The Barber Shop

This week I got my first professional haircut in 13 years.

The haircut was great.

The interesting part happened when it was time to leave.

To pay, the barber pulled out his phone.

To rebook, I had to remember to do it later.

To leave a review, I'd need to find the business again.

When I got home, I realized I couldn't even remember the shop's name.

None of these were major problems.

But together they created friction.

The haircut wasn't the constraint.

The handoff was.

The service was complete, but there was no standardized process guiding the customer toward the next action.

That's something I've started noticing more often:

Many businesses don't lose customers because they provide poor service.

They lose momentum because they create unnecessary friction after delivering value.

The lesson isn't "every barber needs a QR code."

The lesson is:

Customers should never have to guess what happens next.

Reduce friction.
Increase follow-through.

The constraint is rarely where most people are looking.