‘You know you’ve got to just get on with it’

The Barbershop, which has branches in Sudbury and Long Melford, has made a number of changes so it can operate safely now hairdressers have been allowed to reopen Picture: The Barbershop (Image: Archant)

The Barbershop, which has branches in Long Melford, Sudbury and King Street, reopened its doors last weekend – with both customers and staff raving at the new changes it has had to implement.

Managing director Debbie Edgson said: “We actually closed down on the Saturday night before Mother’s Day back in March. We only thought it would be for a couple of weeks.”

But with lockdown lasting longer than perhaps anyone had anticipated, Debbie had already begun to plan for when she could reopen.

“We knew that when any rules came out, everyone would be ordering PPE, so we ordered things like Perspex screens and aprons back in April, arriving just in time for us to reopen.”

Customers socially-distanced and waiting patiently to be called in for their time slot Picture: The Barbershop (Image: Archant)

Safety and hygiene measures that The Barbershop has implemented across its branches include Perspex screens, a ‘one in, one out’ policy, hand sanitiser throughout the shop, disposable polythene aprons for the customers and wipeable ones for the staff.

“Our staff have all got full-face visors on as well, and our customers are also required to have masks on. As they come to the queue, we take their temperature and invite them in just as another customer leaves,” Debbie said.

“Our customers say they are so impressed with what we have put in place though, and that they feel very safe. One of them even jokingly said: ‘I thought you were my doctor, not my barber’, so we’ve had fun with it.

“The staff feel safe as well, which is just as important. They have been wonderful coping with having to wear PPE all day - the visors especially take some getting used to. But they’re all pleased with what’s been put into place.”

Perspex screens seperating customers are just one of the many ways that The Barbershop is ensuring its customers are kept safe Picture: The Barbershop (Image: Archant)

The Barbershop has been in business for over a decade, and prides itself on its competitive prices.

“If we’ve got to carry on safely like this until what looks to be this side of Christmas, we’ve had to adjust our costs accordingly.”

Having been reopened for over a week now, Debbie recalled how busy her first day was.

“We knew what would happen, so I said to the girls that I think we should open earlier on the Saturday. They were all told they didn’t have to work if they didn’t want to, but they were all eager to get back to work anyway.

Both staff and customers are required to wear a range of PPE - including disposable aprons, masks and visors Picture: The Barbershop (Image: Archant)

“I got there that morning at 7:30am to set up, but my first customer said he’d been waiting there since half 6!”

With a whole host of customers queuing outside the shop, Debbie and her staff are happy to be back behind their barbering chairs.

“We all love cutting hair, and you’ve got to enjoy what you do, especially in our job as it would show if you didn’t. What’s going on now is the new way, and you know you’ve got to just get on with it.”