My wife and I got haircuts today. We had been discussing the desperate need for haircuts for over a month, so we decided to walk into a salon closest to our restaurant.

The place had zero online reviews and had no customers inside. However, since we never liked to waste time and money on beauty maintenance, we decided to go in and take a chance.

To our surprise, the salon turned out to be the best we’ve found in the city. Here are a few reasons:

• The stylist was very attentive and washed our hair twice, both before and after the haircuts. In addition, she spent at least 30 minutes on each of us. We were grateful for this level of service. Affordable places don’t usually do this.
• She never asked us any personal questions. I’ve been to some cheap barber shops, and all the barbers always lectured me about “how to run a successful business.” As someone who simply wanted a haircut, I was relieved to not have to deal with unnecessary conversations.
• The prices were extremely reasonable, with men’s haircuts at 12,000 won and women’s at 14,000 won. The cheapest haircut I had was 10,000 won, but it had much worse service. 12,000 won for an excellent haircut is such a bargain.

After getting the best haircut of the year, my wife and I talked about how we relied on online reviews to assess the quality of a business. Reviews are often helpful, but could also be a barrier between me and hidden gems.

I’m so used to searching for others’ approvals before trying them on my own. Before watching a show on Netflix, I go on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Before walking into a coffee shop, I check reviews on Naver and Kakao. Whenever it’s time to try something new, I still act like a child so scared of being responsible for my choices.