Ilisia Novotny wasn’t even supposed to work on Saturday, the day Floyd’s 99 barbershop was allowed to reopen after Denver’s stay-at-home order had shuttered it for nearly two months.
But she was itching to pick up a shift, and at the end of a busy day, she got a walk-in customer who had just moved to Denver from Chicago.
They talked about their beloved Chicago Cubs and how hard the past two months had been for hair stylists such as Novotny and her colleagues.
With a clean cut, the man looked back as he walked out of the barbershop.
“Just so you know,” he said. “It’s not a mistake.”
Novotny had no idea what he was talking about. But then the employees at the register rushed back to the cutting area.
The man had left her a $2,500 tip.
“I cried,” Novotny said. “I’m a single mother. It’s been rough the last few months not knowing what’s going to happen, not knowing when we might reopen so I could go back to work.”
The anonymous client not only left cash for Novotny, he handed $500 to Floyd’s receptionist and $1,000 to the general manager. Then he asked how many employees worked in the store, and handed the manager another $1,800 — $100 each for the store’s 18 employees.
All told, he gave $5,800.
For Novotny, a 32-year-old single mother, Saturday’s tip allowed her to pay June’s rent in advance. Money was tight during the two months away from work, and she had to work out deals with her landlord and utility company so she could keep the power on.
“My son was like, ‘If you don’t have a job, how are we gonna pay bills?’ ” she said.
Novotny said her clients stayed in touch over the past two months, sending her random Venmo payments as a show of support. Now that she’s back at the barbershop, her appointment schedule is packed through the end of the month, with shaggy Denverites begging for some professional cleanups.
Things are looking up.“Coming back and having clients, even people you don’t know, show so much love, it felt great,” Novotny said.
