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Automations
Made for Diell's barbershop

Diell's barbershop · Barbershop and lounge ยท Taylor Street, Chicago

A barbershop where the phone answers itself and regulars come back on time.

Diell's shop is a high-end barbershop in an old bank building on Taylor Street: four chairs, a bar, and a lounge that hosts events after hours. Every barber's hands are busy all day, so I built the front desk that works without one.

Receptionist answers the call
Barber booked in Square
Thank-you text with the review link
Time for a cut text

The texts a customer gets after a cut

A plum velvet barber chair in an old bank lobby, with a phone, a calendar, scissors and review stars floating around it
1 hourafter they pay, the thank-you text goes out
Client
Diell's barbershop and lounge (Diell, owner)
Sector
Barbershop and lounge
Built
AI receptionist, customer texts, owner's phone panel
Status
Made for Diell's barbershop

The problem

Nobody can answer the phone with clippers in their hand.

A four-chair shop runs on the phone, and the phone rings mid-cut. Barbershops miss a big share of their calls, and a caller who hits voicemail books with the next shop on the map.

The rest slips too. Thank-you texts, review asks and "you're due for a cut" reminders only happen when someone remembers, and holiday messages go out from a personal phone, if they go out at all.

Diell wanted all of it handled, in his voice, without adding a single app for the barbers to learn.

What I built

One system, and Square stays the boss.

Everything runs through the Square account the shop already uses for payments, so bookings, customers and payments stay in one place and the barbers change nothing.

  1. 01A receptionist answers every callDay or night, in a warm British voice. She handles hours, prices and parking, and books the barber the caller asks for using his real openings in Square. The barber gets a text. Say "Diell" or press 0 and it rings his cell.
  2. 02The booking lands in SquareNo second calendar. Barbers are bookable in Square Appointments, so walk-ins, online bookings and phone bookings all sit in the same book.
  3. 03A thank-you they actually readAbout an hour after they pay at the terminal, the customer gets a text with their name, their barber and a Google review link. Everyone gets asked, which is Google's rule.
  4. 04"Time for a cut"Right before a customer is usually due back, a text offers their barber's open slots. They reply with a day and it's booked. It stops the moment they book on their own.
  5. 05Diell runs it from his phoneA private panel that works like an app: edit any message, switch holiday texts on or off, send a fight-night blast, and read every call summary.

The texts it sends

Diell's shop

About an hour after the cut

Yo Jordan, thanks for sitting with Marcus today. Hope the Miami trip is a movie. A Google review helps us a ton: review link
Want the same spot in three weeks? Book Marcus: link

Three weeks later

Jordan, it's been three weeks. Marcus has Thu 5pm or Sat 11am. Want one?
Thursday
Locked in. Thursday 5pm with Marcus.

What changed

What the shop gets.

Every call gets answered, including the ones at 11pm. Every customer gets thanked by name and asked for a review, which is what moves a new shop up the map. Regulars get nudged back on their own rhythm instead of whenever someone remembers.

Diell owns the words and the vibe. The system keeps it all going out on time.

Build notes

  • Square Bookings, Customers and Payments APIs, with webhooks on every payment
  • Voice receptionist with a British voice, booking into named barbers' real openings
  • Texts from the shop's own registered number
  • Review asks go to every customer, no filtering
  • Press 0 or say the owner's name to reach his cell
  • Owner's phone panel for messages, holidays and blasts

Scope and limits

There are no call or booking numbers on this page. It shows how the system works, not results from it.

Next caseProving a brand activation worked, without scrolling Instagram by hand. Have a job like this? Let's talk

Matt Smith, Chicago. matt@visibilitybuddy.com