4 ms·

I still don't see the value as a user. > 1. Your swipes are good anywhere. San Francisco or Indiana, you pay the same amount every month. The vast majority of

by buss 11y ago

I still don't see the value as a user. > 1. Your swipes are good anywhere. San Francisco or Indiana, you pay the same amount every month. The vast majority of my time is spent in one city; this is true for most people. Also my preferred barber is in my city, so if I were going to travel I would get the haircut before I left. > 2. Booking convenience. You'll always know when you're up next. My experience here is limited, since booking a haircut just consists of calling up my preferred place and seeing if they have an opening that day. I understand some people book haircuts weeks in advance, but I can't see those people using your service. If they're booking so far out, they probably have one person they will see regardless of wait and cost. > 3. Search. You'll always know where a shop is located whether at home or on travel Do you actually believe this? Yelp and Google maps gives me all of the information I would ever need. What will you provide that Yelp or Google don't? > 4. Digital payments. No cash This worked for AirBNB due to the awkwardness of paying someone that wasn't explicitly running a business. And for Uber because using a CC in a taxi sucks since I'm just trying to get out of the car. But this is really not a problem in a regular store where the totally normal, accepted, and painless way to pay is with cash or card. > If you're unsure of membership, there's also Pay-As-You-Go. This is exactly how haircuts work now. Where is your value? > Cancellations: Members are locked in as explained above. For Pay-As-You-Go, we will look into cancellation fees if the client booked an appointment and did not show up. This is just strictly worse than my current options. Who is your market? Is it the great-clips crowd? Or is it high-end haircuts? Why would either demographic use this?

PDunlop 11y ago
Welcome back! 1. Swipes. "The vast majority of my time is spent in one city; this is true for most people. Also my preferred barber is in my city, so if I were going to travel I would get the haircut before I left." > Fair enough. If you're not a traveler, or are religiously bound to one shop, the advantage of being able to use a swipe anywhere may not appeal to you. 2.Booking. "My experience here is limited, since booking a haircut just consists of calling up my preferred place and seeing if they have an opening that day. I understand some people book haircuts weeks in advance, but I can't see those people using your service. If they're booking so far out, they probably have one person they will see regardless of wait and cost." > Compared to tapping a few buttons in an app, calling is a pain, you must admit. The person answering the phone is likely busy. Whether or not they have a reliable way of jotting down and honoring the appointment is also a gamble if they don't use booking tools. Not waiting > waiting. Keeping quality level constant, lower cost > higher cost. 3. Search. "Do you actually believe this? Yelp and Google maps gives me all of the information I would ever need. What will you provide that Yelp or Google don't?" > The industry we're discussing consists mainly of mom and pop shops who do not have time to maintain a web presence in places that do not provide a reasonable guarantee of return. Google and Yelp offer discovery - and in most cases, discovery alone. When a consumer opens SHARPX, both consumer and shop know that not only can shops be found, but that they are motivated and empowered (through tools and money set aside) to take action right then and there. 4. Digital Payments. "This worked for AirBNB due to the awkwardness of paying someone that wasn't explicitly running a business. And for Uber because using a CC in a taxi sucks since I'm just trying to get out of the car. But this is really not a problem in a regular store where the totally normal, accepted, and painless way to pay is with cash or card." > Cash is not painless because you have to go out of your way to get it, carry it, and count it. Cards are less painless for consumers, but not all shops use card readers due to the fees associated with them. Pay-As-You-Go. "This is exactly how haircuts work now. Where is your value?" > Back to cashless payments, search, and booking. Cancellations. "This is just strictly worse than my current options." > If you book an appointment and pay ahead as a Pay-As-You-Go consumer, there's a reasonable expectation that you would show up. A small fee would hopefully discourage cancellations. The rule could be coded such that the fee only applies to same-day cancellations. Something for us to consider. "Who is your market? Is it the great-clips crowd? Or is it high-end haircuts? Why would either demographic use this?" > To start, the "Great Clips" crowd, or the mom and pop shops that operate on little web presence, walk-ins, and use no booking systems are our first niche. For clients, the advantages are those described above. For shops - 1. a captive, motivated, and empowered audience; 2. web tools to manage lines, payments, and web presence; 3. client retention with memberships. High end barbershops and salons will be their own niche. They will be a tougher nut to crack since they tend to have the tools and clientele in place. However, future updates are planned to motivate them in other ways.

by buss 11y ago

PDunlop 11y ago

Welcome back! 1. Swipes. "The vast majority of my time is spent in one city; this is true for most people. Also my preferred barber is in my city, so if I were going to travel I would get the haircut before I left." > Fair enough. If you're not a traveler, or are religiously bound to one shop, the advantage of being able to use a swipe anywhere may not appeal to you. 2.Booking. "My experience here is limited, since booking a haircut just consists of calling up my preferred place and seeing if they have an opening that day. I understand some people book haircuts weeks in advance, but I can't see those people using your service. If they're booking so far out, they probably have one person they will see regardless of wait and cost." > Compared to tapping a few buttons in an app, calling is a pain, you must admit. The person answering the phone is likely busy. Whether or not they have a reliable way of jotting down and honoring the appointment is also a gamble if they don't use booking tools. Not waiting > waiting. Keeping quality level constant, lower cost > higher cost. 3. Search. "Do you actually believe this? Yelp and Google maps gives me all of the information I would ever need. What will you provide that Yelp or Google don't?" > The industry we're discussing consists mainly of mom and pop shops who do not have time to maintain a web presence in places that do not provide a reasonable guarantee of return. Google and Yelp offer discovery - and in most cases, discovery alone. When a consumer opens SHARPX, both consumer and shop know that not only can shops be found, but that they are motivated and empowered (through tools and money set aside) to take action right then and there. 4. Digital Payments. "This worked for AirBNB due to the awkwardness of paying someone that wasn't explicitly running a business. And for Uber because using a CC in a taxi sucks since I'm just trying to get out of the car. But this is really not a problem in a regular store where the totally normal, accepted, and painless way to pay is with cash or card." > Cash is not painless because you have to go out of your way to get it, carry it, and count it. Cards are less painless for consumers, but not all shops use card readers due to the fees associated with them. Pay-As-You-Go. "This is exactly how haircuts work now. Where is your value?" > Back to cashless payments, search, and booking. Cancellations. "This is just strictly worse than my current options." > If you book an appointment and pay ahead as a Pay-As-You-Go consumer, there's a reasonable expectation that you would show up. A small fee would hopefully discourage cancellations. The rule could be coded such that the fee only applies to same-day cancellations. Something for us to consider. "Who is your market? Is it the great-clips crowd? Or is it high-end haircuts? Why would either demographic use this?" > To start, the "Great Clips" crowd, or the mom and pop shops that operate on little web presence, walk-ins, and use no booking systems are our first niche. For clients, the advantages are those described above. For shops - 1. a captive, motivated, and empowered audience; 2. web tools to manage lines, payments, and web presence; 3. client retention with memberships. High end barbershops and salons will be their own niche. They will be a tougher nut to crack since they tend to have the tools and clientele in place. However, future updates are planned to motivate them in other ways.