It serves the customers right
Jul 23, 2009
WE associate the hairstylists with spiteful gossip and explicit sex talk. But is that always the case or is there more to them than meets the eye? Ruth, 23, who works with Brooklyn Salon in Wandegeya is your typical suburban hairstylist.
By Anne Kirya
WE associate the hairstylists with spiteful gossip and explicit sex talk. But is that always the case or is there more to them than meets the eye? Ruth, 23, who works with Brooklyn Salon in Wandegeya is your typical suburban hairstylist.
She left her home town in Mbarara for Kampala to find work. Interestingly, it was not circumstances that compelled her to join this trade like we would imagine, it had been her dream to become a beautician, particularly a hairstylist.
“My people wanted me to do secretarial work, but I wanted this,†she asserts. Like her, most hairstylists come from afar, join the trade after falling out of school mainly in their teen, and master their trade through apprenticeship.
Ruth had to work under the tutelage of an established hairstylist for a year. Ruth says the constant quarrels among these hairstylists are often over petty issues like ‘stealing’ each other’s customers or borrowing rugs and combs and not returning them.
But, “the biggest cause of unrest here are freelance hairstylists who move from one salon to another in search of odd jobs,†Ruth says. “They play us against each other by spreading malicious gossip.â€
These, Ruth says, are the ones who gossip in the presence of customers, Ruth claims. Justine who works in the next salon claims those who engage in sex talk, the self appointed ssengas, are mainly the older women.
She claims there is a new breed of trained stylists who watch what they say in front of clients. That said, Justine says customers are not free of blame. She claims some customers despise them and look at them as a lesser breed of human beings because of their perceived low social standing.
“Those are the only ones we follow with stinging remarks. We can only be so nice. We are only human,†she confesses. But customers are the least of their worries.
Unscrupulous bosses exploit, paying them less than they deem worth. In addition, these salons often change hands and new bosses come with their own staff. That breeds freelance stylists, the biggest trouble causers. But things are not always grim.
On a good weekend, a hairstylist in Wandegeya can make sh100,000. And although they do not always get along, there is a spirit of camaraderie amongst them.
So when one gets a customer, it is not uncommon to invite a friend to give a hand so she can get sh2,000 hence the multiple hairstylists working on one customer at time that you often see, a good breeding ground for the gossip we have come to know them for.
Do customer relations with the stylists steer gossip?
Justine says customers are not free of blame, especially when it comes to gossip: “Funny as it sounds, whereas some customers just remain silent throughout this talk, others encourage it by either laughing at the fun or joining, especially when it is about sex.â€
Abdul, a salon attendant who is mainly responsible for the manicure and pedicure, says clients who are regulars at salons tend to get used to these stylists so much that they can even get them started on their own families. “The age group matters.
For instance, I cannot get involved in family gossip with women who are younger than me. What would I learn from them? But I agree some women in their age bracket engage them,†says Rebecca, an educated woman.
About being nasty to customers, she says they try their best but, “you know how touchy customers can be when they have paid good money for a service!†Justine says as if to silence my disagreement.
“If she wants a certain hairstyle and you advise accordingly, that becomes a problem. Some feel insulted,†she says. “Moreover it is the customers who want cheaper hairstyles who are the most difficult!â€
Additional reporting by Sebidde Kiryowa
WE associate the hairstylists with spiteful gossip and explicit sex talk. But is that always the case or is there more to them than meets the eye? Ruth, 23, who works with Brooklyn Salon in Wandegeya is your typical suburban hairstylist.
She left her home town in Mbarara for Kampala to find work. Interestingly, it was not circumstances that compelled her to join this trade like we would imagine, it had been her dream to become a beautician, particularly a hairstylist.
“My people wanted me to do secretarial work, but I wanted this,†she asserts. Like her, most hairstylists come from afar, join the trade after falling out of school mainly in their teen, and master their trade through apprenticeship.
Ruth had to work under the tutelage of an established hairstylist for a year. Ruth says the constant quarrels among these hairstylists are often over petty issues like ‘stealing’ each other’s customers or borrowing rugs and combs and not returning them.
But, “the biggest cause of unrest here are freelance hairstylists who move from one salon to another in search of odd jobs,†Ruth says. “They play us against each other by spreading malicious gossip.â€
These, Ruth says, are the ones who gossip in the presence of customers, Ruth claims. Justine who works in the next salon claims those who engage in sex talk, the self appointed ssengas, are mainly the older women.
She claims there is a new breed of trained stylists who watch what they say in front of clients. That said, Justine says customers are not free of blame. She claims some customers despise them and look at them as a lesser breed of human beings because of their perceived low social standing.
“Those are the only ones we follow with stinging remarks. We can only be so nice. We are only human,†she confesses. But customers are the least of their worries.
Unscrupulous bosses exploit, paying them less than they deem worth. In addition, these salons often change hands and new bosses come with their own staff. That breeds freelance stylists, the biggest trouble causers. But things are not always grim.
On a good weekend, a hairstylist in Wandegeya can make sh100,000. And although they do not always get along, there is a spirit of camaraderie amongst them.
So when one gets a customer, it is not uncommon to invite a friend to give a hand so she can get sh2,000 hence the multiple hairstylists working on one customer at time that you often see, a good breeding ground for the gossip we have come to know them for.
Do customer relations with the stylists steer gossip?
Justine says customers are not free of blame, especially when it comes to gossip: “Funny as it sounds, whereas some customers just remain silent throughout this talk, others encourage it by either laughing at the fun or joining, especially when it is about sex.â€
Abdul, a salon attendant who is mainly responsible for the manicure and pedicure, says clients who are regulars at salons tend to get used to these stylists so much that they can even get them started on their own families. “The age group matters.
For instance, I cannot get involved in family gossip with women who are younger than me. What would I learn from them? But I agree some women in their age bracket engage them,†says Rebecca, an educated woman.
About being nasty to customers, she says they try their best but, “you know how touchy customers can be when they have paid good money for a service!†Justine says as if to silence my disagreement.
“If she wants a certain hairstyle and you advise accordingly, that becomes a problem. Some feel insulted,†she says. “Moreover it is the customers who want cheaper hairstyles who are the most difficult!â€
Additional reporting by Sebidde Kiryowa