Light hearted pub related banter

[brightncheerful]

Approx £13 non oap rate. The oap rate is n/a on Saturdays, only weekdays.
UK barbers https://www.kents-uk.com

In London, (NW London) I used to pay about £5-10 more than 25 years ago. (£5 adjusted for inflation (1994 to now) is £9.88)

The only time the price was astronomical as far I am concerned was when I was encouraged by a g/f to try a unisex hairdresser that apparently all her friends were raving about. For around £20 not only was I obliged to book an appointment but when I arrived I had to wait and tolerate all manner of irrelevancies including would i like a coffee and so on. It's alright for wimmin that are content to spend ages at their hairdresser but I prefer to use my time more productively.

[tjh290633]

I pay £7 and give her a £1 tip. It used to be a traditional barber's shop but the two old boys eventually retired and their lad took over. He in turn retired and the current girl took over, and has an apprentice learning the ropes. It doesn't take much longer than 10 minutes for mine, and that includes trimming the eyebrows, but the price includes the search fee.

That reminds me, I ought to go before school breaks up. They have a small car park, and often have several waiting in the morning when pensioners' rates apply. I think it is £10 for younger folk and after 12 noon. You have to chat with her dog, Elvis, as well.

You can pay a lot more in the vicinity.

TJH

[scotia]

It sounds perverse to complain on one hand that the price for the service you are getting is 'ridiculously low' but then refuse to tip on principle.

Well maybe it does. I dislike intensely someone being paid on the whim of a tip. Tips are archaic and demeaning. In certain civilized countries they are considered insulting. However I accept that in large parts of the UK catering industry they are the norm, and I act accordingly. However I much prefer the (minority) of restaurants which now make it clear that tips are not expected. A "labourer is worthy of his (or her) hire" - not on the whim of a tip.

[dionaeamuscipula]

I don't want a cup of coffee
I don't want a glass of wine
I don't want to talk to you
I just want my hair cut

I don't tip my dentist, why the [expletive deleted] should I tip the barber?

DM

[scotia]

Sorry about the last post - it was definitely not light hearted pub related banter - but then I don't have much experience of pubs - since I took to heart my Grandfather's words of wisdom "I have seen many a good man ruined in a Glasgow Public House"

[bungeejumper]

...the current girl took over, and has an apprentice learning the ropes. It doesn't take much longer than 10 minutes for mine, and that includes trimming the eyebrows, but the price includes the search fee.

Blimey. Just which part of your anatomy does the search fee relate to? In our town, it's the sunbed'n beauty parlour that deals with that department.

BJ

[Howyoudoin]

I don't want a cup of coffee
I don't want a glass of wine
I don't want to talk to you
I just want my hair cut

I don't tip my dentist, why the womble should I tip the barber?

DM

Because the two services are priced accordingly? Half an hour in the barbers is unlikely to cost you more than £15 according to this thread. How much will a half hour bill in the Dentists cost?

HYD

[Watis]

Buy electric clippers and DIY.
Once a month a 'flymower' all over, job done.

Seconded.

Two pairs of Wahl clippers (a spare in case one packs in mid-cut) bought a long time ago have probably saved me over £1000.

Julian F. G. W.

Thirded, and I'm on my fourth pair of clippers - I must have tough hair. But similar savings as jfgw reports over twenty years.

Mine is done by Mrs Watis (don't worry, she is handsomely rewarded for this task )

To date, I've not been brave enough to cut my own hair. So, how do you guys get on with trimming your own hair? You can't see most of your head even with a mirror, so what's the secret of getting a decent result?

Watis

[UncleEbenezer]

What the . . . ?!

Have you had a sex change?

HYD

On a perhaps similar note, I think I used to pay about £12000 back in the '90s. Nothing unusual about that.

£12000??!! Was that for the sex change?

--kiloran

It was of course a comment on the currency. Some $ will buy you more than others. £ even more so.

[simsqu]

I get mine done about once a month.
There's several barbers in town, plenty of Turkish ones who set up from place to place, a few old school type barbers and a nice old lady around the corner.
I have no preference except I cant stand waiting in queues so Ill go for a walk around town and settle in the first shop where I know I wont have to wait too long.
I also have a number 4 and if the eyebrows and other annoying facial hairs are vanquished with paraffin and clippers I usually pay £10-12.
Its buttons.
My hair takes about 20 minutes.
I could drink £12 of booze in that time very easily.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, ISIRTA proudly announces the return, for one day only, of the Beerpig Dirty Post Book:

"I get ...... done about once a month.

There's several ...... in town, plenty of Turkish ones who set up from place to place, a few old school type ...... and a nice old lady around the corner.

I have no preference except I cant stand waiting in queues so Ill go for a walk around town and settle in the first ...... where I know I wont have to wait too long.

I also have a number 4 and if the ... and other annoying ... hairs are ... with clippers I usually pay £10-12.

My ... takes about 20 minutes.

I could drink £12 of booze in that time very easily"

Ayyy thenk yaww

[sunnyjoe]

£13 at the village barber with a free coffee or beer. The dog sits at my feet.

I used to be a regular at a gent's hairdresser called "What Men Want" which was run by two very pretty ladies and featured a big TV with Sky sport. One day I turned up and the ladies had gone and were replaced by the elderly landlord (previously a hairdresser but long retired) and his daughter. The landlord cut my hair and when I paid him he rooted around in the cash register looking for change for a few seconds before calling to his daughter "Can you help me? I can't see a thing without my glasses". When I got home I discovered it was a terrible haircut which I got fixed elsewhere the next day. I would have paid extra for a haircut with glasses.

edit "..." into the above a la Simsqu and it sounds a lot more adventurous

[Watis]

My father told a story of a barber who, back in the mid-twentieth century, charged just 1d for a haircut!

The barber used a cutthroat razor to shave the head in three grand sweeps and, if he cut you, you didn't have to pay!

Watis

[dionaeamuscipula]

I don't want a cup of coffee
I don't want a glass of wine
I don't want to talk to you
I just want my hair cut

I don't tip my dentist, why the womble should I tip the barber?

DM

Because the two services are priced accordingly? Half an hour in the barbers is unlikely to cost you more than £15 according to this thread. How much will a half hour bill in the Dentists cost?

HYD

I'd rather they charged me £15 than £13 and expect a £2 tip. If they would just shut the womble up and leave me alone I might tip them though.

Although I don't think I have ever paid even as much as £13 though. When I lived in London I used those £6 places (Mr Topper?) that unsurprisingly turned out to be a massive VAT fraud.

I'm not self conscious about my appearance, which helps, being naturally good looking.

DM

[AleisterCrowley]

"And how would you like me to cut your hair sir ?"
"In silence, please"

(attrib to Enoch Powell)

[Rhyd6]

OH and I go to the same hairdresser who has a "salon" in a village about 4 miles away, she charges £24 for the two of us and we always leave a tip. For the money we get as many free cups of tea/coffee as we want, you have to make it yourself though, a sit down and catch up on the gossip. The chance to meet friends, her appointment system is approximate, and the certainty of knowing that the B word will not be mentioned. Finding out who is doing what to whom and the chances of them getting caught is much more interesting.
OH prefers a hairdresser cutting his hair as he still has a full head of dark brown, very curly hair which always seemed to flumux barbers. My day was made when on our last visit, Jeanie let out a cry of "I've found a white hair, just the one but it's a start". OH is in his 70s and this is the first significant sign of aging I've seen. He declined her offer to pull said hair out as he thought that if he gets a few more it may make him look distinguished. Mind you he'd have to ditch the wellies and whippet first.

R6

[brightncheerful]

"In silence, please"

I like chatting to whomsoever cuts my hair. In the barber, it's first come first served but I prefer to wait for someone that's cut my hair before. A friend recommended this particular barbershop and said I should try to ensure Ms x would do it. I misunderstood friend's description of 'x' and and assumed the person I 'chose' was her. It wasn't until I'd been there a few times that I saw who 'x' is. By then I'd become loyal to the first.

Usually, it's one of two regular women, both are very good at snipping off including particularly asking whether I remember from the last time whether the hair at the back of my head is cut straight edge or pointed. No idea, I don't care. As someone who showers every morning and combs his hair afterwards and rarely looks in a mirror let alone combs his locks again during the rest of the day/evening, pride in my hair appearance is not my scene.

One of the women is somewhat on the 'large side'. After chatting with her a few times over the course of a year - hair cut every 2 months or so - I plucked up courage to ask whether she had always been overweight. No, she said, only since living with her boyfriend a couple of years ago. When I first met her, she and bf were saving deposit for a house. Now she has a house and same b/f that never seems to have the time to finish refurbishing their home.

The other woman (slim) is Polish, commutes to work by bus and train; journey takes her about 2 hours each way every day. She's learned to speak English simply by listening (including the radio) and insisting her husband, also Polish, speaks in English as much as possible. Her daughter is bi-lingual.

ad infintum

[oldapple]

"And how would you like me to cut your hair sir ?"
"In silence, please"

(attrib to Enoch Powell)

The flip side of this - I recently did a 5 week stint on Jury service and we were all well warned not to breathe a word about 'our case' outside Court. A young fellow had just been kicked out of a separate jury panel after the hairdresser he blabbed to phoned the court service and His Honour let him know he wasn't best pleased.

"... extra for a haircut with glasses', that would be worth seeing Sunnyjoe

[PinkDalek]

Her daughter is bi-lingual.

ad infintum

How good is her Latin?

[swill453]

One of the women is somewhat on the 'large side'.
...
The other woman (slim) is Polish

Anyone else care to comment on the weight of their barber? Does it affect the cut? I can't as I cut my own hair (though somewhat overweight, FWIW).

Scott.

[UncleEbenezer]

Her daughter is bi-lingual.

ad infintum

How good is her Latin?

Gratias non admodum malum.

... autem tunica meum.

</Romanes eunt domus>