What Clients Should Know
June 27, 2008
Clients can benefit from knowing how to better communicate and work with their barber. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you.
The “DO’S”
Tip your barber because it shows that you appreciate his hard work.
- Try and hold very still because it is difficult to cut moving skin.
- Always inform the barber how you want your hair cut.
- Ask the price of the haircut if you are not sure.
- Respect the barber’s time as if it were your own.
- Call if you are running late in case your barber has another client on the way.
- Relax while waiting and know that your barber is going as fast as he can.
The “DONT’S”
- Never assume the barber knows what haircut you want; he can forget.
- Do not insult a barber; we are some of the easiest people to speak to.
- Do not “float.” If you go from barber to barber, some barbers may feel you lack loyalty and do not know what you want.
- Do not put anything in your hair before coming to get a hair cut. Oils, sprays, gel and other items can clog up a barber’s tools.
- If your hair isn’t the way you want it, please don’t yell at the barber. He tried his best to give you what you want.
- Instead, work with your barber to come up with a solution you can both be happy with.
Barbershop Tips for Barbers
June 27, 2008
Here are some tips to keep in mind whether you are new or old to the barbering game.
- Washing your face several times at work is recommended since you will be using sprays and chemicals throughout the day.
- Make sure the barbershop has an effective air conditioner. It can get very congested with multiple barbers using their supplies at the same time.
- If a comb or brush falls on the floor, pick it up and make sure the client sees you cleaning it with disinfectant spray.
- When dealing with clients, your facial expression should be happy, relaxed and welcoming. This will make clients feel at ease with you cutting their hair.
- If you are running late for an appointment, keeping calling that client to let them know you are on your way. You don’t want to lose them to another barber.
- Bring your kids around from time to time to show that you are grounded and respected. People’s attitude will change when they see how loving you are with your children.
- Be aware and try to stop arguments before they happen because this is the best way to avoid confrontations. Avoiding these kinds of situations will keep the atmosphere positive.
- Always be prepared. It looks bad for a barber to use another barbers’ supplies and materials.
- Try to get your clients who are waiting for you to interact with other clients who are also waiting for their haircuts.
- If and when you mess a client’s hair up, apologize and then offer the hair cut for free.
- One good way to handle an angry client is to never argue, but listen and make them feel like you care about what they are saying.
- Always bring an extra shirt to replace the one you were cutting in for that day. Hair can become very itchy to the skin after a long day of cutting.
- A barber should keep lotion around because he will wash his hands multiple times throughout the day.
- Tell your friends to tell their friends about the barbershop that you’re working at. Word of mouth can be the best advertisement for a barbershop.
- A good selling technique barbers should use is asking their clients for referrals and then they can get a discount.
- Never fight in the barbershop. It can affect everyone from the clients, other barbers and the shop owner.
- Keep personal problems from affecting your work at the barbershop; clients will feel your energy.
- Never take work issues home; it can effect your personal life in a negative way which isn’t good for work the next day.
- Try not to use the cell phone too much. Keep calls short and professional; clients will appreciate this.
- Keep clients from talking on their phone, because it will make them move their head and it can be time consuming & annoying for you while cutting their hair.
- Owners of a shop should always control the volume of the radio.
- Majority votes should decide what to watch on the television.
- When your clients are waiting for you, keep eye contact with them so they know you are aware they are waiting.
- Give new clients special treatment and possibly a first time discount.
- When leaving the bathroom, always make sure the clients see you drying your hands from washing them, whether or not you used the bathroom.
- Make sure your breath does not smell bad.
- Never run out of business cards.
- Network with clients and find out if they can help you with your business.
- Always pull the skin tight when using the razor.
- Line-ups should be done in the range of 10 - 15 minutes.
- Haircuts should be done in the range of 20 - 30 minutes.
- Before opening the barbershop, it is always good to do a thorough clean-up inside, outside and in front of the shop.
- Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays should always be electrifying days full of energy and excitement. These days should be the busiest.
- Do not let friends, family or clients loiter at the barbershop.
- No drugs are allowed and no violence is ever tolerated.
- Keep a 1st aid kit on location just in case of small accidents.
- Open the barbershop every day at the same time! Consistency helps keep clients loyal, knowing you are going to always be there for them.
Clients: The Breakdown
June 10, 2008
I am going to break down how to reach new clients from all races, ages, and gender - male or female, and how to also work with old and new ones, in a simple way for you to understand,.
Clients are found in so many places close to us and we don’t even realize it as barbers. Some of the places are: colleges, train stations, laundry-mats, shopping malls, grocery stores, churches, clubs, food spots, parks and just about every other place you can think of. Someone waiting down the street is a potential client. If we as barbers think like this on a regular basis and promote daily, everywhere we go, we will be very successful.
In addition to promoting yourself at local community spots, try to outreach to people from corporate offices to become your clients. They will continue to support you once they know the service is good. Many offices have large amounts of people and you can give them group rates to increase your income quickly.
Going out to photo shoots and cutting hair on a movie or music set can also become very profitable. If you land these kind of jobs, make sure you are humble and show appreciation for being selected to cut someone who is famous. Once you get in good with the music and movie industry, they will continue to use your services as a barber.
Clients are the ones who pay our bills and must be given respect. They can be difficult at times, but barbers must have patience with each and every person that comes to them for a haircut. Never get into arguments or be rude to your clients because that is a sure way to lose them. Even if the client is wrong, try to bring humor to the situation so your co-workers will see that you are handling things well, and clients waiting to get haircuts will see that you are professional and respectful.
Clients can do many things for you to help increase your income, including referring their friends and family to you. Become their friend and they will be there for you in a time of need. They will tip better and may even give you Christmas and birthday presents.
Remember to always work hard, be humble and stay on your promoting hustle.
Politics and Etiquette of Barbering
June 10, 2008
Barbershops all across America have so many things in common and one of the major things is they must have good etiquette. When working with your co-barbers, you must establish a line of respect, and of course friendship. Many things can affect the energy and mood inside of a barbershop, including: barbers who do not clean up after themselves; disrespect amongst the barbers and clients, people hanging out inside the barbershop doing nothing at all.
It is never a good idea to make your business a hangout spot, unless there are positive results coming from the people being in your barbershop for a long period of time. Clients love the relaxation of being in a barbershop and getting their hair cut. When there are lots of people just hanging out, the client tends to get uncomfortable. If someone wants to hang out at your shop, make sure they are doing something to make your business better. For example, the person can hand out flyers or sweep the shop when it gets dirty.
It is never good to cut-throat a client for money or for any reason at all. Clients should never be brought into any negative issue inside of the shop between barbers. Sometimes barbers manipulate clients into getting haircuts when it is the client’s right to choose the person they want to perform the service for them. When a client walks through the door, they should be greeted by other clients in the front, and not necessarily a barber. If the client is a walk-in, then they should be told to “have a seat and the next available barber will be with them.”
Some barbers try to set clients up for themselves, while they are in the process of doing a haircut. That is wrong and it will cause problems in the babershop amongst the other barbers. Let the walk-in make the choice. If a client does ask for a particular barber, other barbers should not interfere by trying to cut that client’s hair. We as barbers should never put money over the good relationships between the other barbers in the shop.
Understanding all the proper etiquette inside the barbershop will come in time, but make sure you know how to apply some of this important knowledge when dealing with any kind of situation. For example, if it is slow day in the barbershop and very few clients have come by, you can always give discounts away to increase business.
Also understanding clients and how to deal with them if you mess up their hair is very important. One of the things I do when I am cutting hair and cannot get the cut the way the client prefers is, I try to have a good conversation throughout the haircut. Making him laugh, showing him that you are interested in his comments and who he is as a person, will make him less likely to get angry and make problems.
Clients & Building Relationships
June 10, 2008
Clients are anyone that wants to get a haircut. It can be a man, woman or child and sometimes dogs. Clients are in church, schools, playgrounds and many other places. By simply passing out business cards to to each and everyone that you come in contact with will help you grow your business. Look at each card that you pass out as $25 dollars coming back to you. Do not be shy or over aggressive when you are soliciting to a client to get him or her to come to you for a haircut. Simply introduce yourself with confidence while looking into the clients eyes and ask them would they like a haircut. If the person say’s “no”, simply say take my card and maybe next time.
The client may not get a haircut right then and there but by taking your card, they have your name and address and one day might come back to see you.
Clients can be used to promote you to all of their friends and it can become a chain reaction in that particular circle of friends. Clients have uncles, nephews, cousins, fathers and brothers. If we become friends with our clients, they will then send all of their family and friends to our business.
Sometimes making clients are hard and keeping your clients are even harder in some cases. There are many things we can do to keep our clients happy. Some of the things we can do is work consistently in the shop letting the client know he can always get a haircut knowing your going to be at work. Strike up good conversations with your clients to keep them entertained and exicted to come back in your shop the next week.
Some clients are difficult but by showing them your really care about giving them a nice haircut, they will respect you very much. Anytime we rush clients and show them all we want to do is get them in and out of the chair will destroy the business of barbering. Always treat each and every client equal for they help us live in todays society.
Relationships are built through nice conversations amongst people sharing good moments together. All we have to do is meet people and offer our business to them and staying professional throughout the relationship will build a nice base of clients for any business.
Taking the time to undersand your clients will eventually gain the cilents trust and you and the client will become friends. Give it a shot and always ask questions and leave me a message for if i can help in any way i will.
Top 10 Barbershop Tips
June 10, 2008
- Always keep your station clean because clients like to see that their barber isnt dirty. You can spray your clippers with disinfectant spray letting your clients see you.
- Take your time and relax. Clients can tell if you are rushing their haircut and will not come back to you if thats the case.
- Communicat with your clients making sure you and him are on the same page when it comes to how he wants his haircut.
- Try to make good conversation with the client so he can feel relaxed with you. Clients always want to be treated special and want the barber to care about the haircut they are getting.
- If you cant do a certain haircut, please let someone else do it but make sure you watch that barber and learn.
- Watch your fellow barbers and learn different techniques.
- Never try and charge a client too much money because once he feels you’re trying to cheat him, he will never come back to you.
- Always look around the shop and sees who’s in the shop. Sometimes we say things that may offend some people so always be aware of your surrounds.
- Never stop promoting, pass out business cards every day and when you run out of cards, order more.
- Work consistent hours and make sure you honor the appointments that you make with clients.