Recently, something happened to me that just sort me showed me what life would look like if there were no competitors out there and we only had one person for each tasks.
I had gotten up very early on Sunday morning with one thing on my mind, which was for me to get an haircut before going to church. Now my barber doesn't attend one of those churches who starts their programs very early in the morning so he does this thing where he opens his shop, work for a while and then close it to go prepare for church, sometimes he ends up not going.
But you see, I always make sure to call him on the phone before heading to his shop because I wouldn't want a situation where I get there and he's no where to be found. So I had done just that, I had called him and he had answered, and although his response was a little bit disappointing because he had asked me to come later in the day to get my haircut, we had both made an arrangement and had both agreed to it.
Well fast forward to later in the day, church was over now and everyone has gotten home and probably had eaten the famous Sunday rice by now. It was time for me to get my haircut so I had picked up my phone once more and dialed the barber's number, he didn't answer the phone until Tuesday morning and when he did, he had muttered an apology and asked me to come over to his shop by 3pm in the afternoon.
Not wanting to sound like I was upset or anything like that, I had said okay and ended the call. It eventually got to 3pm and at first I was just going to head over to his shop, but I decided that would be a stupid thing to do and picked up my phone to call him again which he didn't answer. But immediately the call ended, he sent me a WhatsApp message, telling me to wait a bit because he just got out of the shower.
Eventually, after about an hour, he had texted me, telling me he now was at the shop and I could start coming. Now just in case you're wondering how he makes any money if he's barely at his shop, well he has people who work for him at the shop and pay him, people whose skills is no where good as his.
Well, after I got to the shop, I had walked in and sat down, not wanting to say anything to him because I was upset but was still trying to be respectful for some reason. And after I got home from his shop, I began to talk to myself, saying that things like this wouldn't happen if only I was bold enough to go get another barber who would cut my hair. But you see, my problem is that I get scared when I go to a new barber because I don't want them messing my hair up, and that is why I tend to stay with one barber for years, till death do us part or they move away.
And I feel like this guy knows it and that is the reason why he keeps on playing with me this way because he knows that no matter what he does, I won't leave, almost like I'm a lady enduring an abusive marriage, one that just might end up being the end of me. This is definitely why having a strong competitor is a good thing because it helps keep people on their feet because they know the moment they mess up, there's someone waiting to snatch away all of their customers.