Where Style Meets Community

     As you enter the joint beauty and barber shop, the smell of hair products hits your nose at full force and has no regrets. Inside the small trailer, the shop's brown walls hold many mirrors and shelves, as well as sentimental photos. At one end, towels and books are waiting to be purchased, and at the other, dryers and shelves of products are waiting to be used. Upon entrance to the shop, clients receive a warm hello from the owners, Lloyd and Gloria. They are easily recognizable with their familiar attire of a simple t-shirt, jeans and glasses, and their similar body builds, with balding grey and white hair, respectively. At the same time, they are met with the sound of Country or Rock and Roll from local radio stations. As the only local beauty and barber shop around, Lloyd and Gloria foster a positive environment, where customers feel valued and comfortable.  

   As the interviews and observation begin, I start to learn a lot about the history and who Gloria and Lloyd are as people. The business wasn't what everyone knew it to be for many years. One thing that not many people know was that Gloria worked under two different owners of other shops in a nearby town until she decided to open her own business. She made this decision in the early 1970's after the birth of her first son. She decided to put the shop right beside her house because it was easy for her to get to the shop and be able to work conveniently, while also navigating having a young child. When the shop first opened, it was only a beauty shop, but eventually, Gloria realized how much more money could be made if she offered services for men as well, as there were no local barbers as well. To make it possible to offer these extra services, she convinced her husband to join her in running the shop as well. He got all the certificates that he need with ease as he had some prior haircutting experience as he did it as kid for some extra money. Some of the services that were started back when men's services were added were haircuts, beard and mustache grooming, and eyebrow shaving. Once he started to provide those services, those services were the exact reason her business started to flourish, and the number of clients increased. Over time, they gained many returning clients and formed a strong reputation in the area. A loyal customer of Gloria and Lloyd's named Pat said "I was one of the very first customers that Gloria did when she opened up her own shop, I met her at one of the old places that she used to work at, and after three appointments with Gloria, I told her that she had the most potential that I have seen to open her own place and once I heard that she was opening her own shop, I was thrilled. Gloria didn't tell me to do this, but I made sure that everyone and their mother knew because I was so confident in her work. And I have seen the ups and downs of this place and I'm happy to see how far this place has come." This really shows how much things have changed, and those changes were a good thing for the most part. 

   

When sitting down for a haircut done by Gloria, you can easily see her passion and love for doing hair shine through in conversations. "What really got me into doing hair was the fact that I really didn't have a clue with what I wanted to do after high school. The main click for me was one day I was doing my homework, and my mom was reading the newspaper, and she told me about a new beauty school that was opening up 15 minutes away from me and right then and there I knew that's what I wanted to do." Gloria explained excitedly. She continued by saying, "Growing up, I always had an eye for fashion and what the latest trends were. I also knew that trying to make money, especially in fashion and clothing would be really hard to do but once my mom read that ad to me, I knew that's what I wanted to. I was able to use my love for fashion and still make stellar money." That love and admiration for the industry can be shown with every single client that not only Gloria does, but Lloyd does as well. The dedication and commitment that both of them have for running this business truly shows with every single customer. They focus on clearly communicating to make sure that they can execute every client's vision in the best possible way. 

     Gloria and Lloyd pride take pride in making their shop feel like a place of comfort and warmth. They also try to make the service feel less like a chore, but more like an opportunity to relax and be pampered. Out of respect to the people that were involved, specific dialogue will not be included, but what was said is very personal to the customer and instead of judging or making the person feel worse, they talked about the problem. Gloria and Lloyd helped the customer find the root of the problem and gave a fantastic solution. After the customer had gone on their way home, Lloyd said, "That is very common, and it happens more than you think. Alot of people don't have the people needed to say stuff like that to without getting judged or made fun of. When I started helping out Gloria in the shop, I invited people to talk about things that may not have been said to anyone else, it took time but now that it's been happening for a very long time, I know that the customers feel very comfortable talking to us about things." Gloria then added, "What is really nice is that there's a lot of trust between us and the customers and as they talk about what's going on, they sometimes forget they are here to get their hair done and, in the end, that's one of our goals in this shop." Having that as one of their core values is something that really sets them apart from chain shops such as Supercuts who have billions of dollars in revenue and where you don't get to form a meaningful relationship with your beautician or barber. Additionally, another value that they hold very closely is that they are always trying to improve themselves not only as business owners but, people as well. There were a few instances that really help showcase this idea. 

    "Would you have handled that any differently?" asked Gloria curiously.

    Lloyd responded respectfully, "There would be one way that I think that it could have been handled better, but even though we have talked about things like that with customers, it's still really hard to be perfect since every situation is so different." 

    "Yea, I think I know what you're going to say, and I am still trying to fix that habit." Gloria replies. 

Hearing that conversation really showed who Gloria and Lloyd are as people, and it put a smile on my face knowing that they are actively trying to improve and continue to be better people by reflecting on interactions all the time. It's clear to me that they want their customers to be comfortable when they're in their shop. The core value shows who they are as people and that's something that a lot of people can learn from. 

Though Gloria and Lloyd are starting to get older, their customer base has aged with them, having several clients for many years. They wouldn't trade the relationships they have made through the shop for the world. They make the perfect team and truly love being able to not only be a barber and beautician together, but more importantly a husband and wife. "It truly feels rewarding being able to help people feel comfortable with who they want to be and their own unique fashion." Gloria explains happily. "I truly encourage anyone with interest to do it; it takes some time to work your way up and become established but knowing you're making a small difference each time is something that money can't explain."