Experience 2 by Kevin: A good hair day courtesy Habib’s! (June 20, 2009)
Background
I had not managed to have a haircut during the last month of my summers at Gurgaon or my miniature vacation home in Mumbai. A free 1st weekend beckoned me at XL – and I jumped at the opportunity to visit Habib’s, Beldih Club, Jamshedpur as I always do – only this time, I thought I would try it a little earlier in the morning rather than the evening rush hour.
Prior Expectations
Since coming to Jamshedpur, I have visited Habib’s for a majority of the haircuts I have had. I find the service quality to be very good. At times, one has to wait and often one can make out just a little quickening of pace in the saloon experience because of the arrival of many waiting customers. But this time, I was in for a surprise.
Actual Experience
When I arrived, I saw that there was no one already in the saloon chair. The lady at the counter welcomed me with a beatific smile as always and motioned me to sit. Now, Habib’s has only 1 barber – an expert one at that. The gentleman set to soaping and washing my hair – and for the next 20 minutes I just closed my eyes and felt the rippling water fleetingly touch the ends of my hair and leave them just as quickly. The shape of the chair requires you to lie at a 135 degree angle that is pretty comfortable for a short nap – but in this case, I stayed awake – enjoying the effect of the cool stream on my hair.
At the end of the hair wash, the barber began his cutting – and the rhythmic sounds of scissors and hair (in whose epic battle there could only be one winner!) filled my ears, drowning out the sounds of the birds outside. Finally, at the end of it, the barber showed me the mirror – and on pointing out that I could do with a little more cutting on one side, even proceeded to do as I said. I enjoyed the total dedication and prompt response – as compared to past times, when the show of the mirror was more of a formality.
Analysis
In my past visits to Habib’s, I can say that thought the quality of the haircut was good, the customer experience as a whole could have been better. Long waiting lines and scant attention to customer feedback (with the mirror) mean that I often ended up having a proverbial bad day. I was once even turned away since the entire day’s slots were booked. Although, the saloon cannot be blamed for it, one must question the logic of having just 1 barber for a city as big as Jamshedpur – even if he be the Shakespeare of his trade.
SERVICE TRINITY MODEL
SERVQUAL ratings
| Dimension | Rating (out of 5) | Remarks |
| Tangibles | 4 | A saloon is never the tidiest of places, but this time, it was decent |
| Reliability | 5 | I knew for sure, the barber would not cut off my ears!! |
| Responsiveness | 5 | The barber responded well to my feedback at the very end |
| Assurance | 5 | He was confident and polite while speaking |
| Empathy | 5 | He asked me a couple of questions to better understand the hair cut I wanted |
N.B.: (1 = very poor, 5 = very good)
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