Barbershop plans reopening despite ‘no guidance’
One of Sunderland’s oldest barbershops and hairdressers says it has already been inundated by customers booking appointments – but the team so far have had no guidance on how they must operate if restrictions are lifted as planned.
Scolli’sinChesterRoadisaccepting bookings by phone or via their website, based on the
Government’sannouncement that hairdressers could provisionally open on April 12. The date is not definite, although the industry has little option but to assume that its reopening will take place then.
Scolli’s have had to adapt their online booking system, to increase the length of time inwhichbookingscanbemade inadvancefromsixweeksto10.
The Government’s announcement came on February 22, seven weeks before the proposed reopening.
The shop will be doing everything possible to keep customers and staff safe andbookingsarealreadypouring in from shaggy-haired regulars.
The front of the shop is a traditional barbers, with a ladies’ hairdressers at the back. OwnerNaomiScollenis“more than ready” to return.
She said: “I’ve never been away from the phone. It will be a bit like the last reopening in July – all hands on deck.
“We should have four barbers working on four chairs; twoatthefrontoftheshop,two at the back. Usually it would be six,butwe’rekeepingeveryone two metres apart. We have the appointmentsystemsothere’s no queuing in the shop.
“But we’ve had no guidance fromtheGovernmentatall.All we can do is assume that nothinghaschangedfromlasttime.
“The date isn’t set in stone andwe’remakingpeopleaware of this. This is because of the Government’s ‘data not dates’ approach.”