Ever noticed how differently you feel about the people in front of you in a queue and the treatment you’d like to receive?
I know it’s wrong, but sitting in the barber’s shop today, I was quite keen for the barber to get through the two customers in front of me as quickly as possible but I certainly didn’t want him to do a rush job on my hair. Of course it’s been a while since anyone has had to take too much time over my hair anyway. There’s less of it every week.
Something very interesting happened in that barber’s shop today. The sole operator finished the first of the two guys ahead of me and then got started on the next. It was only towards the end of the second haircut that the first bloke wandered back in and handed the barber some money before heading off again. I figured he was a friend of the barber and was settling his account.
Ding ding. The alarm bells started to ring. I looked towards the cash register and sure enough, no card facilities visible, and I had no cash on me whatsoever. Well, actually, I had eighty cents in twenty cent pieces but that would have bought me roughly about thirty eight seconds in the barber’s chair. I got up and said, “Excuse me. Do you take cards here?” I guess I already knew the answer and I was ready to dash out to find a teller machine. “No … ” said the barber, ” … we only take cash but you can get some money after your haircut.”
I’d never set foot inside that barber shop before and the barber wouldn’t know me if he tripped over me, yet he was prepared to cut my hair and let me walk out of his shop without seeing any return. He was trusting a complete stranger and I suppose the guy who came back with money earlier was in the same boat. I wonder how many people this young guy trusts each day to head out after their haircut and return with some cash.
I’m sure you know that I quickly visited the local teller machine after the barber had finished snipping and headed back with my payment. I was never tempted to do anything else.
How incredibly refreshing. It felt good to be trusted. Trust isn’t something that too many people are offering these days.
Can you remember a time when you surprised by trust?
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