The problem
Some services earn far less per hour in the chair than others, and the till doesn't show it. A beard trim and line-up booked as a 30-minute slot at $16£12€14A$23C$23 earns $32£24€29A$46C$45 an hour, against $59£44€52A$84C$83 an hour for a $29£22€26A$42C$41 skin fade in the same 30 minutes. In a shop doing 40 beard trims a month, that gap is worth knowing about.
What the AI does
Export 3 months of appointments from your booking system with service, booked length and price, and delete client names and numbers. Upload the file to ChatGPT and ask for earnings per chair-hour by service, with a table and a chart. Its data analysis runs the sums in Python, so you can ask to see the formula. You decide whether to re-price, shorten or bundle the low earners. Full data analysis is on Go (about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) and above.
A worked example
A three-chair barbershop in Newcastle exports 3 months of bookings and finds beard trims earn the least per chair-hour. The owner raises them from $16£12€14A$23C$23 to $20£15€18A$29C$28 and keeps the 30-minute slot.
Before
Beard trims at $16£12€14A$23C$23 for 30 minutes, about 40 a month
After
Beard trims at $20£15€18A$29C$28 still about 40 a month: $160£120€143A$230C$226 a month more
What it's worth
About $160£120€143A$230C$226 a month in extra profit, against about $9£7€8A$13C$13 for ChatGPT Go. A $4£3€4A$6C$6 rise on 40 beard trims a month is $160£120€143A$230C$226 and because the work and product costs don't change, almost all of it is profit, as long as bookings hold.
How to set it up
- From your booking system's reports, export the last 3 months of appointments with service, booked length and price. Delete client names and phone numbers.
- In ChatGPT Go (€8, about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) or above, upload the file and ask: 'Work out earnings per chair-hour for each service. Show a table, a bar chart and the formula you used.'
- Work out two services by hand to check it used booked length, not the gap between bookings.
- Ask follow-ups such as 'Which services take the most chair time in total?' and 'What would beard trims earn at $20£15€18A$29C$28?'
- Change one price at a time and run the check again after 2 months.
What goes wrong
- Booking exports differ, and some leave out length or price. If a column is missing, it can't be worked out, so don't let it guess.
- Earnings per hour isn't everything. A cheap service that brings regulars back for full cuts may be worth keeping as it is.
- A price rise can cost bookings. Tell regulars before it happens and watch numbers for a month.
- Free data analysis is limited. On personal plans, turn off 'Improve the model for everyone' in Data Controls, and never upload client contact details.