far corner of Park Shore Plaza, Dolce Vita (pronounced dole-chay) hair salon is no secret to customers who expect great value and superb quality for the dollar.

As the shop enters its third season, owner/manager Doug Bladich and his wife Heather, a 14-year stylist, have lived up to the name – life of luxury – with the perfect combination of product, talent and setting, fostering a cascade of new and repeat business.

“Our customer retention rate is about 90 percent,” said Bladich, a native Neapolitan. “Throughout the industry it’s about 40 to 50 percent. You hope for 70; that’s really good in this business.”

He admits the economy has cost them some customers, but says business is steadily growing.

“I wouldn’t say it’s recession-proof, but during the Great Depression, barbers and hair stylists did fairly well, because people will always need to get their hair cut.”

Promotion and word-of-mouth keeps customers coming back for more, but the customer incentive program is a boon, too. For every two new people referred, customers get a free haircut and blow dry.

From their emphasis on training stylists just out of cosmetology school and top-of-the-line products to their skillful stylists and inviting atmosphere, the Bladichs believe their salon is the best value in Naples.

“We genuinely practice everything we do at the highest standards with every customer, every day,” Bladich told the Citizen, as he greeted a newcomer with the customary offer of a choice of beverages from coffee and tea to soda and wine. “This is Heather’s vision of what is best for this area, based on her years of experience.”

New stylists are sent to New York City to study at Bumble and bumble “university,” an internationally acclaimed salon, with a product line developed exclusively to meet the demands of hairstylists, photographers and those in the fashion industry.

Bladich says the products are popular here, because they work so well in the high humidity of Florida.

Dolce Vita uses Pravana for wilder colors and Framesi color, from Milan, Italy, among others, to deal with the rigors of Southwest Florida’s intense sunlight.

“It has amazingly pure pigments and is extremely gentle on the hair,” explained Bladich. “Customers come back, because their roots are showing, not because their color faded in the sun.”

He added that Dolce Vita is known for its precision and razor cuts and great coloring techniques, such as baliage, as well as for its warm and welcoming culture of positivity.

Walk-ins are welcome and Bladich has gone out of his way to accommodate a variety of work schedules by staggering business hours.

A two-tier price list lets customers choose from fully licensed stylists in their apprentice program or senior stylists, with an eye toward satisfying every budget.

“We’re very competitive. I don’t think there are lower prices for stylists of this caliber in Naples,” Bladich says. “We were very patient to hire the very best people we could find. It’s been very worthwhile.”

Dolce Vita

4333 Tamiami Tr., North

659-060