Hair-brained phone scheme

The Diary finds the inane banter of most hairdressers more than a little irritating. But it seems that this tendency, like many others, sets it apart from the rest of the British population.

New research carried out into the personnel files of customer service outsourcing company Ventura shows that hairdressers make some of the best telephone-based customer service advisors.

So next time you ring a Ventura client, Barclaycard, Cellnet and The Co-operative Bank among them, to ask for a loan or complain about a bill, don’t be surprised if you’re asked “where are you going on your holiday?” or “would you like your roots done?”