A good barber listens to the life the haircut has to fit into.

Good service starts with a question about circumstances rather than about preferences. What somebody can maintain depends on their mornings, their work, whether they can lift their arms, how often they can come back, and none of that is visible in a picture on a phone. A result that looks right in the chair and is unmanageable by Thursday has failed. The skill lies in matching the work to the life it has to survive.

Whatever you are asked to provide this week, ask what the person’s ordinary week looks like first. If you are the one buying, say the constraints out loud rather than only the wish.