A client's offhand comment about his old barber changed how I handle first-time appointments

I was cutting a guy's hair yesterday, and he mentioned his previous barber retired after 40 years. He said, 'Frank never asked what I wanted. He just said, sit down, I know what looks good on you.' That hit different because I always start with a detailed consultation. Made me realize for some regulars, that absolute confidence is the whole service they're buying. How do you guys balance taking direction with just taking charge for a client who seems unsure?

4 comments

4 Comments

mary_nelson711mo ago

My own consultation style is basically just a hopeful guess and a prayer.

ivan7741mo ago

Yeah but is it really that deep? We've always just figured stuff out as we go, @mary_nelson71. Picking a show or a tool isn't life or death, it's just Tuesday. Sometimes the random pick works out fine, other times you learn what not to do next time.

park.miles1mo ago

Oh man, that's the real process right there! I feel like half my life decisions are made exactly that way. Like when I try to fix something at home, I just stare at it, guess which tool looks right, and hope I don't make it worse. Or picking a new show to watch, it's just a blind scroll and a "sure, why not." It's a miracle anything works out!

drewr151mo ago

You hit on something with that "blind scroll and a sure, why not" feeling. It feels like we're all just guessing our way through most things now. We have too many choices for everything, from shows to tools at the hardware store, and no clear way to pick. So we just point and hope for the best because making a real choice feels like too much work. The weird part is, this guessing method ends up being how we live our whole lives.