Scots hairdressers cutting out small talk by offering clients the option of “no chat” haircuts

A SCOTS hairdresser is cutting out the small talk with clients by offering silent haircuts. 
 
Stag, a salon and barber shop in Edinburgh’s city centre, is offering the “no questions asked” service in an attempt to give options to unchatty clients.
 
Clients can book the service online or over the phone and staff will only ask for details of the hairstyle they want before staying silent throughout.
 

After an Instagram poll in April, Stag founder Murray McRae, found overwhelming support for the idea from clients who would prefer to sit back and relax.

The 33-year-old said Scots have been thanking him for giving them the muted “Silent Service” option since it was launched earlier this month.

The salon has also been offering a “Barter Barber” service for years that allows clients the choice of making a trade for their haircut instead of paying with money. 
 
Speaking today, McRae said: “It was my wife Bridget’s idea. 

“She said she would love to not have to talk at the hairdressers and I thought ‘Why don’t we offer that as a service?’ 
 
“We ran an Instagram poll and saw an overwhelming support for it, so we started offering it post-lockdown. 
 “The initial reaction was a lot of customers thanking us. It’s something people have wanted but not always known how to ask for. 
 
“You can just close your eyes, get your haircut and escape the world. 
 

“Especially post-lockdown, we’ve found that clients are more anxious in social situations. 
 
“People tend to book it online as well because it takes the awkwardness away.
 
“We don’t address it on arrival because we already know it’s a silent booking.” 

The booking page on Stag’s website shows several options under their “Silent Services” section.

The service, which takes the same amount of time as chatty visits, states: “Please note this is a silent service which means your hairdresser will only ask you about your hair at the beginning of the cut, then you can just sit back and relax in peace and quiet – no chat!”
 
Stag’s Barter Barber experience originally started when Murray was in a long-distance relationship with Bridget, when she was living in Berlin. 
 
The idea led to experiences for the couple across the world, including unicycling lessons in Poland, skiing in Austria and wolf trekking in Norway.