Haircut Victory

A while back I shared a blog post about my frustration with the barber shop I had used for years. I never really liked going there but it was convenient to my work so I went. Finally, I had one too many bad experiences and vowed not to go again. I think many people have the same experience with Church. They know they need it but often the experience is so poor they stop going.

Recently, I realized I badly needed a haircut after watching videos of myself speaking. (By the way, the best way to get better at your presentations is to watch yourself, as painful as it is.) I didn’t know where to go for my haircut. I even thought about going back to the old shop, but then I thought about my declaration on this blog and couldn’t do that. Then I looked up barber shops near me. There was a Great Clips near me and I decided to give it a shot.

I filled out the online form and it told me I had a thirteen-minute wait. As I drove, I thought about turning around. I didn’t feel like waiting, and I was expecting a frustrating time. My past experiences had conditioned me to dread going to get a haircut. When I arrived, they asked if I had checked in online. I said I did, and they told me to have a seat. I was prepared to wait a while, but after just a few minutes, they took me.

Kristin began by welcoming me and saying she didn’t have any notes on me so this must be my first time. I acknowledged it was. I don’t think the old place ever took any notice of how many times I had been there.

I explained what I wanted and she asked some clarifying questions about length. She told me what she was going to do and the length of clipper she would use. If I wanted it shorter next time, the notes would be in their records and we could make adjustments.

Kristin cut my hair; it looked good for the little that is left. Then I went to pay. It was actually less expensive than the local barber shop and I could use my debit card. At the other place I always had to go to my bank to get cash or pay the service charge at their ATM.

Here are three thoughts from my experience that I think it is important for churches to keep in mind.

One, they respected my time. In fact, they under-promised and over-delivered when it came to my time. Whereas the old place made me wait after I had scheduled an appointment, Great Clips told me it might be 13 minutes, and I was in a chair in less than 3. We need to respect people’s time with our weekend Masses and be consistent. At Nativity we work to stay around 60 to 65 minutes. That works for our community, and think that is the right length for most places. Other communities can go longer or shorter. Consistency is what is most important.

Two, they were collecting data on me. It was my first time there so they did not know how I wanted my hair cut. Next time, they will have information on how I like it. It will be a starting place for the conversation. I can tell them if I want it the same or shorter, but we won’t have to begin the conversation at zero. As churches, we need to be collecting and keeping good data on our parishioners. When we have good data, we can invite our parishioners to appropriate programs and opportunities. We can encourage them to take their next step of faith. This is a struggle in most parishes and if not for Ministry Platform and our CEO/CIO Brandon Hollern, Nativity would not have nearly the solid data we have for parishioners. Let me encourage you to grow in your data collection and utilization. Find the right platform and someone who will know how to use it. Even if you cannot afford to hire someone, you can probably find a volunteer or volunteers in your parish with knowledge, wisdom, and an understanding of information systems.

Three, they were friendly. My old barbershop just always felt grumpy. When you walked into the shop, the guy at the head chair would bark at you, “Do you have an appointment?” No good morning, no good afternoon, and certainly no smile. A smile and a kind tone of voice costs us absolutely nothing and it wins us friends. It can also win people to Christ and build a culture that welcomes outsiders.

Rooting for you,
Tom