Thread: Barber shop pricing structure...lets explore this...

OK, so I took my sons to a "barber" shop on Sunday for haircuts. This place was full of noisy big screen TVs and had a bunch of silent people sitting around staring at them and was nothing like a conventional barber shop...but that is not the point.

I would like to discuss the pricing structure they had and criticize it a bit. Why? Why not?

First off, they charge $2 less for kids under 10. Huh? Do kids have less hair than balding men? Do men squirm around and generally be a pain in the strop for barbers? Do adults demand one style while mom stands over them and demands something else?

My point is, to cut a kids hair, there are added challenges, not least of which, dealing with pleasing the kid, and the mom. I think if anything kids ought to cost MORE...there, I said it.

Now let me rant a bit further...

This place also offered other services.

For 5 bucks extra you could get the "special treatment" this was the same as a regular hair cut, but it started out with a "hot towel treatment"...humm, this sounds enticing. I watched a guy get it. He sat down, they leaned him back and handed him a hot towel. I wondered if this was a gift that he cold then pocket and take home...I thought, "hey, I could use an extra shave towel, perhaps that would be a nice way to get a quality towel for only 5 bucks?"...but no, the barber eventually asked for it back before beginning the hair cut. WHAT?!?

For another 5 bucks a patron could indulge in the top treatment (actually, they could stack treatments up, as in if you desired multiple hot towels you could pay 10 bucks for two, 15 for three, and so forth...but I digress). The top package included with the hair cut, one hot towel, AND a massage after the cut! OK now we are getting somewhere!!!

Then I looked over and saw another gent having his cut finished, and his barber (a female) was talking him into the massage...so I watched. He agreed, and she reached down to the hook where the hair dryer was hanging and pulled a device off the same hook that looked like a child's dart gun (you know the ones from the early 70s that fired a 4 inch long hard plastic rod with a rubber suction cup on the end...those things were awesome...but again, I digress) and proceeded to hold it on his shoulder and swish it around like she was dusting a lampshade. 30 seconds later she was done.

When all was done, they processed your credit card and handed you a stub to fill out (equipped with a line for gratuity) and sign before they typed in the final amount.

This country has really lost something I am afraid...

Thanks for listening.

That is FAR from being a barber shop. The shop I go to has 4 barbers and when you go in, you take a number and wait your turn, no tv's-just a radio on in the background, and magazines/newspapers to read while you wait for your turn. If you want a particular barber, you may have to wait longer. Yes, kids are $2 cheaper, but no big deal. I used to have a hair stylist cut my hair for years, now even if I give my barber a $5 tip-which is a huge for the price of a cut, I'm still saving $15 just for a cut from the stylist without gratuity. You may have to get out the yellow pages and find a new shop (wait, does anyone even do that anymore, I must be old)? My how times change.


P.S. My barber's shop is a "Cash-Only" business.

Yeah, I went to MY barber shop today...much like you described but there is a TV that probably only comes on when there are no patrons.

This places has no numbers, just a bunch of chairs and there is an unspoken honor system...it just works, I have never seen any confusion or disputes as to who is next (in 15 years of going there!).

EVERYONE pays the same rate and they trim your brows, and any other hair on your face if you ask (never asked for a beard trim, but I have seen others get it). They asked me once if I wanted my brows trimmed...my reply was, "if you are suggesting it, it must be necessary".

Some of the barbers wear the barbers coat as they work, and the place smells a little like Clubman...it is great.

BUT, I asked about shaves once and the oldest barber there talked with me at length. He used to do them, but states quite matter of fact that the result is NOT as good as you get with a disposable at home...sad....


And, no, he had no hones or old blades in his attic, but he did check for me

Originally Posted by unit

This country has really lost something I am afraid...

How profound. Change is inevitable and a "Barber Shop" is whatever people will accept it to be, regardless of what a barber shop, or any other institution, used to be, or was meant to be.

The place I go is somewhere in the middle of these. There's no number taking, but they do take reservations (online too which is handy) or you can just walk in. There's one TV but with no sound, and when I have had to wait, the others sitting there don't mind to chat at all. It's all pretty relaxed and friendly. They are also one of the few places in town that sell wet shaving gear, although I do tend to nag them a bit about expanding their soap and AS selection...

But, and this is the part that gives me hope that all is not lost nor will it be any time soon, most of the barbers I have seen there are young. While that in itself can present a downside (ie no old-school barber to chat to about razors), I think it's *great* that all these young folks are taking up the art of proper barbering.

Oh, and on two occasions, they have turned people away telling them they really want a stylist at a salon, not a barber. I liked that.

EDIT: Oh, right... we were talking about pricing and services... No idea what a kids cut would be or how it compares, but I'll check that out next time as now you have me curious. While they do offer extra services such as shaves, I have never had an up-sell attempt. They do offer the eyebrow trim (I'm with Unit: if you're asking, then it's probably time!) but that's a no-cost service considered part of the cut. It isn't the cheapest place in town by any means, but I don't mind as it's an enjoyable place to get a haircut.

I haven't really been to a barber or stylist after my barber died. His shop was what you expect a barber shop to be like. He took reservations and walk ins(though you usually had to wait a while if you walked in). No tv's or radio; just a news paper, some Playboy's and a fish tank with a large pirhanna. It had one of the old school chest style coke machines which he still sold for .25 cents a bottle. It smelled of Clubman and Consort for Men hairspray. All cuts were done purely with scissors, no clippers, and all shaves were done with a real straight razor and piping hot lather. Every hair cut came with a shampoo and scalp massage. And no matter the style of cut or how much he had to do, every cut and shave cost $5.

God I miss that place.

Back in the day no one would feel any way about just going ahead and cutting their kids hair - and saving whatever the cost. When barbers discovered that if they lowered the price, people would bring in their kids with them, and have their barber do it... hence, the prices are lower.

In economics we call this price elasticity.

Females traditionally get their hair cut considerably less then men do - and when they do it is generally more complex and labor intensive. Hence their haircuts should be about 3 times than that of a man, as on average, they go three times less.

I made that all up cuz this is the internet, and I can lol. But it's the best idea I can come up with as to why there are discrepancies in price.

As for why the place you went to has no pride and charges for services they don't provide? Well that's their issue, but it's a poor model and one that I am going to guess isn't going to last long if even an inkling of their clients feel the way you do.

My barber charges 12 bucks, I go every other week and get a clipper cut as short as possible followed by lather and hot towels, scalp massage to work the lather in, relather, then a complete two pass head shave with the shavette he's required to use.

I was talking to him last week, he started barbering in 1955.

He finishes up with the clubman talc on my head. I love it.

So I always give him a twenty.

Unit, here a a barber's wage book from 1941, that I posted about a month before you joined. Something to compare to.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/conve...ers-wages.html

One time while getting a hair cut I commented to the barber that I thought his clippers stunk. I think that the brushes on the clippers may have been worn. For my nose to notice, it was strong. He said that was normal. I said something on the order that if I knew that was normal I wouldn't have sat down. He then informed me that if I didn't like it I could leave. I then proceeded to leave! So I got half a hair cut for nothing.

I went to a shop on the other side of the neighborhood and when I walked in in I asked If I could get half price since it was already half done. When all was said and done he gave me the senior discount.

I hadn't gone to that second shop for over 10 years because of a previous barber that worked/owned there. When I walked in with my sons about 3 and 5 years old the first words out of his mouth was that he didn't do kids.

A few experiences like these and the cost has influenced me to have most of my grooming done at home. My kids have become pretty good at haircuts. I think that my daughter was about 6 when I first gave her the clippers. I worked in a factory that required hair nets so if they messed up who cared. I now have a job that requires a bit better grooming and they are in their early 20's and pretty good at it. They still come to me and ask me to cut theirs and I agree if they cut mine. Good family bonding and the clippers have paid for themselves many times over.