Had No Idea What He Was Walk-In-ing Into

I want to get my hair cut in the next three days for a weekend wedding. My regular barber shop is a small mom-and-pop business just a five-minute walk from my house.

I walk there and learn — I CAN read the handwritten notice taped on the door — that the husband-and-wife team is on vacation and won’t be back for another week. Close by is a beauty salon. I want to get this task checked off of my wedding to-do list, so I walk there.

It is open. In the window is a large sign: “No Walk-Ins. By Appointment Only”. (Again, I CAN read signs.) Since the place is so close to my house, I decide to go in and make an appointment.

Inside, the place is empty except for a woman sitting in a salon chair and a man standing behind her, gently combing her hair. I quickly realize that I might have interrupted their “alone time together” when the woman in the chair, the stylist, sternly tells me:

Stylist: “No walk-ins. You need to make an appointment!”

Me: “Yes, I know… Can I make an appointment?”

She gets up out of the chair; she is not smiling. The man disappears into a back room.

Stylist: “You need to make an appointment first. But, since you are here, sit down.”

Me: “…”

Wanting to get this done, I sit down. As the stylist puts a protective cape around me, she says:

Stylist: “Next time, you need to make an appointment.”

Me: “…”

After ANOTHER reminder about making an appointment, we are almost done.

Stylist: “Would you like me to trim your eyebrows?”

Me: “Yes, please.”

After I pay my bill, she hands me her business card.

Stylist: “My name is [Stylist]. This is our work number. Next time, you need to call first and make an appointment.”

Me: “…” 

I tossed her card into the first trash bin I walked by. Not only was she repeatedly rude about the “No Walk-Ins” reminders, but she also charged me an extra $5 USD for the ten seconds it took her to trim my male eyebrows. (Pop always throws that service in for free! Like in the song ditty, “A Shave And A Haircut (And A Brow Trim)”.)