Is it awkward to ask a guy right after his cut?

Say thanks at the chair and let him pay. The text goes out when he is back in his car, still looking at the mirror, so it reads as a friendly follow-up instead of a pitch at the register.

Most of my clients are not big on writing. What then?

Ask for two sentences, not a review. A short note about the problem the cut solved is worth more than a paragraph, and a client who would never write an essay will usually manage that.

Can I ask clients who only book through an app?

Yes, and those are good ones to ask, since you reach them with a message and not in person. Send it a day or two after the appointment, while the haircut still looks fresh to them.

What if a client's quote mentions another barber in the shop?

Leave it in if it is kind. A line praising a colleague tells a reader the whole shop is good, and the colleague will want to hear it anyway.

barbers

Reviews for barbers

Get seen by someone else's regular.

Barbering is a habit, not a purchase. People pick one barber and stay for years, so the way in is to be seen by somebody else's regular.

Right below is the text I would send a client, ready to copy.

Start freeNo card needed. Cancel whenever.

A text you can send

The text I would send after a good job

As the client stands up from the chair, or in the parking lot after a fade he liked.

Hey Marcus, it's Dre at Corner Cut Barbershop. Glad the crown finally behaved today. Could you write a couple of sentences about what you used to deal with at other shops and how this one went? Guys who've been burned by a bad cut look for exactly that. Takes a minute, no account needed: [your link]

Swap in your own names. The link comes from your dashboard.

Barber review examples

The kind of thing barbers collect with Exalted. Each one is invented and labelled as an example.

Example

Been going four years. He remembers how I like it without asking and it takes twenty minutes. I have moved twice and still drive across town.

Sam I. · Regular

Example

I have a cowlick at the crown that every other barber fought with clippers. Dre looked at it for ten seconds, left it a little longer on top, and it has stayed flat for the first time since high school.

Marcus T. · Regular, every three weeks

Example

I took my son in for his first real haircut and he would not sit still. Luis let him hold the spray bottle and talked about video games the whole time. We were out in twenty minutes and nobody cried.

Pete G. · Dad of a six-year-old

Example

I show up without an appointment on Saturdays and the wait has never run past what the sign by the door said. The beard line he cut for my brother's wedding photos still looks sharp a week later.

Andre W. · Walk-in client

Men rarely write long reviews of a haircut, so the quotes that work are short and name the thing that was fixed: a cowlick, a squirmy kid, a wedding photo. A reader with the same problem recognizes it right away, which a line like "best cuts in town" never does.

How it works

1
Share one link
You get a single link. Send it by text or email to a client whose work went well.
2
They write it, in a minute
No account and no app to download. They rate you and write a couple of lines.
3
You approve what appears
Nothing is public until you say so. Approve the good ones and they appear on your website automatically.

When to ask

On the third or fourth visit, once they are a regular rather than a trial.

The single biggest reason barbers have no testimonials is that nobody asks while the work is still fresh, not that clients are unwilling.

Questions that get a real answer

“Please leave a review” produces “great service”, which persuades nobody. Ask something specific instead:

How did you find us?
What do we get right that others did not?
How long have you been coming?

Or an email

For a regular of a year or more whom you only reach through the booking app.

Subject: A favor after a year of cuts

Hi Pete,

Your son has been in every five weeks since that first squirmy haircut, and he now picks the style himself. I think about that first day whenever a nervous kid walks in.

Would you write a few lines about how that first visit went? Parents who are putting off the first barber trip read those more closely than anything else on our page.

You can send it here, and there is nothing to sign up for: [your link]

Thanks, Luis

Swap in your own names and the details of the job. The link comes from your dashboard.

Where people check a barber first

Google Maps
"Barber near me open late" is the search that fills the chairs. Men scan the rating, then the newest quotes for a mention of their hair type or a fade done well.
Instagram
Photos of fades and beard work get saved and sent to friends. The comments under a cut, where a client says who did it, are the endorsement that moves a new guy to book.
A friend with a good haircut
"Who cuts your hair?" is the most common way a barber gets a new client. The person asking then looks you up, so what they find has to back up what they heard.
Booking apps
Squire, Booksy and similar apps show ratings next to each barber's name, and a new client often picks by the number before reading a word.
Your own website
A father deciding where to take a first-timer reads the page slowly. A quote from another parent, on a site you control, answers the question he has not asked yet.

Questions barbers ask

Is it awkward to ask a guy right after his cut?: Say thanks at the chair and let him pay. The text goes out when he is back in his car, still looking at the mirror, so it reads as a friendly follow-up instead of a pitch at the register.
Most of my clients are not big on writing. What then?: Ask for two sentences, not a review. A short note about the problem the cut solved is worth more than a paragraph, and a client who would never write an essay will usually manage that.
Can I ask clients who only book through an app?: Yes, and those are good ones to ask, since you reach them with a message and not in person. Send it a day or two after the appointment, while the haircut still looks fresh to them.
What if a client's quote mentions another barber in the shop?: Leave it in if it is kind. A line praising a colleague tells a reader the whole shop is good, and the colleague will want to hear it anyway.

Every testimonial Exalted publishes is written by a real person and approved by the business owner.

Your reputation, as a ladder

Each approved testimonial moves you up a tier, so you have a reason to keep asking. Visitors see the tier and know how established you are.

Friendly1+ approved

Honored5+ approved

Revered15+ approved

Exalted30+ approved

Pricing

Starter is $9 a month or $85 a year. Pro is $19 a month or $180 a year. Both are free until your fifth testimonial, and neither asks for a card to begin.

See what is in each plan

Worth reading before you ask

More on the blog. If you ask for Google reviews too, the free Google review link generator and the review request templates need no account. If you want a client quote as a picture to post, I made a free testimonial image maker.

Start collecting this week

Set up a link in about five minutes and send it to the last client who thanked you.

Start free