Since the administration has not allowed salons to open during the ongoing lockdown, several barbers and salon owners revealed that they are getting many requests from people to visit their homes to give them a haircut. Apart from this, they also opined that such home visits may continue in the future too so that the customers can feel secure in their homes from COVID-19.
According to a local salon owner Rashid Khurshid, “The last two months were quite difficult due to complete lockdown. Now the government has provided some relaxation so our customers are approaching us to give them haircut at home. However, I am only visiting the customers in my area for now. My customers are also paying a few extra bucks for home visits. I have earned about Rs 2000 in last ten days which is enough to buy essential items during the restrictions in lockdown." However many barbers have refused the customers for home visits while some are calling them at their homes for haircuts.
"Maintaining social distance is very important in the current scenario. I receive many requests for home visits from customers but I decline them all. The situation is very critical so I do not want to risk the health of my family members. We have got free ration from fair price shops too, so food has not been a problem so far. My earnings are obviously zero for over two months but since I live in a joint family, we all somehow manage the other essential things including milk for kids and medicines for my parents among others," said Rakesh, a barber from Adhoiwala.
"We poor barbers also need money to feed our family. Therefore, instead of visiting customer's home, I call them to my home for the haircuts and grooming. I do not charge them anything extra," said a salon owner Babban. Some barbers also informed that a few salon owners are operating their shops before sunrise to make some earnings and to avoid the police too.
When some barbers and salon owners were asked about their work plan after the lockdown, they said that customers will come to their shops once they feel secure. To ensure this, the shops and instruments will be sanitised regularly along with the use of gloves and masks, said the salon owners. They said that visiting customer's homes for haircut and grooming can be a biggest part of the business in the next few months but it will be decided by the response of people after the lockdown.