Barbershops: how do you keep the chairs full without answering the phone mid-cut?

A barber's job is the worst possible fit for a ringing phone. You are holding clippers near someone's ear and need both hands. Stopping to answer costs the client in your chair, and ignoring the ring may cost you the next one.

How many barbers work for themselves?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 75,800 barbers in 2025 and lists 80% of them as self-employed.¹ Most barbers are, in effect, running a small business and answering their own phone. There is rarely a front-desk person to hand calls to.

In Georgia, the "Other Services" industry, which includes barbershops, salons and auto repair, has 22,112 small employer firms holding 83.4% of the industry's employment, according to the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center.² Shops like yours are the norm here.

Why is the phone a problem mid-cut?

• You cannot answer without stopping the cut, or you let it ring.
• Ringing during a service makes the client in the chair feel second to the caller.
• Calls often arrive when you are busiest, such as Saturday morning or after work.
• A voicemail on a booking call is a poor fit, since the caller wants a time, not a callback.

Almost everyone has a phone to call from: Pew's 2026 survey found 91% of U.S. adults own a smartphone.³ If you do not answer, the next shop is one tap away.

What do new customers do after seeing your reviews?

Reviews bring people to your phone. BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 U.S. adults found that after reading good reviews, 31% visit the business, 20% contact it and 20% make an appointment.⁴ The call is where a good review turns into a client. If the phone rings out, the review did half its job.

What are your options for answering calls?

Let it ring and check voicemail between cuts. This costs nothing and loses some callers.

Send a text-back or online booking link. This helps callers who prefer a link and moves them off the phone. It does not help people who want to speak to someone.

Have someone answer in the shop's name and book for you. The caller reaches a person, hears real openings and leaves with an appointment. You see the booking on your calendar when you glance at it between clients.

What should the call cover?

For a barbershop, a good call covers the same things you would say yourself:

• Which barber the caller wants, or the first available.
• Which service: cut, fade, beard trim, kids' cut. Services take different lengths of time, so the booking has to respect that.
• A real open time on the calendar, not a promise to call back.
• Your prices, address, parking and walk-in policy.
• A reschedule or cancel, so a changed plan frees the chair for someone else.

How do you handle regulars versus new callers?

Regulars usually want their usual barber and their usual cut at the same time next week. New callers need prices and a sense of the shop. If your booking app already holds client history, the call should work with it rather than starting from scratch.

What do you do about no-shows and empty chairs?

An empty chair at 2 pm is lost income you cannot get back. Two habits help. Make rescheduling easy, so a conflict becomes a new booking rather than a no-show. And answer new bookings quickly, so open slots fill while the caller is still interested.

Where do you start?

• Call your own shop during a busy hour and listen to what happens.
• Check your phone for missed numbers from last Saturday.
• Decide what you want a call to end with: a booked slot, in almost every case.

B&G Solutions answers calls in your shop's name at any hour and books them into your calendar or booking app, so you can stay focused on the cut in front of you.

Common questions

Can I just use online booking instead of the phone?

Online booking helps people who like it, but some customers still call. Covering both paths keeps more chairs full.

How many barbers are self-employed?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists about 80% of barbers as self-employed, out of roughly 75,800 barbers in 2025.

Should I answer during a cut?

Usually not. It interrupts the service. Let the call be answered and booked for you, then check your calendar between clients.

What should a barbershop call end with?

A real appointment on the calendar with the right barber and service length, or a complete message if the caller wants something unusual.

Sources

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Barbers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists (Occupational Outlook Handbook) (2026)
2. University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, Small Business and Its Impact on Georgia (2026)
3. Pew Research Center, Americans' Use of Mobile Devices in 2026 (2026)
4. BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (2026)