With Booksy, I let my customers manage their own bookings

Meet Sina – Pin-Ups Barber Shop – the barber from the UK and a member of the Booksy family. Find out what he says about his profession and why he loves the Booksy app.

How and when did you get into barbering?

I’ve never been to college. I am self-taught. I got into barbering when I was 15. My friend started working in a barbershop and he was practising on my hair a couple of times. I got a Saturday job back then. I was just sweeping the floors and making teas and coffees. Then before I even knew I started being trained as a barber and started earning money. It was 12 years ago and today I’m still doing it.

What do you like the most about being a barber?

It’s literally the best job in the world. Well, it’s not a job if you love it, it’s more like a lifestyle. I go to work where I’m socialising with my friends and cutting their hair. But it takes a lot of time. As a barber you never stop, you're everywhere, in 200 houndred different places at once. I‘m always busy doing different things, learning new skills, being up to date with everything - that’s great in barbering. 

If you want to be a good barber you have to know your customers, be sociable and easy to communicate with. You just need to like it. I enjoy barbering, always have and probably always will.

Where do you take inspiration from? What's your favourite haircut?

I get inspiration from social media nowadays, mostly from Instagram. I like traditional, old school haircuts, I really like doing flat-tops.

You've been using Booksy for awhile now. How has the app impacted your business?

It’s a love-hate relationship actually. I love Booksy because I’m so busy and I hate Booksy because I’m so busy. I used to be against doing online bookings. I was answering phone calls or doing only walk-ins. It's different now. With Booksy, I let my customers manage their own bookings. It's very convenient - for them and for me as well. I literally couldn't run my barbershop without Booksy now.

Do your clients like Booksy as much as you do?

8 out of 10 clients love Booksy. The other two just need more time to get used to it. In our case, it wasn’t really difficult to convince our clients that they should dowload Booksy. All we had to do was to inform them. As soon as 2-3 people started using Booksy, the rest followed them. 

They had no choice really. The truth is that we’ve been very busy dealing with the Booksy clients so if you want to book your appointments with us, you need to use the app.  We’ve got bookings at 4 o’clock in the morning now. We open at 9am and we close at 6pm. Most people are busy at work that time. Thanks to Booksy they can book their appointments 24/7. That's what they love about Booksy.

What's your message to other barbers?

If they want to be busier and have more chairs in their shops, and expend their database, they have to start using Booksy. Seriously, it’s a no-brainer!