yeah take that pops

poprock wrote:

I’d say if they take bookings, they’re a hairdressers. Not a barbers.

I’d always thought of barbers as being for men and hairdressers for women.

I much prefer to go to a hairdressers than a barbers as I like a scissor cut and I feel they're more used to that than the quick job with the clippers.

Yossarian wrote:

poprock wrote:

I’d say if they take bookings, they’re a hairdressers. Not a barbers.

I’d always thought of barbers as being for men and hairdressers for women.

Depends.  When I had long hair, I wouldn't consider going to a barber's.  Had a regular lady who cut my hair at my local T&G (and got to know a couple of the salons in the City).  A nice cup of coffee and a magazing in hand and just enjoy the cut.

Now that I keep really short hair, barber's every time.

Yeah I'm basically the same as Elf, I used to have much longer hair so would go to a salon, but now it's shorter I just go for convenience mostly but still try to avoid quick-clipper-job places.

I've had too many bad cuts at barbers so I make a point of doing everything on Noxy's list and I also fart warmly and loudly to boot.

LivDiv wrote:

I tip too, but I’m not sure I agree about it being an underpaid profession. How much do you think is being declared when it’s cash through the tills only?

I have no idea but I dont generally go around suspecting everyone of tax fraud.

barbershops are notoriously dodgy with their accounting, but it's worth keeping in mind most barbers won't have much choice in this. the contract they get is up to the boss, and will often be tailored to the boss's financial interest. further, as many barbershops gain an advantage with their dodgy book keeping, being profitable against competition that isn't playing by the rules becomes ever harder.

so it's quite common for barbers to have, for example, a 20 hour contract but actually be working 40, but they don't really have any bargaining power in changing this. they could alert authorities, but this would also bring a lot of problems to their friends and co workers.

for this reason many barbers have been particularly hard hit by the lockdowns. as so many shops were understating their income, their furlough funds have been really reduced, which leaves the workers suffering for decisions taken in the boss's interests.

equinox_code wrote:

LivDiv wrote:

I tip too, but I’m not sure I agree about it being an underpaid profession. How much do you think is being declared when it’s cash through the tills only?

I have no idea but I dont generally go around suspecting everyone of tax fraud.

barbershops are notoriously dodgy with their accounting, but it's worth keeping in mind most barbers won't have much choice in this. the contract they get is up to the boss, and will often be tailored to the boss's financial interest. further, as many barbershops gain an advantage with their dodgy book keeping, being profitable against competition that isn't playing by the rules becomes ever harder. so it's quite common for barbers to have, for example, a 20 hour contract but actually be working 40, but they don't really have any bargaining power in changing this. they could alert authorities, but this would also bring a lot of problems to their friends and co workers. for this reason many barbers have been particularly hard hit by the lockdowns. as so many shops were understating their income, their furlough funds have been really reduced, which leaves the workers suffering for decisions taken in the boss's interests.

Ta, Noxy.

There's a reasonably well known study on this: Sex, Drugs, and Deception: Deviance in the Hair Salon Industry.

Shaved the wrong head

So yeah. I'll carry on tipping well as its a shit paid profession however you want to cut it.

I just like to tip if I receive good personal service, waiters, barbers, decent bartenders, if someone goes above and beyond to help etc.

I would happily pay more for a haircut if I knew that the barber was getting their fair cut and taxes were being paid. 
Then again I'm speaking from the position of someone who has no intention of going back now that my wife does a good job of using the clippers on my bonce.

I did say earlier that I tip too, but I'm generally against the practice, because it's a case of everyone involved in the transaction lying to themselves about what its value is and it perpetuates the problem that it is trying to solve.

If workers were paid fair amounts, then the culture of tipping would pretty much disappear. It would also remove a lot of inequality in the system - for example, the waiter/waitress will often keep the tip, but the tip often represents the whole experience of eating out (such as being welcomed, the bar, the quality of the food, etc.).

I was listening to a podcast not that long ago about a restaurant that's increased their prices and removed tipping - so that people can actually see what the value of a meal is. It seemed to be something that will become more common in the future.

Syph79 wrote:

All anyone had to question is why women pay £100+ for a haircut and men around £10-20 - it's not skill, or time necessarily. It's just how it is accounted for. Women don't just walk in, they book. That leaves a trail and it means that payments are processed correctly. That drives the price up. Get ready to be paying far, far more in the future.

I see your point, but I'm not sure it's quite a like-for-like comparison. cuts on long hair can often require a time slot twice as long as one on short hair. plus hairdressers often (but not always) train for longer. You could go to an average hairdresser and get a decent men's cut, because most of them will also be trained in giving one, but you certainly couldn't expect the same when going to a barber with long hair. further, many peeps working at the salon will also be trained as colourists too. 

of course, there is a lot of skill in barbering, and some really talented barbers, however, the nature of men and the cuts they go for mean cheaper barber shops can operate a bit like an assembly line (although of course the good ones don't). you could have someone trained from 0 and have them cutting on the shop floor in just a couple of months, if you just have them doing the basic stuff. You could never do that at a salon, because women generally have higher standards and expectations for this stuff. many men will keep on going to the same barber over and over so long as it doesn't look shit. most women, however, will expect it to look great if they are to consider returning.

MattyJ wrote:

I pay £30 for my haircut.

I wouldn't