Tips on Changing Your Barber

Picture this... You badly need a haircut, and so you call your barber of 3 years to set an appointment. 

 Unfortunately, he tells you that he is not available. Since you cannot wait till the next day, you decide to try another barber within the same barbershop - one whose work you've seen before. You sit, give him instructions, and he executes them better than your barber. In your neighbourhood, everyone asks where you had your haircut. That's when you begin thinking whether if changing your barber would be a good idea. As difficult a situation as it may seem, one thing you have to remember is that that's your hair we are talking about. Whoever you choose to work on it, therefore, is a decision that should be respected. That said, the moral aftertaste of such action is often too strong to ignore. To eliminate possible awkwardness, use the following tips whenever you are thinking of changing your barber.

Give them a Heads Up - We are all human and as such have the freedom to change our minds if we deem it the right thing to do. However, injecting some decorum to the decision will not hurt anyone. Give your barber a call and let them know of your decision. If they are professional, then they will respect and appreciate the heads up. Do not just show up two weeks later and walk straight to your new barber's seat without informing the soon-to-be old barber. Although they will not show it, it usually is an awkward feeling.

Be Open to Try out All Barbers - This tip works best if you have just moved to a new neighbourhood. After shopping around and settling on a barbershop of choice, make it known to the barbers that will at one point try each barber's skills. This leaves you a bit of room to change barbers whenever the need arises. The downside to this is you will have to give instructions more than a than a couple of times to each barber. You, therefore, want to make sure that they are all qualified and that their hair cutting skills are not just above average.

Create a Transition Phase - By creating a transition phase, you ease the pressure on yourself as well as your barber. You can achieve this through a number of ways. You can, for instance, have the new barber work on your beard as the current one does your haircut. On the next trip, have the new barber do your hair and save your beard for your current barber. With time, both will get used to the situation, and that is when you can pull the plug without too much fuss. It is critical to let this transition phase last just long enough.