Customers are becoming more used to having shopping, food and drink delivered to their doorstep but now a barber company is seeing a boom in home haircuts booked via an app and brought to the doorstep Deliveroo-style in a mobile barber’s shop.
Bournemouth company barbering company Grade 92, which already has two successful shops in the town, launched the service in a custom-converted van during lockdown. It was so popular a second went out on the road six months ago and now a third one in Wiltshire is up and running.
Partner Niall Coles, 26, works from the van, whose interior looks just like a traditional barber’s – complete with a salon-quality chair, bespoke lighting and even a refreshments fridge – and brings his services to people’s homes, offices, pubs and even a care home.
“People really like it because it is convenient,” said Mr Coles. “They don’t have to waste their evenings and weekends driving into town and trying to park, I can just pull up in their street or their place of work in their lunch break or after work.”
Customers book their visit via an app which asks for their location and type of haircut. It works out the barber’s travelling time and comes up with a suggested time slot, which can be amended, and a price.
“It’s becoming really popular with people living out in the villages where there isn’t a barber. The other day I was in the village of Broad Chalke near Salisbury and I did eight cuts,” said Mr Coles.
Using purpose-built van rather than someone’s kitchen or living room results in a better haircut, he said. “When you go to someone’s house you might not have the right lighting, you don’t have enough room and the chair is not always the correct height, which can make it difficult,” said Mr Coles. “The van gives you consistency because everything is set up perfectly.”
Although his customers are predominantly younger and prefer skin fades and beard trims, he regularly cuts older customers’ hair and the van has been to a care home. “It was quite heart-warming because a lot of the gentlemen living there don’t see many people outside,” he said. “It was lovely for them to come out and have a chat with different people. I’d love to do more of that.”
He has been to a wedding venue to cut the groom and his ushers’ hair as well as offices and is open to bookings for events, festivals or even markets.
Haircuts cost around £5 more than comparable trims in a regular salon. He said: “A few years ago you’d never dream that people would be happy to pay extra for a coffee and a sandwich to be delivered to their house rather than walk in and get it themselves but it’s all changing and this is just the next step.
“Our customers are really happy to pay extra for that little bit of convenience and I think that’s the way forward.”
Find out more by searching online or on Instagram for Grade 92.
