I had been toying with the idea of keeping long hair for quite some time, not for the first time in my life. As always, as the hair started growing wiry, I started to grow wary - and finally came to the acceptance stage that it just doesn't suit my gaunt frame.
So, the other day, I finally headed to Bistupur to get a hair-cut done. Hair-cutting has never been a luxury for me per se, and I have not shied away from experimenting with experiences as far-fetched as the "Italian" saloons of Kolkata -roadside pavement saloons, with only a brick (eent in Hindi) to sit upon, leading to its moniker.
However, back home, I had finally zeroed in upon a particular value-for-money saloon which charges a total of Rs. 17/- for a hair-cut plus shaving. Out there, I also had a fixed barber, who was well apprised of my needs, and did not bother me with the numerous queries which others always manage to come up with.
I still remember how difficult it had been in the 1st year to locate a saloon in Jamshedpur in the first place. Saloons out here religiously follow agglomeration, and once one of us had managed to find one, we had found four for ourselves, all clustered around each other. Among these, "Plaza" was the one which was recommended by one and all, and post the Pigeon saloon (kabootar) incident, I did not dare take a chance with the others! Since then therefore, Plaza has been my staple hair-cutting destination.
Coming to the experience itself, last Friday I found myself needing certain items from Bistupur as well as a friend also requiring a hair-cut - two prerequisites for visiting the saloon, which comes considerably lower in priority order. The place has not changed much in the past year. (Except for the barbers of course as I never seem to recall any of them from previous visits)
To describe the saloon, it is air-conditioned (one aspect that I love about the place and hence accord first-mention) with two floors of cramped-up seating arrangement. I guess the saloon has the capacity to seat 20 customers at one go, and is sufficiently staffed for the same. What I really admire about the management of the place is in their capacity planning. Every time I have visited Plaza, the saloon has been full to near capacity, and yet, till date I have never been made to wait - something that amazes me (Unless its sheer coincidence!)
One of the things that I particularly dislike about the place though is the very low ceiling in their efforts to accommodate two floors to the place - a cause for considerable discomfiture to the vertically challenged as me (I guess I have bumped my head on the ceiling on more than a couple of occasions already). However, I appreciate that there are no cheap Bollywood posters 'adorning' the walls, nor indiscernible music glaring from dilapidated old FM radios as we are wont to hear from the aam saloons of the country. In fact the space jam has ensured that there is no place for either to make their presence felt - and so we have a reasonably priced saloon which for a welcome change is non-"barbaric" in ambiance.
The moment we entered the saloon, my friend was led to a seat on the ground floor itself, while I was escorted to the first floor. The chairs are reasonably comfortable at this place, and the neck-cloth was also spotless white (real sources of reassurance). As expected, the ubiquitous initial question cropped up : "How do you want it to be?", to which I replied with my standard answer "Short, but not very short, keep it medium". (Even I do not know what that is supposed to mean, but that's the best problem description I can come up with)
The hair-cut experience was relatively peaceful, although I cannot say the same about the shaving. (However, I do not blame the service of the saloon for that) What affected me was the rather hygienic way in which they go about things, be it from using antiseptics, to changing of the razor blades without being asked to do so - to me these small details matter a lot. Once done with the cutting and shaving operations, my barber offered to render additional services - such as dyeing my hair, or doing a face massage and what not! (I guess the scourge of the recent surge in metro-sexuality) I, for one, belong to the category of customers looking for the very basic product from a saloon, with a certain penchant for cleanliness and hygiene and thereby replied to all his offers in the negative.
The cost of hair-cutting came to Rs 30/- with an additional Rs. 20/- for shaving. Reasonable, one must say, considering a place where you are charged Rs. 30/- by auto from XLRI to Bistupur.
However, the sting was at the tail. As I got up to take leave, I glanced at the mirror to set the remains of my hair ... and lo and behold ... what was I staring at? Well, my friends have described it (read me) in, should I say technicolor? Let me keep my suffering short and simple by saying that it was one of the worst hair-cuts since I obtained the ability to comprehend and reason. Period.
SERVICE RATINGS
a> Reliability - 1 (I guess the last paragraph of my account sums it up)
b> Assurance - 3 (The hygiene and cleanliness factors helped the scores)
c> Tangibles - 2 (Again described in detail in the passage)
d> Empathy - 3 (While the comfort level with the barber comes nowhere close to the one I enjoy with the one in Kolkata, he did make an effort, an example being our conversation about my grey(ing) scalp)
e>Responsive - 3
[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]
So, the other day, I finally headed to Bistupur to get a hair-cut done. Hair-cutting has never been a luxury for me per se, and I have not shied away from experimenting with experiences as far-fetched as the "Italian" saloons of Kolkata -roadside pavement saloons, with only a brick (eent in Hindi) to sit upon, leading to its moniker.
However, back home, I had finally zeroed in upon a particular value-for-money saloon which charges a total of Rs. 17/- for a hair-cut plus shaving. Out there, I also had a fixed barber, who was well apprised of my needs, and did not bother me with the numerous queries which others always manage to come up with.
I still remember how difficult it had been in the 1st year to locate a saloon in Jamshedpur in the first place. Saloons out here religiously follow agglomeration, and once one of us had managed to find one, we had found four for ourselves, all clustered around each other. Among these, "Plaza" was the one which was recommended by one and all, and post the Pigeon saloon (kabootar) incident, I did not dare take a chance with the others! Since then therefore, Plaza has been my staple hair-cutting destination.
Coming to the experience itself, last Friday I found myself needing certain items from Bistupur as well as a friend also requiring a hair-cut - two prerequisites for visiting the saloon, which comes considerably lower in priority order. The place has not changed much in the past year. (Except for the barbers of course as I never seem to recall any of them from previous visits)
To describe the saloon, it is air-conditioned (one aspect that I love about the place and hence accord first-mention) with two floors of cramped-up seating arrangement. I guess the saloon has the capacity to seat 20 customers at one go, and is sufficiently staffed for the same. What I really admire about the management of the place is in their capacity planning. Every time I have visited Plaza, the saloon has been full to near capacity, and yet, till date I have never been made to wait - something that amazes me (Unless its sheer coincidence!)
One of the things that I particularly dislike about the place though is the very low ceiling in their efforts to accommodate two floors to the place - a cause for considerable discomfiture to the vertically challenged as me (I guess I have bumped my head on the ceiling on more than a couple of occasions already). However, I appreciate that there are no cheap Bollywood posters 'adorning' the walls, nor indiscernible music glaring from dilapidated old FM radios as we are wont to hear from the aam saloons of the country. In fact the space jam has ensured that there is no place for either to make their presence felt - and so we have a reasonably priced saloon which for a welcome change is non-"barbaric" in ambiance.
The moment we entered the saloon, my friend was led to a seat on the ground floor itself, while I was escorted to the first floor. The chairs are reasonably comfortable at this place, and the neck-cloth was also spotless white (real sources of reassurance). As expected, the ubiquitous initial question cropped up : "How do you want it to be?", to which I replied with my standard answer "Short, but not very short, keep it medium". (Even I do not know what that is supposed to mean, but that's the best problem description I can come up with)
The hair-cut experience was relatively peaceful, although I cannot say the same about the shaving. (However, I do not blame the service of the saloon for that) What affected me was the rather hygienic way in which they go about things, be it from using antiseptics, to changing of the razor blades without being asked to do so - to me these small details matter a lot. Once done with the cutting and shaving operations, my barber offered to render additional services - such as dyeing my hair, or doing a face massage and what not! (I guess the scourge of the recent surge in metro-sexuality) I, for one, belong to the category of customers looking for the very basic product from a saloon, with a certain penchant for cleanliness and hygiene and thereby replied to all his offers in the negative.
The cost of hair-cutting came to Rs 30/- with an additional Rs. 20/- for shaving. Reasonable, one must say, considering a place where you are charged Rs. 30/- by auto from XLRI to Bistupur.
However, the sting was at the tail. As I got up to take leave, I glanced at the mirror to set the remains of my hair ... and lo and behold ... what was I staring at? Well, my friends have described it (read me) in, should I say technicolor? Let me keep my suffering short and simple by saying that it was one of the worst hair-cuts since I obtained the ability to comprehend and reason. Period.
SERVICE RATINGS
a> Reliability - 1 (I guess the last paragraph of my account sums it up)
b> Assurance - 3 (The hygiene and cleanliness factors helped the scores)
c> Tangibles - 2 (Again described in detail in the passage)
d> Empathy - 3 (While the comfort level with the barber comes nowhere close to the one I enjoy with the one in Kolkata, he did make an effort, an example being our conversation about my grey(ing) scalp)
e>Responsive - 3
[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]
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