Discussions of Religion and Politics Banned from Hair Salons in San Francisco?
It is a time honored tradition that one hair salon has sought to bring to an end. Discussions of politics and religion are common while sitting in the chair at your favorite hair salon and also while sitting on the chair at your favorite saloon. However, Olivier Dachkin Salons have decided that such discussions will no longer be permitted.
The word “salon” originates from the French and Italian and one definition on dictionary.com states it is: “An assembly of guests in such a room, especially an assembly, common during the 17th and 18th centuries, consisting of the leaders in society, art, politics, etc.”
According to a report out of Dachkin Salon’s home base in Brussels, Belgium, the company has instructed employees that discussions including religion and politics are prohibited. A spokesman for the company said,
“Politics only leads to discussions. If clients touch on the subject our hairdressers have the task of steering the conversation away from this topic as quickly as possible. It’s better to talk about the weather or hairdressing or the family.”
The company also has a salon in the United States located in San Francisco. The address listed on the company website shows the salon can be found at Westfield San Francisco Center 4th Floor, and the store is along Market Street. At the close of this report, no reply was received after attempting to contact the company spokesperson for a comment on how this restriction would be placed on the hairdressers at their U.S. salons.
The Olivier Dachkin salons are ranked as one of the best in Belgium and maintain over 90 locations with 800 employees. Now those 800 employees are being told that their freedom of speech ends at the front door of their place of employment. It remains to be seen if these new restrictions will hurt their reputation enough to turn away customers.
