Should I avoid "Great Clips"?

I went to Great Clips the other day for a haircut. I was struck by the soul-crushing corporateness of the whole experience.

Every time the door opens, some disheartened employee chirps "Welcome to Great Clips." Each cutting area is designed with corporate flags, large blow-up pictures of smiling models, but no signs of the personal identity of the cutters - no photos, no news clippings, no comics.

The music is on a generic, very white-sounding pop station.

The employees are wearing near-uniforms, all dressed in long-sleeved black.

I tried to make some conversation with my cutter. Her name was Kendra, she looked to be about 20. My haircut was complete in about 15 minutes. I wondered to myself if Kendra had worked at any other salon, and if she had, why she ended up coming here. Maybe Great Clips gave her a chance as a newly trained stylist. All I know is I keep coming back and I hardly ever seem the same stylist twice.

Should I avoid Great Clips because they try to homogenize their employees and suppress their personal identities? Should I go to some old fashioned, mom-and-pop barbershop or some fancy, personal-identity salon? Truth is, I like getting cheap, fast haircuts.

Is the fact that I am even asking this question the sign of hopeless, self-involved navel gazing? Perhaps some choices are not even worth thinking over.

Comments

Obijuan said…
Don't know about Atlanta, but the Great Clips here always does a good job on my hair, while the mom & pop down the street always butchers it.
November 07, 2006
Steven Rowe said…
I have to admit that I didnt even know that there were chain haircut places.
Is Great Clips really cheaper than other barber shops? and certainly 15 minutes isnt short for a haircut - sounds rather normal to me - another 5 -10 minutes more if you are in a long line.

StevenR (who admits with the amount of hair he has left - 5 minutes might be stretching it)
November 08, 2006
Anonymous said…
I am under the impression that it is a place for beginners in the field. When they have a following, they rent a chair in a salon, and get somewhat more money. Then, if they save diligently and get more of a following they can open their own place.
I remember, some time ago, a neighbor cut hair in a chain place that got $6 per haircut, while she got some fraction of that. I tried to give her a "raise" to $8 by giving her extra and she almost didn't take it --no self-esteem.
November 10, 2006
Anonymous said…
I just looked over at our Christmas tree with its lights off. A thought about an old friend drifted across my mind, something about how his family always had a Christmas tree in the window. I googled his name, Louis Merlin, and ended up here. I think you might be him, and I'm Suzanne. We were in grad school together a long time ago.

Last week my whole family went to Great Clips. My youngest daughter, 2 1/2, had never had her hair cut before, and my oldest, 4, had her first haircut there last year. It was the first time Warren had anyone else cut his hair since I've known him... his haircut turned out pretty good. They have special cards for "Baby's First Haircut" and tape a lock of hair to it. They also give out gold star stickers that say, "Great Clips". I think that sometimes they have balloons, but we didn't get any. I don't love any of our haircuts, but it is a lot easier to get everyone's hair brushed in the morning now that it is shorter. I keep wondering if I should avoid "Great Clips" too, but, for now, it works for us.

I want to wish you happy holidays and hope that you are doing well.
December 19, 2006
Louis Merlin said…
I knew someone named Suzanne in graduate school...!

I never imagined in a million years that this would be my most popular posting. Life is full of ironies...
December 27, 2006
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Idea of "White Supremacy Culture" is Offensive

Anyone with a cursory knowledge of history and cultures knows that all cultures have both oppressive and liberatory aspects. Historically, it was quite typical to conquer, kill, and enslave neighboring groups or nations - just ask the Aztecs or the Mongols. Historically, European and American culture are rife with oppressive aspects, but not particularly more so than any other culture. Part of the joy of being an Unitarian Universalist for me has been its openly syncretic approach to finding wisdom; that is, we seek great wisdom from all cultures, and at least historically have been able to borrow and build upon such wisdom without apology. In my own personal experience, I have gained wisdom from European, Asian, African, and Native American cultures, among others; as well as Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Pagan beliefs. To pursue truth and wisdom wherever you find it has historically been one of our great blessings. With new walls being erected about certain traditional bel...
Read more

Two Types of Community Conversations

When I think about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist and how that might change, I think about two different ways of having conversations. If the first way, we start from the principle of universal human equality and human dignity. We start from the approach that the search for truth is grounded in love. This is based upon our current Seven Principles. Based upon these principles, all voices will be given equal weight and an equal chance to be heard. And those listening will endeavor to listen charitably, with an ear to acknowledging and empathizing with what each speaker says. Under such conditions the growth of mutual understanding is possible. While agreement will not always be reached, we can build community through this process of recognizing each other, including recognizing our very real differences. In the second way, we start from the assumption that all verbal interactions should be seen through the lens of unequal power. People of color, women, and LGBTQ people hav...
Read more

Universalism and Color Translucency

 I believe in universalism. That is, I believe what connects us as human beings is more important than what divides us. The inherent worth and dignity of all persons. That all persons are entitled to dignity and respect. It's not a new belief. It's not an easy belief. Conceptually it's quite simple. And yet I don't think it needs revision. I don't think it needs an asterisk. I think universalism is a concept that can endure across time and across space. The love that I feel is not different than the love you feel. Nor is the pain or the suffering or the yearning. Nor is my flawed nature. My mortal nature. My limited nature. We are different in so many particulars, and yet we share so much in common as human beings. Put it another way. I think our common humanity is more important than our hyphenated humanity. We are different races, genders, sexualities, ages, and capabilities but none of this should divide us irreconcilably. It is possible to connect across these d...
Read more