Hot Towel Finish

A key component of the Supercuts marketing plan these days appears to be what they call the "hot towel finish."  It sounds like a Happy Ending, probably by design, but I think it's safe to assume it's something in the neighborhood of a hot towel to the neck and possible face.  I can't say for sure because, despite being a regular Supercuts patron, I have never received the hot towel finish.  And that's the thorn in my side at the moment.

It's not that I want the hot towel finish.  If offered, I'd probably turn it down.  What chaps my hide is that I see it advertised in their commercials all the time yet I don't see it implemented at the ground level, in my local Supercuts location.  Two months ago, I spied the steam oven in the corner.  It was powered up and presumably contained hot, moist towels.  Nobody touched it, not at the conclusion of my haircut nor any others during my visit.  Earlier this week, I returned for a much needed trim and as I waited in the sitting area, I noticed a giant, new poster in the window to the street, advertising in bold letters and a photo, "HOT TOWEL FINISH!"  I thought to myself, okay the corporate directive has finally trickled down.  When my name was called and I walked into the cutting area, I saw that each station's mirror had a smaller version of the same poster stuck in plain view.  Surely, the hot towels would be going like gangbusters on this day, right?

My haircut turned out lovely.  I left feeling like a newer, fresher me.  And yet...no hot, no towel, no hot towel finish.  Not for me nor anyone else.  Not on this day nor perhaps any day going forward.  This Supercuts location apparently offers only the empty prospect of the hot towel finish.  They're selling affordable yet stylish haircuts, broken promises, and shattered dreams.

I'll venture that if anyone had asked for the hot towel finish, they would have been gladly obliged.  As fun as it is to type and to say to oneself privately, who has the courage to verbally ask a stranger who's just had your follicle fate in their hands, "Hey there, how about a hot towel finish?"

Not me.