Raymond Chin
KUCHING: Hairdressers and barbers are gearing up to reopen this June 9, with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, following the greenlight given by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
Kuching Hairdressers Association (KHA) president Raymond Chin says its members, numbering to over 120, are ‘not worried about re-opening’ because they are ready with all the necessary precautions.
However, he also believes that it would take some time for businesses to bounce back after almost three months of closure during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, followed by the Conditional MCO (CMCO) period.
He says this is especially so when they are allowed to provide only haircuts for now.
Chin, who is founder of Ray’s Salon in Kuching and HCR Salon in Kota Kinabalu, employs 17 staff members and due to the MCO/CMCO, he is forced to lay off two trainees.
According to him, the SOPs include the requirement for customers to be checked for body temperature before entering the premises, as well as to register with and scan using the iPeople-Qmunity App to facilitate individual tracking should the need arise.
“Both customer and hairstylist must wear surgical masks at all times whenever they are inside the premises. The hairstylist must also wear disposable gloves and face shields when attending to any customer. Clean and disposable cutting cape or apron will also be put on every customer before hairdressing work starts,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
There are other measures such as ensuring that the seats, surrounding area and hair-cutting tools are disinfected every time after a customer leaves for the safe usage of the next customer.
“The number of customers will depend on the number of hairstylists at the premises. Social distancing will be practised with only 50 per cent of seating capacity allowed.
“When the hairdressing work is completed, which includes the collection of payment from the customer, the used gloves and cutting cape or apron must be disposed off,” he added.
Najib Majit
Najib Majit, a member of the soon-to-be-registered Sarawak Professional Barbers Association (SPBA), admitted to be ‘a little concerned’, but was otherwise confident that the SOPs would be adhered to by both the barbers and their customers.
“Everyone needs to play a role in complying with the SOPs.”
Najib, who is the founder of Han & Sons Barbershop, also spoke about the hard times affecting those in the industry.
“Most of them are daily-paid and they had to go on unpaid leave because the barbershops were not operating, while the owners had to bear the costs of rental and other expenses.
“This never happened before so the situation was difficult for us.
“Should the CMCO continue, I believe the barber industry could go under,” he said, adding that the business might resume with ‘new normal pricing’.
“When we’re back in operation, we need to start with a ‘new normal’ pricing to ensure that all costs could be covered for the sake of business continuity.
“We hope the public could understand the ‘new normal’ pricing,” he remarked.