Bad Business

I haven't had a haircut in 7 or 8 weeks. For those keeping score at home, that is a long time. I usually get a haircut every 3 or 4 weeks. My hair is so shaggy now Sarah had to take my razor and some scissors to trim up the edges, and the hair behind my ears is starting to curl. Part of the reason why my hair is so long is because I was out of town last month and didn't have a chance to get my haircut. When I am out of town for long periods of time like that I am usually able to get it cut when I come home on the weekends, but that wasn't an option this time because the salon where I used to get my haircut closed down.

One of my former favorite things about living in the neighborhood where we live was getting my haircut at Knockouts. The simple explanation is that it is like Hooters except they cut hair instead of serve chicken wings and beer. They did employ younger, (mostly) attractive girls to cut hair, but they just wore shorts and a T-shirt. The outfits weren't nearly as skimpy as Hooters. In reality, it was a very nice salon with big comfy chairs and TVs playing sports at every station. They would even give you a beer if you wanted one. Now, I don't know much about business, but to me this idea seems genious. You are specifically targeting men, so you are cutting out half the population I suppose. But (almost) every man needs a haircut, and most men enjoy pretty ladies, so to me this was a no brainer. The concept is genious, but the business was ran very poorly. Every other time I would call to schedule a haircut, my stylist would no longer be working. Just when you would find someone who could cut your hair decently and who was pleasant to talk to during the half an hour you were there, she would randomly quit and then you would be stuck with someone with no personality and who wasn't good at cutting hair. This cycle continued for the better part of a year for me. Honestly, I was getting tired of it myself and was about to switch salons when I found out they closed and made the decision for me. I even brought this up a few times to the stylists working. The short end of the story is that the owners were jerks to the employees and didn't treat them very well, so they would just quit. It's too bad, really, because I really enjoyed going to that place once a month on Saturdays to get my haircut.

My new stylist is actually the same girl who cuts Sarah's hair. She has been trying to get me to switch for months and she is excited that I am finally meeting her. Sarah has talked her up quite a bit, so she has high expectations to live up to. Unfortunately, she doesn't work on weekends and with Knockouts closing, that is why it has been 2 months since my last cut. I am looking forward to the cut and meeting the new stylist this evening. Hopefully she will make Knockouts a distant memory.