Some heroes wear badges, drive ambulances, or make rousing speeches at podiums. Franz Jacob carries scissors and cuts hair.
The Canadian barber was recently hailed as a hero after a photo of him cutting a 6-year-old autistic boy’s hair went viral online.
Fauve Lafreniére posted the photo on social media because she was so touched by how much care and effort Jacob took when cutting her son Wyatt’s hair.
“I’m just following what the clients want,” Jacob told CTV News. “It’s normal for me to go the extra mile for my client. He just decided to go on the floor, so I followed him,”
Jacob, whose old-fashioned barber shop is located in Quebec, says he has several autistic customers but Wyatt is his youngest.
“I understood that with Wyatt I have to follow him around the salon with my tools to finish the cut,” Jacob told CBC News. “I lock the front door. It has to stay quiet.”
Jacob normally spends an hour or more with his younger customers but says that’s something they are happy to do at the Authentischen Barbier.
“It’s all part of customer service,” he explains.
And it’s pretty effective because kids, especially clients with autism, love coming to his shop to get a haircut. They get to eat candy, listen to music, and look at all of the cool decor.
“I think I’m easy-going with them,” Jacob tells CTV News. “When those kids come here, they always stay quiet and they don’t scream and there’s no tears.”
Lafrenière says Jacob makes getting a haircut for her son a breeze and calls him “an everyday hero.”
“He takes care of everything, and I don’t even get involved. It takes a load off my shoulders,” she told CBC News. ”Usually, hairdressers sort of panicked when they saw Wyatt arrive, so it was really exceptional to meet Mr. Jacob. He welcomes him like his best friend. To see that he accepts these differences is just fantastic.”
Lafrenière’s Facebook post ended up going viral on social media with thousands of likes and shares.
”Maybe it will open people’s eyes that there are other ways to approach differences,” she says.
But Jacob doesn’t see himself as a hero.
“When I read that this morning, I cried,” he told CTV News. “I don’t see myself like that, but I’m just doing my best all the time here for my community.”
But he is totally underselling himself, Jacob also cuts the hair of those who are terminally ill and getting their last haircuts before they pass on.
“When you shave someone who is probably going to die within 48 hours … it’s indescribable,” Jacob tells CBC News. ”Everyone is crying, it’s really something. I’m really proud to be doing all this.”
So, maybe “hero” isn’t quite right. We think “angel” is a more of a fitting title for him.
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