Vilnius residents who visited the hairdresser have yet to see such a picture: it is a clogged conveyor

Calls don’t go silent all day

David from Vilnius checked in with the hairdresser on Sunday, when the strict quarantine restrictions had not yet been announced. He could choose any day and time; there were many options. The man checked in at noon Monday.

“Due to area restrictions, only two hairdressers worked in the salon, although six could work. While I was being cut, there was no phone in the living room; people called and called to reserve a seat. However, there were no vacancies at noon on Monday, the hairdresser said that calls had not been muted since 11 a.m., when the salon opened, but the salon could no longer offer anything because all seats were taken.

He also admitted that the situation was similar during the quarantine in the spring, but this time the influx of people is much higher, because most of the customers had booked in advance just before Christmas, and realized that they would not be able to visit, They tried to change the reservation date. David says.

True, the man spent in the hairdresser as usual: about 45 minutes, the hairdresser did not try to serve as many people as possible.

Worse than a conveyor belt

Rokas from Vilnius, after learning of the new sentence on Sunday, immediately checked in with the hairdresser via the Treatwell app, because otherwise it would not be possible. Sunday, he said, was still full of vacancies.

“They didn’t cut me for two months, so I had to leave. The next day I called the hairdresser to see if he really accepted me. The administrators assured me that they could only dedicate up to half an hour instead of an hour,” he says.

There were no queues at the door, according to Rock, all the customers huddled inside, where the real chaos was boiling over.

“I have come and I cannot enter, because inside it is full of women, there are five women standing, one with a child and the place next to the administrator, about 5 m2. meter.

Hairdressers do not manage, they are late to receive clients, women queue, others, they have nothing to do, they choose shampoos, they do not bother to put a mask on their nose. I calculated that, in addition to the hairdressers, there were 12 clients in the hairdresser at the same time, although there were only five chairs, ”says the Vilnius resident.

Rock, as he claims, felt a state of mind that he would never feel before a vacation or a big wedding, as dissatisfied hairdressers try to serve as many clients as possible.

“We hardly spoke to the hairdresser who took me in because we got angry. She didn’t want to wash my head, but she washed it, I wanted to cut my hair one way, but I did it another way. To wash my head, I had to walk among people. I immediately asked him to give me a place away from everyone, “he says.

Cutting the rock took up to 20 minutes, although it generally takes twice as long. “It is worse than working on a conveyor, it is a clogged conveyor: customers are accepted and there is still a lot waiting in line, it is stuck,” he added.

According to Rock, the Žvėrynas-based hairdresser usually works until 8 p.m., but at night about half a dozen dogs passed by and the groomers were still luxurious.

I heard the conversation between the manager and the hairdressers

Simona from Vilnius received a call from her hairdresser even before the government’s resolution on Sunday. I had reserved a place with the hairdresser this Wednesday a few weeks ago.

“The first question for the administrator was if I would like to be transferred to Sunday. At first I said I really couldn’t. Then they informed me that they had knowledge that everything would be closed as of next week. I accepted because I thought maybe they were the only ones planning to close, ”says Simona. – The manager of the hairdresser did not help the phone and tells the hairdressers: everything is on pampersus and you don’t sit all day, you don’t go to the bathroom, you don’t eat from morning until midnight. “

After the visit on Sunday night, Simona remembers that there were an incredible number of people inside, with clients changing chairs at the hair salons. She herself spent a couple of hours in the salon because she had to dye her hair.

“Along with the other hairdresser, they cut maybe four men in those two hours, she hadn’t left her desk in two hours. One gets up, rinses a bit, sprays the disinfectant, and the other sits down. I hadn’t seen an image like this before, “admits Simona.

While he was sitting in the barber chair, a message from the Government appeared about the shops and hair salons that will be closed starting next week. From that moment on, the salon was flooded with calls from clients. True, the woman’s own hairdresser admitted that she was afraid of getting infected.

“The hairdresser himself tells me: here the rage crown, in those hairdressers it can only be infected and you can see how many of those people go here. In part he is right: the contact between the hairdresser and the client is close. There is a large influx of people, ”he says, adding that the hairdresser still took safety measures: the hairdressers worked with masks and gloves, and all the clients wore masks.

Hairdressers serve multiple clients at the same time

Marija Antanaitytė, director of beauty services platform Treatwell, cautions that many hair salons have been trying to accommodate as many people as possible in recent days, many have extended their working hours or teachers on vacation have returned. to work.

According to her, compared to last week, the number of orders on the platform has increased slightly these days, by 17 percent. According to the interlocutor, there is currently not a great demand for beauty services and the salons cannot accommodate many clients.

“At noon, several hundred orders are placed, usually several thousand a day. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that people check in on Tuesday, maybe even after the quarantine.

The numbers are not great as it is only a few days, the rooms do not have enough seats to accommodate everyone. A large proportion of people do not return to the classrooms because they cannot due to isolation, others are sick, they are afraid, and a third do not go because the classrooms no longer perform certain services. People spend a lot of time at home, so they don’t need many services, ”says M. Antanaitytė, adding that there are still department vacancies, but the choice is not very big.

According to her, the most basic services are currently provided: haircuts, coloring and manicures. Pedicure services are no longer available, as women generally want them before the holidays, and now they are nowhere to be found.

Among other things, the head of Treatwell says that in some beauty salons, hairdressers serve several clients at the same time, for example, they apply paint to one and wait while they cut another client at the same time.

“It depends on the size of the booth, how much it can accommodate customers and maintain safe distances. As far as I know, the salons strictly comply with the requirements, distances are respected: they accept clients at a specific time, they are not allowed to wait in the hall, sometimes they have to wait in queues outside, ”says M. Antanaitytė.

When asked if he had heard of the possible closure of hairdressers and beauty salons before the government’s resolution on Sunday, the interlocutor said that he had reacted only after it.

“We did not personally warn clients about the closure, we reacted only after the government’s decision, unless the salons themselves knew that would be the case. I have heard from some salons that it was unexpected for them, no government speeches have been heard that beauty salons will be included.

Even after the government resolution was announced, it was not very clearly communicated that beauty salons would not be allowed to work. Yesterday we received questions from the classroom about how we know that they will not be able to work. Not all the salons were aware of the upcoming closings and there was a lack of communication, “he says.