"Didn't Know How to Make a Reservation" - Elderly Person Rejected by Hair Salons and Feeling Discouraged Receives Outpouring of Sympathy

A story about a hairdresser who showed kindness to an elderly man rejected by several hair salons because he didn’t know how to make a reservation is gaining attention.

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On the 5th, a post titled "An elderly man who was rejected and intimidated after visiting a hair salon without a reservation" spread widely on multiple online communities after being posted on social media the day before.

A, who runs a hair salon, began, "A few days ago, while giving a perm to a customer, an elderly man was hesitating outside the door without even coming in." When A went out, the elderly man apologized, saying, "I didn’t make a reservation, so I guess I can’t get my hair done? I’m sorry."

Seeing the elderly man trembling from the cold and looking intimidated, A said, "Please come in first and warm your hands." After hearing the full story, it turned out the elderly man had already been rejected by several hair salons for not having a reservation.

A said, "I know these days everyone uses a reservation system, but he kept apologizing, saying he didn’t know how to make a reservation and was sorry. I wondered if it was something to apologize for," adding, "Sometimes people want to get their hair done immediately, or their schedule is uncertain, so it’s awkward to make a reservation in advance. That’s why I tell customers that my salon is not 100% reservation-based."

He continued, "I gave him a neat perm, and he said, ‘I’m sorry for coming to a place like this as an elderly person.’ After everything was done, he said he was very happy," he added.

A said, "It was a day full of many thoughts," and shared, "What might be an easy rejection for us can feel very significant to elderly people, and what might be a simple kindness for us can mean even more to them," expressing a hope that "the world becomes a little kinder."

The post recorded over 350,000 views in the thread and was shared across various online communities, becoming a major topic. Netizens who read the story shared similar experiences with sympathy, saying things like, "My mother is also in her 70s and was rejected by several neighborhood hair salons, so she takes the bus to an old neighborhood she moved from over 10 years ago to get her hair done," and "My mother is like this these days. She worries a lot every time she goes to the hair salon, but even if the seats are empty and the staff are resting while looking at their phones, they turn her away if she doesn’t have a reservation," expressing their sadness.

Other netizens responded, "We will all get old and have a hard time keeping up with the times," "Think about when you were a baby; elderly people also need young people to help them," "It’s even sadder to be rejected in an empty store," and "They could at least guide them to available reservation times," among other comments.