As far as cheapskates go, I’ve got you all beat. I cut my own hair with a clipper. Free, except for the cost of electricity and depreciation on the $25 clipper.
As for the (probably long dead) OP, if you have long hair, why not experiment at a new, cheaper place? Just don’t get too much cut off. If the cut sucks, go to a better place and have them cut off a few more inches with better quality work.
Great Clips is fine if you always get the same simple haircut (one that described in one or two concise sentences). If you want a new look and/or tend to describe hairstyles with vague, elliptical terms, GC is probably not your best choice. My daughter claims that GC stylists are limited to thirteen minutes per client; I haven’t verified that, but I always seem to be in and out of there in under fifteen minutes. I use the online check-in and never have to wait more than a couple of minutes.
One thing I’ve noticed is that GC coupons and promotions seem to vary from one location to another. For a couple of years I lived in a very small town where the GC seemed to be struggling for customers, and they were always offering coupons and discounts (in fact, they would accept ANY coupon, GC or not, expired or not). I recently moved to a much larger city, and the always-busy GC in my neighborhood acts like coupons don’t exist.
Incidentally, GC now has all their client information stored on a central server. You can go to any GC location and they’ll already know how you usually get your hair done.
If you are then so am I 'cause I go to Great Clips all the time to get my hair cut. I quit going to my other hair cutter a few years ago because I wasn’t working and I could no longer understand paying what amounted to over $1 per minute for what I figured was a pretty straightforward haircut. There happens to be a Great Clips very close to the P & R I take my car to in the mornings so for me going there works out just fine.
They cut hair at Jiffy Lube now?!
Gives a whole new meaning to ‘A little dab’ll do ya’.
My eyebrows take longer than that!
We don’t have Great Clips but we’ve got a couple of their competitors in the area. I’ve gone whenever I’ve just needed a trim (“Follow the shape of the cut I originally got”) or whenever my hair’s gotten too long and I don’t have the patience to figure out what kind of style I want (“Please take off at least 3 inches”). I’ve always found the stylists competent. They might not execute complicated styles, but they’re very efficient.
Added bonus: The “GC Equivalent” closest to me has longstanding employees. I know one woman has been there for at least 10-15 years? The others maybe not so long, but they’ve all been there at least a couple of years.
My husband prefers them to an actual barber because of that efficiency.