How many local barber shops do you have?

[multitool]

Whenever I go to the hairdressers and they ask how I want my hair cut I tell them "in silence".

 

[BoldonLad]

I cut my own hair (what little there is of it) and have to put up with my own inane chat.

Does the hairdresser express disappointment?

 

[Julia9054]

A good hairdresser's conversation skills are not trivial.
They need to be able to put the customer at their ease, make sure they are having a pleasant time, listen to them whilst keeping the conversation flowing, never say anything controversial that might cause upset no matter what the customer talks about and remember the minutae of people's lives who they see only every 1 - 2 months. All whilst doing something fairly technical.
This is actually very skilled and not something everyone can do.

 

[multitool]

A good hairdresser's conversation skills are not trivial.
They need to be able to put the customer at their ease, make sure they are having a pleasant time, listen to them whilst keeping the conversation flowing, never say anything controversial that might cause upset no matter what the customer talks about

My last hairdresser told me he wanted to round up all unemployed people, herd them into a football stadium where he would have machine guns mounted on all four corners.

I told him the conversation was unsettling me as my grandfather died at Aucshwitz. Upon which he apologised profusely and offered to change the topic.

But not before I'd told him that my grandfather died when he fell out of his machine gun tower.

 

[AuroraSaab]

Yes, but as we are only in their for a tenth of the time you Gals are, it's far more bearable

It's true that the same haircut from a barber costs a quarter of the price and takes half the time. They probably have a more restricted repertoire though so can do them a lot faster. If you guys were asking the barber for rollers, a 'Purdey' layered bob, or a 'Rachel' style hair cut, they'd want to charge you lot 40 quid too.

They don't do that thing where they burn your Father Jack Stage 3 ear hair with a candle at a women's salon either. Can't imagine what that's like.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

"Turkish-style" barbers have mushroomed here in Holland. There used to be just one in Rotterdam, which was world famous in the whole of the country. People came from as far afield as Belgium to queue up in the rain on the pavement. In the centre of town here, there must be at least five "Turkish-style" barber shops. Apart from being more stylish than the Dutch mullet-only barbers, they are far cheaper. Most of them are staffed by Syrians or Iranians.

My barber is Serbian. We have the usual chitchat about holidays, work and death in the family but also about how Gavrilo Princip is an underrated national hero. His son, who does two days a week, is keen on 70s/80s punk rock. Time flies faster than his clippers.

Actually, his shop is in a parade that seems to sum up Dutch life: butcher, baker, flower shop, cheese shop, chip shop, bike shop, cake shop, nail bar, sushi bar, Thai massage parlour, creche, green grocer, pizza delivery place and mortgage adviser.

 

[icowden]

We've had a huge increase here. We used to have one turkish style and one traditional. Then a new Turkish opened up opposite the first but owned by the same person. Now three further Turkish barbers have opened in the high street. One of them definitely has illegal shisha gatherings when the shop is shut (well against the terms of the lease at least).

I used to frequent the first Turkish one that opened but got fed up that you'd never get the same barber twice. The traditional barber is far better.

 

[Mr Celine]

Does the hairdresser express disappointment?

Never.

Actually, Mrs Celine does the bits I can't see. But not until she says
"You could have a Lionel Blair cut like mine",
to which I have to respond
" but Lionel Blair doesn't get his hair cut like yours"
"Does when he comes here".

Click buzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

[matticus]

but if you go to the High STreet there are more Turkish ones - and they are often pretty much empty - especially in the less reputable parts of the street
They are often inhabited by several Turkish(?) men who seem to have no interest in a hair cut

This is exactly what we have. Meanwhile the British "Trad" barbers is always heaving, and the prices are about the same.

Odd isn't it? Couldn't possibly be anything dodgy going on, could there?

 

[Electric_Andy]

We have 3 in our suburb of the city. They are all run by Brits. There are loads (probably 10) Turkish barbers across the city though. And yes quite a few vape shops too. The one I used to go to was family run, father and daughter, but they refused to take card and there was nowhere to park so I switched to another one farther away. He was a good sort, £14 which is a bit steep but you can book on an App and walk straight in. He's usualy busy and gets through 1 bloke every 15 mins, so £56/hour for him but he has to rent the chair

 

[matticus]

but they refused to take card

Ah yes, that's the other common factor. Forgot to mention that!
(They are the only high street business I have used since 2019 that has refused cards )

 

[icowden]

£14 which is a bit steep but you can book on an App and walk straight in.

Blimey. That's cheap compared to leafy Surrey! £15 is the cheapest around me.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Ah yes, that's the other common factor. Forgot to mention that!
(They are the only high street business I have used since 2019 that has refused cards )

Wait 'till you've moved to Devon....

 

[Bazzer]

£15 where I go. Mrs B gets charged more by the same hairdresser.
Fortunately, he seems very aware of people's conversational requirements. Mine tend to be limited, whereas Mrs B is the polar opposite.
There isn't a barber, "trad" or Turkish locally, but I had noticed an increase in them in the nearest town and others I have had reason to visit or cycle through.

 

[matticus]

Wait 'till you've moved to Devon....

I'll try to bring a stash of Grade A turnips to barter with.