Making the Cut

Pre-COVID-19 Sport Clips (foursquare)

Apart from the occasional Zoom meeting there has been no social pressure to look presentable. However, it had been four months since the last haircut, and San Mateo County barber shops could be shut down any day. All other Bay Area counties had been closed because they failed the Governor's criteria . Sure enough, our hair salons were ordered closed this morning until the infection rate subsides.

And so it was that last Tuesday, when the Sport Clips app signaled that there was a less-than-30-minute wait, I hied over to the San Mateo location two miles away. I was seated immediately. Though the large reservation screen was populated with names, the stylist said that many people are late, or worse don't show up.

After taking my temperature, Henry asked me to set my eyeglasses and cellphone on the table. He pointed to a new plastic apron and had me don it myself.

Henry and I were each masked throughout the 20-minute session. When he got to the area around the ears, I undid the loop and held the mask over the nose and mouth. When we were done, I walked over to the back room, unsnapped and shook off the apron, and deposited it into a hamper. Physical contact between me, Henry, and the equipment was minimized throughout. "Contactless" payment was made via a credit card machine and a sterilized stylus. Hand sanitizer was available throughout the facility.

My point is that I don't see how we can make much improvement over Sport Clips' procedures. Maybe outdoors in the sun would be added insurance, but I felt safe enough.

Here's hoping, forlornly, that authorities could trust the vast majority of businesses to devise safeguards and the vast majority of customers to judge whether they can stay or should leave.