Self Serve Check In at Sport Clips

I went to my usual hair cut place the other day and found they had installed a self serve touch pad to check yourself in (instead of the sign-in clipboard). I thought, …hmmm. It took me a few seconds to figure it out, but I got it done, and then sat down. I noticed that my place in line was now posted on a video screen on the wall.  Later, as I was getting my hair cut, I listened as the lady cutting my hair talked about the “new system” and some of the negative comments coming from customers. She said “some people don’t like it because it’s different from what they’re used to”, and “others would rather be checked in by a real person”. She said it was “installed to prevent us from having to stop cutting hair and go to the counter every time someone comes in the door”.

After she was finished with me, I went back to the counter where I used the same system to check myself out and pay. It was fairly intuitive, but she helped step me through the process (guess I looked like I needed the help).  Later that day, I asked my 20 year old son (who got his hair cut at the same place a week earlier) if he noticed the difference in the check in/out process. He said “Yeah. It was pretty neat.” I asked if they helped him during check out and he said “No, but they were helping other people. …mostly older guys”. To which I reply, “I guess change is hard for us old guys”.

Two days later I found myself at the ICSC RECon event in Las Vegas talking with one of the reps at the Sport Clips booth. He said all of their 1600 locations would have the new check-in system by August 1, 2017. I told him about my experience and what my son said concerning the “old guys”. He laughed and said “yeah, change is hard for some at first, but I think folks will get used to it”. I agreed and told him I liked the system and that it's actually the same type of service my company can provide for any retailer.

So I pose this question – Is technology really any harder for us “non-millennial” folks, or is it really that we are just more resistant to change itself?