I’m not particularly fussy when it comes to haircuts. Growing up, the four brothers would line up and my mom would do her magic with the electric snippers once a month.

As an adult in the United States, I’ve always been a Supercuts kind of guy. Do it quick, get it over, and pay as little as possible.

But I’ve always enjoyed the experience of getting a haircut overseas. Somehow, the barber shop or hair salon seemed like an interesting window on local culture.

I used to visit Panama regularly, and remember the barbershop near my hotel. The barber immediately would throw a Hustler magazine in my lap and hand me a cold beer. For Panamanians, that was the way to enjoy one’s tonsorial experience. You can’t fight it.

In Colombia, where I later lived, an entire family staffed the hair salon. The wife did clients’ nails while the sons and the father cut hair. There were lower middle-class but they carried themselves with distinction and elegant courtesy. In addition to cutting my hair, they insisted on taking trimmers to my eyebrows, razor to my nape and long thin scissors to my nose hairs as well.

Maybe I’ve seen Scarface too many times. I’m not that hirsute. I always cringed in that Colombian hair salon when the barber would take those long scissors toward my nose, fearing I was about to become victim of something unpleasant.

Anyway, I’ve just gotten my haircut in Beijing this afternoon, and after four years here I never cease to marvel at the experience. The hair salon is one place where service is always first rate in China. The owners are private business people striving to do well.

First off, the client is invariably served tea or coffee upon arrival. A jacket is placed in a locker, and the client handed a key. Next, one doesn’t get just a garden-variety shampoo. One gets a shampoo and a head massage involving strong and relaxing finger pressure. The one today was completely invigorating. At times, they also massage the neck and shoulders.

They don’t just take the shears to the head, either. The cutting is slow and precise, all done with scissors. At times, when I’m in a hurry, it’s been exasperatingly slow. But other times, it’s a pleasure to see them take so much care with their work.

Most Chinese can’t afford such treatment, which is probably equivalent to $7 or $8. Some even go to humble sidewalk barbers. Maybe I’ll work up my courage and go there myself. Stay posted.