Salon Interview Paper

Upon entering Carol Tanner Beauty Salon in Watsontown, PA, the potent aroma of chemicals in the hair products attacks the nose. A small white Bichon dog, Duke, joyfully greets you. After receiving an abundant amount of love and attention from all the clients, he goes and relaxes in his little dog bed (see figure 1).

Figure 1
Two beauticians, mother and daughter, styling or cutting hair while the other clients patiently await their turn in the compact salon. "I always end up playing musical chairs when I come to get my hair done. I love when Carol sings to us as we switch chairs." says Miriam, a weekly client. Customers move from seat to seat due to the fact that there are only two styling chairs, two dryer chairs, and one shampoo chair.

The

Carol started doing hair her senior year of high school. Her very unique salon is connected to her home. She has owned her own salon for the past 43 years in two different locations, both of which were attached to her home at the time. Most of Carol's customers are elderly women who come to the salon weekly and have been with her for over 25 year. Miriam, an elderly lady with snow white hair, has been a client for about 40

She recalls one incident in particular. "Many years ago, I was standing on my white anti-fatigue mat coloring Kim's hair. Kim is a regular for me at the salon, and that day she had brought in her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, and her 6-year-old son, Ryan. The kids were impatiently waiting for their mom to be done and went off to the bathroom alone. We didn't think much of it until they were in there for way longer than should have been. When they came back, Ryan had a new haircut. His new haircut was not given by me but of course by his sister. Kim was not thrilled about this new haircut! I found it pretty amusing and told her 'Kim, look on the bright side you are already here and it's an easy fix. He will just have a buzz cut for a few