Today, we’re shining the spotlight on one of GoodWork’s barbers, Noel Nagal. With more than 11 years of practice under his belt, we were lucky enough to interview him about the lessons he has learned along the way.
Noel Nagal
Kuya Noel started cutting men’s hair in 2009. For a brief time in 2015, he also tried his hand in cutting women’s hair, but he decided to focus on developing his skills as a barber instead. He joined the GoodWork team in July 2020, when the hair services were launched on the app. He and several other skilled professionals became the pioneer barbers of GoodWork’s male haircut category: “Nung nag start yung hair services, kami ang kauna-unahang recruits.”
From the trendy Mid Skin Fade to the classic Slick Back, he is no stranger to the many technical terms of the industry. To quote him directly, “Kayang kaya naman lahat ng mga style. Kahit anong gupit kaya, basta lang may picture na ipapakita sa amin yung customer at alam ng customer kung ano yung gusto niya. May training talaga kami sa iba’t ibang uri ng gupit.”
His expertise isn’t the only thing that makes him stand out. In fact, he studied to become a computer technician years ago. He claims that there are surprising similarities between cutting hair and fixing computers: “Magkaconnect parin sila. Parang repairing lang rin, gumugupit ka para lalabas yung mga katangian na gusto mong makita. Kung sa pagiging computer technician, kable o kuryente mga ginugupit mo, malilipat mo naman yung natutunan mo sa pag-gupit ng buhok.”
He isn’t just passionate about his craft, he’s also passionate about providing high-quality service to his customers. We asked him what he enjoys the most about cutting and styling men’s hair, and he said that he takes great pride in the transformation of his clients after every haircut: “Natutuwa ako pag napapagwapo ko yung kliyente dahil napapasaya ko rin siya.” He also enjoys meeting people from different parts of the world. According to him, his work has enabled him to improve on his communication skills, especially when it comes to clients who don’t speak Tagalog: “Natutunan ko kung paano makipag-usap sa mga tao ng English dahil sa trabaho.”
Even when he’s proven his skills as a barber, he says that he still has much to learn. “Kahit matagal na kong barbero, hindi tumitigil ang pagkatuto.” To illustrate his point, he mentioned that he started his career in the typical Filipino barber shop where the haircuts he mostly did were Filipino staples like the 2×3 Barber’s Cut. But when he started working more formally with bigger barber shops later on, he had to familiarize himself with the international jargon for hair styles to adapt to a more culturally-diverse clientele.
With Kuya Noel’s expertise and hard work, GoodWork is able to offer convenient haircuts at home, without sacrificing quality. The services that we have in the app are only made possible by people like Noel Nagal, who pours his heart and soul into every haircut.
GoodWork.ph 