Wolverines welcome as Easter Ross barber plays catch-up as coronavirus restrictions lifted
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
WHEN Easter Ross hairdresser Lisa Mounsey got the go-ahead to re-open with the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, there was perhaps a moment of doubt as to what the response would be.
The most recent lockdown lasted around 100 days – and that was on top of an even longer one last year.
The coronavirus crisis dealt a bitter blow to services such as hairdressing, prompting some interesting home-made cuts from customers left with little alternative option for months on end.
Any doubts about what was in store when hairdressers were allowed to re-open – at the beginning of this week – quickly dissipated as the requests for appointments at Ms Mounsey's Raw barber shop in Invergordon flooded in by phone and via social media.
"It has been manic," she said. "We are operating an appointment system now and following all the Covid-19 rules. We are fully booked until April 20.
"It is so reassuring that we still have a clientele willing to wait after so long in lockdown and with all that has happened. We have only been here for three years so you never know what will happen."
The most recent period of lockdown closure amounted to 100 days – and that was on top of last year's punishing period of closure which thrust so many businesses into deep uncertainty.
She admitted: "I have never owned a business before this so obviously it has been daunting. You've just got to get on with it."
She said the the three-week advance notice of intended re-opening dates had been a help. When the opening date was announced, "we got inundated".
She said: "We now have a cancellation list. After everything, it is surprising how many people think they can just walk in but we have used all sources of information we can including two social media pages."
The return to work has been welcome both from a business perspective and a social one too. "It's nice to catch up with people. For some of our senior clients, we might be the only people they speak to all day and it is nice to catch up with them.
"Some of the younger boys have been missing out on uni and they feel amazing getting a haircut – it is actually good for the mental health. They walk out feeling a lot better. It's nice to be able to give a little confidence like that."
She admitted the re-opening was "a bit like my first day at high school" but the atmosphere was upbeat.
"For me it's so nice that people are willing to wait – I really appreciate that."
She said she had seen her fair share of 'Wolverines' so far and some home-made cuts that resembled jigsaws.
But she is delighted to get the opportunity to work her magic on returning customers.
How has it been for you? How long were you willing to wait for a haircut – and what difference has it made to how you feel? Share your views here or drop us a line to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk
