Questions to Ask a Barber in an Interview
Questions for the shop owner or manager interviewing a barber for a chair, covering training and licence, how they run a consultation, hygiene between clients, the following they would bring, and the terms they want to work under.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Where are you cutting at the moment, and how did you end up there?
Why ask it
An easy opener that also tells you whether they are leaving or have already left, and whether the moves have been every few months or every few years. Frequent short stints are worth understanding rather than assuming the worst about.
Who taught you, and what do you still do their way?
Why ask it
Barbers who trained under someone can usually name a habit they inherited: how they section, how they hold the clipper, how they finish a neckline. A candidate with no answer here is often self-taught, which can be fine but changes what you will need to check.
Which licence do you hold, and when is it due for renewal?
Why ask it
Ask for the number and confirm it yourself rather than taking a date on trust. Expired or pending registrations are common and fixable, but they are your liability the moment the person picks up a razor in your shop.
Walk me through your consultation: what do you ask before the cape goes on?
Why ask it
This is the single best predictor of complaints. Strong answers include checking length with fingers rather than numbers, asking how they style it at home, and asking what went wrong last time. Weak answers jump straight to the clipper guard.
Which cuts do you do most, and which do you turn down?
Why ask it
You want honest limits, because a barber who declines work outside their range protects your reviews. Someone who claims to do everything equally well is either exceptional or has not been paying attention to their own results.
How comfortable are you with textured hair, and where did you learn it?
Why ask it
Training varies enormously on this, and a shop with a mixed clientele cannot afford a guess. Ask where they learned rather than whether they can, since the second question gets a yes from almost everyone.
Do you do beard work and razor shaves?
Why ask it
Razor work carries different licensing and different risk, so establish it separately from cutting. If they do offer shaves, ask what they do about a nick and how they handle a client with irritation or ingrown hairs.
What is your usual time on a cut, and what happens to that on a busy Saturday?
Why ask it
The two numbers together tell you about revenue and about corner-cutting. A barber whose time collapses from forty minutes to fifteen under pressure will produce your weekend complaints; one who never speeds up at all will run your books an hour behind by noon.
What is your routine with clippers and blades between clients?
Why ask it
You want a specific sequence, not an assurance: blades off, brushed, disinfectant, time in the solution, fresh linen, and what happens with a used razor. Vagueness here is the answer that should end an interview, whatever the portfolio looks like.
What do you do when a client sits up and says it is not what they wanted?
Why ask it
Listen for whether they fix it there and then, without defensiveness or a lecture about what was asked for. A barber who describes handing the mirror over and asking what specifically to change has done this successfully; one who describes explaining why the client is mistaken has not.
Tell me about a client relationship that went wrong.
Why ask it
Everyone has one, so a denial is the least reassuring answer available. What you are listening for is whether they take any part of it themselves, and whether the story ends with a repair or with a person they still resent.
How many clients do you see in a normal week, and how many would come with you?
Why ask it
Ask both numbers and expect the second to be smaller than the first, because location loses people. A candidate who claims their whole book will follow across town is either very well established or optimistic, and the difference matters to your forecast.
How do you handle your own bookings and no-shows?
Why ask it
Some barbers arrive with an app, a deposit habit and a waiting list; others keep it in their head. Neither is wrong, but you need to know whether their system will sit alongside the shop's or fight with it.
How do you fill a quiet Tuesday?
Why ask it
This separates people who wait for walk-ins from people who message a client due for a trim or post something that brings someone in. Their answer is a fair preview of what your midweek takings will look like.
Do you sell product, and how do you do it without it sounding like a pitch?
Why ask it
Retail is where a chair becomes properly profitable, and the good answer is always about the client's hair rather than the shelf. Someone who says they never recommend anything is leaving money behind, and someone who sells hard will cost you regulars.
Would you rather rent a chair or work on commission, and why?
Why ask it
The preference tells you how they think about risk and independence. Renters want autonomy over hours and pricing; commission barbers want a supplied client flow. Mismatch here is the most common reason a good hire lasts three months.
What days and hours do you want, and how do you feel about Saturdays?
Why ask it
Ask early because it can end the process kindly. Weekend and late-afternoon cover is what most shops actually need, and a candidate who wants weekday mornings is applying for a different job than the one you have open.
What kind of shop do you do your best work in?
Why ask it
Some people need music and conversation, some need a quiet room and their own playlist. Describe yours honestly afterwards, because a barber who dislikes your shop's noise level will be looking for another chair by spring.
Where do you want to be in three years?
Why ask it
A candidate planning their own shop is not a problem, provided you both know it. Say what you can support, whether that is teaching a junior, building a following, or eventually leaving well, and you avoid the resignation that arrives as a surprise.
If we offered you the chair today, what would you need from us in the first month?
Why ask it
The requests are the interview's most useful moment: a fixed schedule to advertise, help with online booking, a mirror moved, a particular clipper. Reasonable asks show planning, and an answer of nothing at all usually means they have not pictured working here.
Running a barber interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Watch them cut
Pay for a working interview
Two or three cuts on real clients tells you more than any answer on this list. Pay for the time, tell the clients a new barber is doing the cut with you present, and watch the consultation rather than the finish.
Look at the neckline and the blend, not the fade photo
Portfolios are curated and often lit carefully. In person, check the outline, the blend around the ear and whether the hair sits properly when it dries. That is what a returning client notices in a week.
Watch the station between clients
Whether they sweep, wipe down and change the neck strip without being asked is the truest answer to the hygiene question. Someone who has to be reminded on their trial day will need reminding every day.
Listen to how they talk to a stranger
Most of a barber's value is the twenty minutes of conversation, or comfortable quiet, that a client comes back for. Notice whether they read the person in the chair or talk at them regardless.
Check the things that can be checked
- Confirm the licence or registration number directly with the licensing body rather than from a photograph.
- Ask about insurance: who covers a razor injury or a chemical reaction in your shop, and whether they hold their own policy.
- Call the last shop, not just the one before it, and ask whether they would have them back.
- Ask whether they are under any non-compete or client-solicitation agreement from a previous shop.
- Look at their public booking page for cancellations, gaps and how they respond to a poor review.
Settle the terms before the chair is offered
Be explicit about the arrangement
Chair rent, commission split, employment status, who owns the client list, who supplies blades and towels, and what happens to bookings if they leave. Ambiguity here is what turns a departure into a dispute.
Agree the schedule in writing
Which days, which hours, how holiday is booked and how much notice is expected for a swap. Weekend cover in particular should be written down rather than assumed from the interview.
Say how you handle a complaint
Tell them your policy on a redo, a refund and a bad review before it happens. Barbers who know the rule handle unhappy clients far better than those improvising in front of an audience.
If you are the barber being interviewed
- Ask what walk-in traffic looks like by day, not just at the weekend.
- Ask exactly what chair rent covers: product, laundry, card fees, booking software, insurance.
- Ask how the shop's booking system works and whether your existing clients can find you in it.
- Ask how many barbers have come and gone from this chair in the last two years.
- Ask who owns the client data if you leave, and get the answer in writing.