Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop: A Man's Second Home

What is a "Tommy Gun"?
The Thompson submachine gun, also known as a Tommy gun, was developed in the United States during the Prohibition era between 1917 and 1920. Because of its large cartridge, accuracy, and high volume of automatic fire, the Tommy gun was very popular and was favoured by soldiers, police officers, criminals, and civilians.

You may be thinking, how does this relate to a barbershop? Certainly this hair destination does not have anything related to guns, but instead it uses the name recognized by many men, I presume, to capture a masculine nature that exudes what it means to be a man.


Environment

For many men, getting a haircut occurs on a routinely basis, usually once or twice a month. Tommy Gun's has built an environment where their regular customers feels at ease and relaxed from the moment they enter the door--the transition zone. In order to keep it cool and casual, this barbershop will only take walk-ins and do not take appointments. To sign in, you must enter your name and number into an iPad at the self check-in kiosk. You may then leave the shop until you are notified you are next in line via their text messaging system, or you may choose to stay in their waiting lounge where you are entertained with a large screen TV, iPads, a pinball machine, a hockey table, video games, or popular men's magazines. At the chair, there is a TV inside the mirror where you can sit and watch your favourite sports team play while you indulge in a nice hot shave or haircut. I think Tommy Gun's has a really good grasp of what kinda of men they would like to target, and does so effectively by building a laid-back environment that makes those customers feel welcome.

Segmentation

Tommy Gun's provides a space that appeal to men of all ages with a wide range of styles. There are different costs for children between the age 0-11 which they call the "Tommy Gun’s Original Soon

To Be Man Cut". Tommy Gun's also provides traditional services, such as hot towel shaves which are more enticing to older men. Other special services include mustache, goatee, and beard clean up, hair tattoo, brow wax, and shampoo and style without a cut. The experience and service offered at Tommy Gun's may also, in my opinion, appeal to a population with a larger disposable household income, as the pricing does cost above average for a haircut. Although the cost of a regular maintenance haircut may cost $35-$40 here at Tommy Gun's, there is value that the men are getting through the experience and service they receive. Men like to feel at ease, comfortable, and natural when it comes to making themselves look good. Tommy Gun's has developed this space by finding out the commonalities of all men and combining them into one mission: to making them feel at home.

Experience

Tommy Gun's offers a 5 star service to its clients. They make it known that each haircut includes a cold beverage, complimentary hair wash, condition and a scalp massage, TV remote to control the TV in your mirror, rinse and style, and an option to purchase after-service products. The seats are luxurious, red leather chairs with a comfortable foot rest. All the hair tools are stored in what looks like tool chests seen in many men's garages. From the moment you enter, until the time you leave, Tommy Gun's offers a hair service that really defines what being a man should feel like. Many hair salon are dominated by women today and men may shy away from entering a salon full of female clients. Tommy Gun's sets the bar for catering to and specializing in the men clientele and with each man who is converted to understanding Tommy Gun's concept, there is a great possibility he will be coming back for all his future hair needs.

I personally think this is a great concept and that it will set the standard for men's hair services in general. Many hair companies are solely focused on females because they are a large majority of their clientele, but that leaves a large open territory for the hair industry for men. This isn't your typical barbershop down your street. This is Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop.


Sources:
http://tommyguns.com/tg-experience/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun#Canada