I have been a regular customer of the Baghdad Barber Shop for the past couple of years.
This morning I patiently waited 40 minutes to receive a haircut. While waiting, I looked over the shop's à la carte menu of services hanging on the wall directly across from me, and noticed that the barber had increased his fee for a basic haircut and presumably all of the other services offered. Amongst the services offered was a discounted price for senior citizens, age 62 and older.
When it was my turn for a haircut, I asked the barber if I could take advantage of his discounted price for senior citizens. He then asked me my age. I told him I turned 62 a couple of months prior. Feeling awkward, I offered to show him my ID, which he declined. From that moment on I was treated differently than all the other times I had visited his shop. And differently from the customer who was in the chair before me. The first thing I noticed was how tight the barber secured the tissue paper and cape around my neck. The cape was so tight, I had to insert my fingers between the cape and my throat to loosen it. Then I noticed that the usual pleasantries were not there. Not chit-chat. And so I attempted to engage him in conversation, but my attempt was met with little response. Within a few short minutes my haircut was almost done. I was being rushed; unlike the customer before me. In fact, I was out the door in half my usual time. I was not given the customary neck shave, which the previous customer received. My sideburns were not fine tuned like they always were before. I was not offered the customary application of product (gel), which the previous customer received. Nor was I given the customary 360º view of my new haircut, which the previous customer received. My haircut simply ended; the chair I was seated in faced outward into the shop; facing the door instead of the mirror. That's when the barber removed my cape and said, "you're welcome." I was dismissed. I didn't see the final results of my haircut until I was home.
Side Notes/Transparency:
- The shop was not busy. There was no one waiting for a haircut after me. I can only assume I was rushed out the door because I had asked to take advantage of the senior citizen discount.
- The senior citizen discount was $5.00.
- Not only am I 62 years old, meeting the barber's own requirement for a senior discount, I am also physically disabled. I am unable to work.
- I left the Baghdad Barber Shop today humiliated.
- The barber is the proprietor. read more