Another Opinion about the Future of the Barber Shop

Most Buzztown readers already know how great it is to have your hair cut in a barber shop - sitting in a real barber chair with a barber using his or her skill and experience to give you the cut that you want. But not everyone sees it that way. It's always good to read another point of view, and the following comments certainly give a different point of view. The writer expresses several views which are widely held in the community. Read what he has to say, and then read some more comments from Buzztown.

I found your essay on the future of the barbershop to be quite interesting, and thought that, as one of the frequently invoked "younger guys," I would give you my viewpoint.

First of all, if I could go to a nice barbershop, I would. It is more convenient, at the moment, for me to go to Supercuts or some such, because there is one right across the road from me. But, at the same time, the associations I have with the barbershop, and the atmosphere of most, really turns me off to seeking them out.

First, I'm a fairly liberal grad student, who has longish hair and likes it that way. I have also been known to cut it pretty short, but my boyfriend likes it long, so that's what I'm working on. When I think of a barbershop, I think of the places where I went where I was younger, and the barbershop that I did an ethnographic study of as an undergraduate. In my mind, the barbershop is a place for old men with very conservative views, who are just waiting for a young guy with long hair to walk in so that they can make a "proper man" of him, whether he wants it or not. When you go into the barbershop, you hear country music, or some god-awful talk radio, or sports. When you look at the magazines, it's Field and Stream, hunting zines, or Sports Illustrated.

All these things say to me that the barbershop is catering to a very specific demographic, one which might provide a base for the market, but which is also very limited. If barbershops are failing, it is because they have not learned that the essence of success in capitalism is market diversity--they have, through a very stubborn mindset, decided that they will be the preservers of a certain cultural values that now only have limited appeal.

Of course, the many haircut sites on the web only serve to compound the anxiety and alienation that many younger men feel toward barbershops, by portraying the act of getting your hair cut in one as one of power relations in which you will lose.

Now, the only exception to this rule that I've seen is the African-American barbershops in urban settings, like the one down the block from me. It is constantly packed, with customers often standing out on the sidwalk, waiting. The customers represent a demographic of younger, urban men who have a sense of style. when you look in the shop, you see many other young men as barbers, each of whom sports a spiffy, current style, from fades to dreads. The music is hip, urban music that appeals to a younger age group. when I walk past this shop on my way to the Marta, I often look in with envy, because it is the kind of place I would gladly go to get a haircut. You almost have a sense of it being a hang-out that you would gladly to once a month.

If barbershops that cater to other markets are going to succeed, especially in urban areas, they're going to have to learn to cater to the tastes of younger, hip, urban men, who don't hunt, who may not be interested in sports, and who sure don't want to look like their grandfathers after they get their hair cut, nor do they want the often tense experience of getting their hair cut to be made even more tense by the conflict between perceived cultural, political, and social differences of the person doing the cutting. I remember very well watching a barber give a guy a hard time about having an earring, and all but accusing the kid of wearing women's underwear--do you think that guy is going to be a repeat customer? Or how about the barber who refused to cut what he considered to be a "punk haircut?" do you think he's going to attract many younger men to his store? Sure, he'll maintain a customer base, but it will not grow and make him a real success.

Some of this can be solved through very superficial means. Turn the radio to an "x" station, put some Details and Spin magazines out, make up some displays with more contemporary, hip looks. Beyond that, think about hiring younger guys who are more in tune with what younger customers want, maybe even hire some barbers who themselves have more contemporary haircuts or (shudder) long hair, because these things will really telegraph to customers what kind of cuts, and attitudes, they can expect from your shop.

It is true that the barbershop can probably survive off of its traditional market, but the guys like me, who used to go to barbers, are now going to places like Supercuts, because we know what to expect, it's convenient, and it's non-threatening. We are the market that is getting sucked off, and this will probably significantly impact the success of barbers in the future. The only way the barbershop can counter this threat to its success is to fight back, to find a way to bring back those customers that it's losing, and the only way to do that is to find a way to appeal to those customers. This means, ultimately, having to re-invent the barbershop. I'm sure that this will no doubt meet with considerable resistance from the barbershop's traditional market, but, as with all capitalist enterprises, you have one of two choices--grow or die.

The guy who wrote this has raised some interesting topics, and I thank him for sharing his viewpoint. I disagree with some of his comments, but in saying that I need to remind myself that I am someone who enjoys the traditional barber shop atmosphere.

Firstly, I am assuming that the comments about haircut sites on the Internet "portraying the act of getting your hair cut in (a barber shop) as one of power relations in which you will lose" do not apply to Buzztown. Buzztown is not about power relations - it is about helping guys to find a good barber shop, decide on a good style, and to be able to communicate with their barber to get a great cut. Buzztown wants to make its readers' haircuts a winning experience, certainly not a losing one.

Secondly , it is not fair to apply these comments to all barber shops. There are a lot of barber shops out there, and they service a range of customers. There are even long-haired barbers and barbers with earrings.

But the writer has stated a widely-held stereotype, which many guys believe to be true. Regardless of whether or not the stereotype is true, this is a image problem that keeps many potential customers out of barber shops and the barber industry needs to overcome this.

Many shops already have successful marketing strategies, such as being a traditional shop, a shop aimed to young guys, or a shop that specializes in military cuts. Other shops may be missing out on an untapped market that's there waiting for them. There are many exciting opportunities for barber shops in the late 1990s. Short hair is back in style, and in many areas it really is a great time for barber shops to attract new customers.

Josh,
Buzztown.

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