This idea hit me in the barbershop the other day. My barber is quite busy and he has a sign-in sheet that no one uses. So the three barbers have to remember who came in before who. Furthermore, they are forced to have the awkward conversation of asking would you like me to cut your hair or do you want someone else?<p>This is my idea: a mobile app that lets customers sign in and pick a specific barber or any. Then his/her name gets added to the list on the barber's phone to let the barber know who's next. This app would also have two important features. Customers could create appointments through the app (I currently have to awkwardly text my barber who sometimes doesn't write back). And I could have the user sign in with their phone number or their facebook name. Which would allow the barbershop owner to keep track of the 'churn rate' of specific customers. While giving him a way to contact customers regarding new specials or just reminding them to come get a cut.<p>Has anything been done in the tech sector for barbershops? Does this sound viable? I'll do customer development interviews if I think there's potential here.
Hair salon / barber specific CRM systems already exist. Every shop I've been to has a computer in front the same as any retail establishment. They put in the names of customers when they come in and ask if they are requesting anyone specific to cut their hair, and that goes in too.<p>At the very least, every chain hair cut place has such a system already because they use it to keep track of employee hours, clients per hour, revenue and tips paid by credit. The national chains even have membership cards and customer reward systems integrated into their POS systems.<p>Here's a list of 145 hair salon software systems: <a href="http://www.capterra.com/salon-software" rel="nofollow">http://www.capterra.com/salon-software</a><p>Many of them have iPhone/Android apps for both ends.<p>If your barber shop still hasn't tried anything but a sign-in sheet, maybe it's not a burning need for them.
The last three barbers I've gone too have all been over 60. Many of them pride themselves on being on being old fashioned, like having and old cash register. Perhaps not the case in SF, but certainly in middle America.