Lessons from the barber chair
“Hey buddy, nice nice to meet you,” I chirped as my client peered in from the glass door. In an instant, I welcomed him in and we shook hands, before I ushered him to the salon chair.
Abdul Mus, an Executive whom I figured earns his living by co-coordinating activities at the Chinese Swimming Club, is a person with an affable personality. I knew him from a hiking trip sometime back in Nepal during winter. I was stranded in Kathmandu Airport without an outerwear, shivering to my bones while my baggage was somewhere lost in transit — probably flying halfway around the world. Mus came over and offered his red down jacket.
Like any other clients, lethargy and weariness quickly dissipated once Mus settled on the leather chair.
We engaged in small, unrushed banter while reliving the day’s event that unfold within that hourly session.
While we promise on quality haircuts, our service extend further than that. We nurture the human spirit — through connection and interaction.
Here are some of the lessons I learnt during my 3 months into barbering.
Know your client
Every client I meet requires a human touch. It takes a good amount of observation skills to “read” a person on his personality, his energy level and how you interact with them. Not being able to match their energies may come off as intruding into one’s privacy or being too distant. I have a 5 minute welcome pitch that I often use to assess my clients.
Be honest if you cannot fulfil their request
I learnt this the hard way. I screwed up a haircut before and ended up as an unpleasant experience. If you do not know, just say you don’t know. Ironically, my clients are quite accepting and tend to be less critical, provided that you are honest.
Therapeutic?
A haircut is an act of taking care of oneself and can be seen as a therapeutic experience. It is a way of gaining control and yet, promoting trust by allowing someone else — a barber — to assist with their lives.
I see haircut as an act of faith; of trust. It opens the door for interaction between two souls, regardless of their differences. The giver and the receiver. Perhaps that’s why haircuts are considered as a symbolic ritual in certain religious culture.
A better person
Each and every individual’s lives are like an organisation, made up of systems. Take control of one aspect of a system and the rest will marginally improve. By the time I finished with the haircut, most of my clients are beaming with a smile. Somehow, a haircut can bring out the best in someone’s mood, and definitely someone’s day.
To serve others by giving a haircut and hearing out their stories is a privilege, and a humbling experience. I am glad that I am able to experience this.
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