KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Having been shut down for three months, barbers and hair stylists threw open their doors to the public yesterday under the recovery movement control order (RMCO).
Despite being allowed to resume operations, for some outlets, “the new normal” has proven challenging, with some expecting lesser customers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a loss of revenue.
K Concept founder and director Kenji Ng told Malay Mail that after the first wave of customers seeking haircuts and treatments after months of going without, he predicts his outlet — based in Publika, Mont Kiara — would likely see a 40 per cent drop in clients.
“Right now, we are fully booked by appointment for the next two weeks. After this, I predict we will lose 40 per cent of our income. We can allow a maximum of four customers at one go and one of our hairdressers take about one hour to serve each customer.
“So, one day there will be around eight customers per stylists when before it used to be 10 to 15 customers per stylists a day.
“And under the government standard operating procedure (SOP), we cannot do treatments that take more than one hour per customer — so we cannot do perming, colouring, keratin treatment and any other services that goes beyond one hour.
“Those services are more expensive than a normal haircut, it makes up around 30 to 40 per cent of our revenue. On top of that, we also need to purchase more items on a monthly basis — personal protection equipment (PPE) and sanitisers,” Kenji said.
At the same time, the seasoned hair stylist also has to contend with a high rental, with his landlord expecting the full sum to be paid once his business was allowed to resume.
Kenji said he did receive some reprieve during the MCO, with his landlord sanctioning a 40 per cent discount for the first month and 20 per cent discount for the second and third months.
Looking at his current situation, Kenji said that if he is unable to sustain his business at his current location in the next two to three months, he may have to relocate his outlet.
“The cost of rental for this level is around RM13,000 to RM16,000. But if I shift to the floor above me, the price will drop by 40 per cent. If I can’t sustain here, I will just have to relocate but right now, I am still trying to negotiate with my landlord.
“I do hope that the government will make it a policy to intervene and speak to landlords in lowering their rates right now. It will be a win-win situation for both sides instead of the landlord losing a good tenant.
“A 30 per cent cut in our rental can go a long way to help us out,” said Kenji who has run his business there for the past four years.
K Concept has a team of four stylists and two assistants. With a loyal following, Kenji said that their regular customers have been encouraging him to find a cheaper place to rent after learning of his woes.
The professional hair salon owner’s situation and hope for a lower rental was shared by a traditional men’s barber located in Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas.
Kumar Rengasamy, who has operated Kedai Gunting Rambut Plaza Damas for the past 13 years, echoed Ng’s hope that the government can intervene when it comes to rental.
“Right now, we have a lot of customers because people have not cut their hair for three months. But people require a haircut only once a month. Before this pandemic, my team can serve three people at once, now we can only serve two people at once to ensure social distancing.
“If the government can help us cut down our rent by 30 per cent, we can make up for our losses there,” said Kumar, who was decked from head to toe in plastic PPE gear.
As he continued trimming his customer’s hair while entertaining questions from Malay Mail, sweat began streaming down his face while steam obfuscated his personal face shield.
Apparently, this was one of the challenges working in full PPE gear despite the cold blast emanating from the little shop’s air conditioning unit.
“Underneath all this gear, I’m soaked. I’m sweating. It can be hard for me to see with my face shield and feel my customer’s hair with my gloves,” said Kumar.
Both Kumar and Kenji have forked out over RM1,000 for PPEs, sanitisers and thermometre guns, with Ng expecting extra monthly expenditure of around RM300 to RM400 and Kumar opining he will need to fork out around RM1,000 a month for his safety gear.
However, both of them have passed the buck on to their customers, who seem to understand their situation and have agreed to pay the extra RM3 at K Concept, and RM4 and Kumar’s joint.
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Meanwhile, Topdown Theory branch manager Bryann Ng Boon Chye said on top of the existing SOP introduced by the government, the outlet also took its own initiative to disinfect their clients’ attire with a chlorine-based solution before having their hair cut.
Bryann also revealed that his outlet and another outlet in Publika would only resume business tomorrow as they have just obtained the approval from the International Trade and Industry today.
However, preparations including disinfection and sterilisation have been carried out yesterday in anticipation of their opening, Bryann added.
He said the outlet took great pride in maintaining a high standard of workplace hygiene as its clientele include VIPs and politicians.
When asked what were some of the inconveniences he faced, he said the use of latex gloves are among the forefront of issues.
“When you wear one of these, it is hard for you to feel the texture of the hair. And when you rub both against each other, they generate static and become adhesive. It’s worse when one’s hair is wet,” he said.
Bryann also said he was thankful that the government has allowed the sector to resume operations.
“Maybe some of the SOPs are a bit inconvenient but most of those listed have been in practice within our outlets before the MCO. These are just new norms we have to follow,” he said.
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Sri Petaling’s Femini Beauty Studio director hairdresser Nicole Ng said her outlet provides a curtained private area separated from the general area to service clients from high-risk groups, such as the elderly and children, by limiting their exposure to others.
On the one-hour limit per customer, Nicole said the outlet makes sure they do not stay more than 45 minutes, with the salon limiting haircut services to basic cuts and hair treatments.
For a start, she said the outlet is also offering basic haircuts for males at only RM28 for the first 20 appointments daily, excluding weekends, to kickstart the business after three months of inactivity.
“It is achievable. We try to get their hair cut between 15 to 30 minutes if possible,” she said, adding that there were three stylists and two assistants on duty daily.
Walking through the SOP, Nicole explained that all clients serviced are appointment-based only, with staff dressed in full Personal Protection Equipment including face shields, masks, disposable gloves and aprons.
On being able to return to work, Nicole said she felt good to be able to work again after three months being ‘out of work’.
“Even honeymoons aren’t that long,” she said in jest.
She also said how negotiations were also struck with the landlord in regards to the business’ financial sustainability, adding that it was normal for matters such as rental payment to be brought up.
“We did ask them to be reasonable since we were out of work for three months. Its normal that we will also have to incur additional expenditure cost,” she said.
