Customer slaps Bangkok barber after trim turns grim (video)

A Thai man accused a barber in the Lat Phrao district of Bangkok of cutting his hair too short and slapped the barber on the head twice, even though the hair stylist bowed at his feet to issue an apology.

The Facebook page of non-profit organisation Saimai Survive shared a video of the customer in a light blue shirt shouting at two hairdressers, one male and one female, in a barber shop yesterday, August 26. The customer was heard complaining loudly.

“I told you to make it short but medium short. You shaved it like I’m going to be a monk. I usually get my haircut from a female hairdresser but could not see her. She is a lot better.”

The male barber explained that he did not cut much of his hair. He mentioned that the customer’s hair would grow back to the same length in just a month.

The customer suddenly slapped the barber on the head, so the female hairdresser had to intervene and apologise to the customer. The male barber then issued an apology and bowed down to the customer’s feet to show respect.

However, the customer did not accept his apology and continued to complain. He tried to attack the barber repeatedly but the female worker intervened each time.

The barber then stated that he had over seven years of experience and asked the customer about his knowledge of haircuts.

“Where did you graduate from?”

The question made the customer angrier, thinking the barber had insulted him. The customer attempted to attack the barber again until another customer intervened.

Saimai Survive did not clarify how the incident ended but many Thai netizens agreed that the customer’s actions were violent and unfair. Some netizens speculated that the customer raised a nonsensical issue just to avoid paying the service fee.

In a related report, a Russian man in Chon Buri physically assaulted a Thai barber and clipped off some of the barber’s hair after he could not get his desired haircut because he could not communicate in English and had to explain the hair design he wanted with hand gestures.

Another physical assault against a hairdresser occurred at a salon in Ayutthaya province at the beginning of this month when a young customer punched the hairdresser in her eye for an unfavourite haircut design his mother chose for him.