Saturday, May 3, 2008

Hush, Hush Sweet Stylist

This morning I went to Cost Cutters to get my hair cut. I like Cost Cutters because it doesn't feel quite as ghetto and some other cheap places and it's literally two minutes away from my house. It was a pretty busy morning and there was this one rather friendly middle-aged man (definitely the type that would be offended that I just called him middle-aged) who was rather smitten with the one super friendly, too dolled up for her mediocre job at Cost Cutters stylist. He insisted that she cut his and his teenage son's hair instead of having the overweight goth girl or the super casual, just got out of bed blond girl cut it, even if it meant waiting longer. Now I know it's not uncommon to ask for the same person if you like them, but when you're going to Cost Cutters and you have basically no hair, it's a little funny.

Anyway, I had the super casual blond girl cutting my hair and she was pleasant and did a good job, but as usual, she awkwardly attempted to make small talk even though it was clear I wasn't really interested. This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Frankly, I really don't care to engage in pointless conversation with the person cutting my hair. I have a hard enough time making conversation with my own friends! This annoyed me so much that, many years back, I came up with what is possibly my most brilliant business idea ever: a salon with no awkward small talk. The only questions the stylists will be allowed to ask are concerning one's hair. If the customer wants to start a conversation they're welcome to, but they can rest assured that their stylist won't ask them thoughtless questions about where they work, where they live, and if they have a boyfriend.

It even has a name: Sheer Silence.