Hi Tim! A Hairdo And A Merry Christmas!

Hi Tim,

I'm running out to the gym, but I'm glad that I got your e-mail before I headed out.  I'll probably be tuckered out when I get back home.

Wow!  That was a quick resolution to the alert that you posted earlier today.  Let me sum up for those who might not be on your e-mail list.

Apparently, an American Family Assocation staff member went to SmartStyle in a Walmart to get her hair done.  I didn't even know there were salons in Wal-mart, but I digress.  Anyway, your staff member was told by the stylist that the district manager told the employees to not use phrases like "Merry Christmas" or "God Bless You."  And when your organization called for follow-up, the corporate office said that employees were instructed to tell customers "Happy Holidays," so as not to offend non-Christian customers.

In your call to Take Action, you said, and I quote:

"SmartStyle employees are not cattle or robots. They are real people, with real feelings, who want to give a genuine, heartfelt greeting to their customers."

The images that immediately popped in my mind was a stylist mooing good-bye to a customer, or a stylist making R2D2 good-bye beeps.  LOL.  And "a genuine, heartfelt greeting" is a bit vague.  All I could think was a hearty "WHASSUP?!" when a customer enters the store, or a big "Come back again real soon now, ya' here?"  But I'm just being silly here.

As it turns out, just hours later, you let me know that a spokesperson for the owners of SmartStyle, the Regis Corporation, responded with this:

"Please know that there is not a corporate-wide policy at Regis Corporation regarding greetings during the many holiday seasons throughout the year, including Christmas. We encourage our stylists and staff to greet every guest with respect and courtesy, regardless of the season or time of year.  We are also sharing this throughout the company so everyone has the correct information."

It doesn't seem to me like much of a resolution, since I guess stylists can still say "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Kwanzaa," or even, "Happy Festivus" to the die-hard Seinfeld fans.

But you did say that no further action was needed in your e-mail.  I'm glad!  It was a long day at the office, and I'm just now headed off to the gym.  It's almost 9 o'clock!

Oh...one more thing.  Looks like the Regis Corporation also owns SuperCuts.  I went to one of those about 20 years ago, and got the worst haircut of my life.  A "Merry Christmas" wouldn't have made it better.  But a "God Bless You" might have.

Have a great night, Tim!

Yours in Christ,

Jason