How should a barbershop prepare its loyalty program for the pre-Eid haircut rush?

Start preparing a week out, not the night before

The pre-Eid al-Fitr haircut rush compresses a normal week and a half of demand into a few very busy days, and a loyalty program that isn't ready ahead of time either breaks down under the volume or simply doesn't get used. Preparation means three things done in advance: staff access set up correctly, the campaign message drafted, and the scanning habit rehearsed at full speed.

Doing this the night before Eid is too late — by then the rush has already started, and any gaps in staff access or scanning discipline will already be costing you accurate stamp data during the busiest days of the year.

A campaign timing example

Schedule the main pre-Eid campaign about 5 to 7 days before the expected Eid date, timed for the morning so customers have several days to book before slots fill. A shorter last-call message follows one day before Eid, timed for early afternoon rather than evening, since evening slots for the last pre-Eid day are usually already gone by then.

Both should respect the shop's normal working hours (Eid rush week rarely shifts hours the way Ramadan does), so scheduling them for standard opening times is usually enough without any special hours update.

A message example for the season

"Eid rush is here — book this week before slots run out." Under 60 characters, works as the main campaign, and pairs well with a shorter follow-up: "Tomorrow's the last day before Eid — grab a slot now." Write the Arabic versions fresh rather than translating literally: "موسم العيد بدأ — احجز هذا الأسبوع قبل امتلاء المواعيد."

• Main campaign: "Eid rush is here — book this week before slots run out."
• Last-call: "Tomorrow's the last day before Eid — grab a slot now."
• Post-Eid thank-you: a short, separate message once the rush has passed

Staffing: every chair on Cashier access during the rush

The single biggest preparation step is staffing, not messaging. Give every chair barber Cashier access before the rush starts, not during it — Cashier can add or deduct stamps and points, which is exactly what's needed at speed. Waiting until the shop is already three deep in walk-ins to add a new hire's account is a preventable delay.

During the rush itself, assign the scan to whoever closes out each customer's ticket, consistently, so a stamp is never skipped just because the shop is at its busiest. Waya has no POS or till integration, so this scan is the only thing that records the visit — there's no automatic fallback if it's missed.

1. Add every chair barber as Cashier a week out

   Don't wait until the rush starts to set up staff accounts.

2. Schedule the main campaign 5–7 days ahead

   Give customers enough runway to book before slots fill up.

3. Rehearse the scan at full speed

   Time ten scans back to back before the rush, not for the first time during it.

4. Schedule a last-call message for the day before

   Keep it short and send it once — this isn't the moment for a second follow-up.

5. Plan a post-Eid thank-you

   Draft it in advance so it's ready to send once the rush passes.

Quiet-hours note

Eid rush week doesn't typically require the same working-hours overhaul Ramadan does, since most barbershops keep close to normal hours in the days right before Eid (sometimes extending closing time slightly). Still, check your hours are accurate before scheduling the main campaign — a shop that quietly extended hours for the rush but never updated the setting risks a message queuing for a slot that's actually still open.

What to skip during rush week

Skip anything that adds friction — don't introduce a new reward threshold change during the rush itself; save experiments for a quieter week. And don't stack more than the three messages above in the same period; a customer who's already decided to come in for Eid doesn't need repeated reminders.