TAMPA, Fla. — Salons and barbershops may be allowed to open back up, but they're likely going to be a little different.
With new requirements for cleaning and spacing out appointments, it could take a while for your favorite place to get back up to speed. For one barber, reopening feels like starting over.
Let's go back two months ago, 30-40 clients a day were heading B Snipped in downtown Tampa and Tempe Terrace for hair cuts, beard trims, manicures and pedicures. Then, in mid-March, COVID-19 hit and it was shut down.
Now, owner Winfred Woodger is slowly opening those doors back up and will only be able to serve less than half the customers he once did.
Eight weeks ago, he had seven people working for him. But now, it's just him working with a few others when they can.
A couple of employees will be juggling that and their new part-time jobs. All the other employees had to find other work to support their families, Woodger said.
Between that and all the new cleaning requirements, Woodger said he feels like he's having to start all over.
He said he's ready, but there are new fears.
"Everybody's scared. When are they going to call it again and say, 'Hey go back inside. We made a mistake.' So a lot of people are playing it safe. It's what we have to do, the ones that can come out and do want to come back and work, we have to be extremely safe."
Woodger wants to be as safe as possible so he's taking clients by appointment only and will do a thorough cleaning between each person. He invested in disposable barber capes and is looking at ceramic dividers between each barber. He'll also be providing masks to his clients if they don't have their own.
Woodger said it's expensive to add all the extra things they need to make people feel safe and stay safe themselves, especially when they don't have any revenue yet. But, he has a great positive attitude and is determined to build his shops back up to even better than they were before, but he knows it will take some time.
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