Other hairdressers (1)

Other hairdressers (1)

Why do I tend to go to the same hairdresser all the time? Now that I live in another city I tried two. The first one is cheaper but the guy who cut me turned out to be a cheerful tinkerer. The barbers in the more expensive store next door do a good job though. That’s where I want to keep coming. It’s a matter of trust. Just like the dentist and your family doctor.

Then a little farther away I discover a hair salon in a square that I must frequent. The prices on the billboard in front of the store are much lower. The barbers and the customers speak a different language to each other than I do and are from the Middle East. The price is attractive but do I want a stranger on my mind?

After some hesitation, I spontaneously step inside anyway. I expected the heavily built dark-looking man who is always there would address me, but his younger colleague asks what I desire. After confirming the price, he points me to a classic barber chair. Yes, I would like tea. Yes, without sugar. Like a short haircut. He takes a lock and indicates what can be taken off. That’s just right. I ask him a lot of questions and apologize. I’m not from the IND, you know. People interest me. He is not suspicious and talks about his origins and his dreams. I like professionals who work quickly and skillfully with a goal in mind. This originally Syrian Kurd of 24 is a craftsman. How he accurately trims some more out of the loose with pointed scissors. I now have a new nice barber who is just as skilled as the much more expensive one of the past two years. Maybe my ethnocentric bubble will finally become sudsop.

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