Barber “Brass” Lavoie said a customer’s tech skills led to their creation of a scheduling and bookkeeping platform, specifically for barbers, that saved his business during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Owner of Port City Barbers in Portsmouth, Lavoie said his client, Scott Forte, came up with the idea and developed the “progressive web application” he’s been beta-testing for two years.
Lavoie said Forte — pilot,
real estate agent, developer and former City Council candidate — told
him his barbering expertise was key.
Barber
‘Brass’ Lavoie and his client Scott Forte developed a webbased app for
barbers that books appointments, manages money and tracks finances.
The downtown barber said when Forte first pitched the idea, he told him, “I’m old school; I
have my paper book and I’m good.” He said he has sat in his barbershop
for 40 hours a week in case of drop-ins, and didn’t want to risk losing a
customer by leaving to run an errand. He said he had five to seven
no-shows a week, “and all that time and money was starting to add up.”
After resisting Forte’s
pitches for a high-tech solution for two years, Lavoie said, he agreed
to collaborate and they developed Barber Calendar. Customers book
through Port City Barber’s website, pay in advance and get appointment
reminders.
“We’re
not trying to get rich, just provide barbers with a reasonably priced
tool for barbers to make their lives a little easier,” Forte says in a
YouTube promotion for Barber Calendar.
— ELIZABETH DINAN/ SEACOAST ONLINE
