Haircut vs. Art 

This past weekend, while getting my routine haircut, I learned a vital lesson in life and business success.

I have been going to the same barber for over 10 years.

I’ve never thought about it before, but while sitting there and waiting for my haircut, it hit me!

More than 10 years with the same barber is in fact a very long time.

What kept me coming back?

Well, the most obvious reason is that I was content with the way he cuts my hair.

However, something else stood out to me…

There were four people waiting for him to cut their hair.

In the waiting area, it was me and three other guys.

This would have understandable if he was the only barber available.

However, that wasn’t the case.

There were a total of six barbers in the shop and three of them were sitting in their chairs just watching time pass by.

I became aware that the other three people in the waiting area were waiting for my barber as well when someone walked in and asked how many clients he had left.

After the man walked in and got his answer, he replied to my barber, “Ok, I’ll be back in an hour”.

What was going on here?

Could the other three barbers sitting in their chairs really be that bad at cutting hair?

I doubt it.

I mean, would they have even been hired in the first place if they were that bad?

What’s important to point out here is that my barber has LOYAL customers.

His customers are so loyal that they are willing to either wait or come back at a later time.

As busy as people are and as much as they hate to wait, it’s pretty amazing to me that people wouldn’t just pick another barber in the shop.

“Revolve your world around the customer and more customers will revolve around you.”

–Heather Willians

So what is it exactly about my barber that keeps his customers loyal?

The answer is that he doesn’t treat a haircut like a haircut.

He treats it like art.

He takes his sweet time and makes it perfect.

He cuts a little, then stands in front of you and takes a good look at it to make sure it’s coming out even.

Then cuts a little more, and stands in front of you to get another glance.

You can see it in his face how he’s focusing, how there’s nothing else on his mind but your haircut.

When the haircut is over, he uses a barber blade to clean up any excess hair around the neck, ear, and face.

Then he pours alcohol on a cotton ball to rub over your skin to prevent any bacteria from entering.

Let me point out that he does this at no additional cost.

Do the other barbers in the shop do this?

From what I witnessed, no, they don’t.

I didn’t get to see every barber finish a haircut, but the ones that I did see did not use a barber blade to remove any excess hair.

Is the blade a big deal?

Would the haircut look horrible if he didn’t shave the small excess hair?

Probably not.

However, that’s not the point.

The point is that he takes pride in his work, it MATTERS to him.

He doesn’t have a job, he has a passion.

By going the extra mile and making each haircut as perfect as possible, he communicates to his customers that their satisfaction is important to him.

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael Leboeuf

 He makes his customers feel like they will always get the best haircut possible.

Do you understand how important and valuable this is?

All of his customers, including myself, trust him. 

We are so satisfied with the service that we won’t risk going with another barber.

We rather wait or come back at a later time.

Whatever you do in life for business and success, you must make it your ART.

If what you do feels like work, then that’s what it is, WORK.

A job, a thing that you must do even if you hate it.

If you make it your art, you make sure it’s perfect when finished.

If you run a business online, make your products or services the BEST they can be.

Even if it requires you spending a little more time on your product or service…

Do it!

Loyal customers are what make you successful in the long run.

“Unless you have 100% customer satisfaction…you must improve.” – Horst Schulz

You have much more security with loyal customers vs. new customers.

Loyal customers recommend you to others.

They provide positive word of mouth.

Don’t you usually read reviews before buying something? 

You want assurance that it’s a good investment.

Loyal customers feel good giving you their money; they feel that you deserve it.

Read that last line one more time because it’s very powerful.

….They feel that you DESERVE it.

Do you understand how careful people are with their money?

Imagine how successful your business can be if you have loyal customers who feel that you deserve their money.

Again, make your products or service your art.

Take a look at my other articles…

Notice how neat and easy they are to read.

Notice how I give examples to really help communicate my message.

This blog is my art.

My art helps you with different situations in life.

It makes it easy for you to understand the advice so you can apply it and get results.

I could just write and write and not spend all the time is takes on editing, including examples and pictures, revising, and so on.

I know better than that.

I love my blog and I love helping people.

Each article I write is treated with special care and attention just like my barber with his
clients.

How likely would someone be to visit my barber if I tell them exactly what I told you above about him?

Exactly, very likely.

Don’t just create a product or service and sell it if it’s “good enough”.

Make it as perfect and flawless as possible.

What can you improve about it?

What will make your customer feel that you truly care?

A regular haircut is a job.

A perfect haircut is art.

– Alex