Lessons Learned During a Pandemic

One of the things that rings true during the times we've all recently been through, is that probably in no other time in recent memory has the care for one another, and the care for the self proved to be more important. We all learned rather quickly how important our friends and family are to us – and this was very clearly illustrated in how life was when enjoying the people, places and activities (all heretofore assumed to exist at our free enjoyment in perpetuity) were abruptly denied.

To be honest, I'm not much of a social media person. In fact, it wasn't until Paul and I started UNO Shave Co. that I even created a social media account save for MySpace many, many years ago. At his urging, he said it would be good to keep an eye on marketing trends, our competition and also to see what our friends were doing. Reluctantly, I signed up for Instagram. I can't now say, particularly coming out of the fog of Covid, that I regretted that decision. People were able to share the ways in which they were enjoying their lives and what activities they were engaging in despite circumstances, and even add a little humor to the situation we were thrust into, globally. Now, does some part of me still think many aspects of social media are the “deb'bil?” Maybe. But, it's hard to deny it was one piece of the puzzle that probably prevented a lot of people's depression, loneliness and a host of other problems that come with being isolated. Nevertheless, these problems still occurred, but I conjecture they'd have been greatly exacerbated without the way to connect on this level.

On the subject of the “deb'bil,” I also noticed that, despite a lot of personal suffering and unemployment, a lot of small and large companies suffered as well. Some took it in stride; some got their hands slapped for jamming it into the cookie jar; some folded. Of all things learned, the character and mettle of people and companies were tested. True colors, as it were... were exposed.

On the subject of shaving, and perhaps social media, I learned a lot about what our razor company competitors were doing through the advertisements I was served daily. Obviously, I personally am going to get served ads for razors. Most social-savvy people would guess that. And I found there are a lot of unique and interesting razors other folks are making. Now, most of these are a direct derivation of the safety razor, which I think target a more gadget-seeking consumer than what UNO is. But, I was also served ads by Gillette. And here's what I saw...

During a roaring economy, and disposable incomes relatively high, Gillette had developed a $200 heated razor which became ready for full ramp-up retail, essentially during the pandemic. Now, I'm sure neither their product development team, nor their shareholders could have imagined such a circumstance. But then something truly nefarious happened. No doubt due to lack of the realized vs. projected sales; Gillette began advertising financing terms for this razor. That's correct. Payment plans... for a razor. With a 15.25% APR for a 12 month term. Wow.

Just above I mentioned that the mettle and true colors of people and companies were exposed pretty well during the pandemic. Your neighbor Bob mowed his lawn in a hazmat suit. People rolled around in their cars, alone, wearing a face shield. Jim, ya that IT guy from work... always has the funniest jokes... roots for the Mets... loaded up his car with gallons of rubbing alcohol, sacks of rice and a few pallets of toilet paper and nobody's heard from him since. And, of course, companies like Gillette showed you their true colors as well. And quite likely that is: they don't give a shit that many of their customers are now unemployed and without much disposable income, they need to sell you this razor, man. Like, now.

Inside every UNO Shave Co. box is a quote: “A man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.” You see, in all of our hearts and minds we really do know when we are being bullshitted. On some level, perhaps in personal relationships or at work, we allow it to take place and wait for more information. Sometimes we call it out right away. Sometimes we acknowledge it, assess the ramifications, and just let it happen. And sometimes... we want to be bullshitted.

But let me dissect this specific piece of bullshit, and let you decide what you think. First off I'd like to convey that Paul and I created this company to provide a very honest, affordable and high-quality shaving instrument to the masses. In doing so, we hoped that shavers would see how they were, are and may in the future be bullshitted by the way in which an outcome-oriented toiletry is sold to them by competitors. A razor needs to do but one thing well. Remove hair, and leave the skin as smooth and unharmed as possible. And that's fucking it. The notion that it should cost you $200 and a good hundred dollars or more throughout every year forever is, very honestly, insanity.

During the pandemic, all razor companies became acutely aware (ourselves included) that less men's shaving was likely to happen. Women's shaving would basically remain the same, but we should and did see a sharp decline in men's shaving consistency. If you aren't nimble enough to know this as a razor company, well, I guess you just aren't nimble; or maybe you are tone-deaf. Some length of beard became immediately popular during the pandemic, and trimming as the primary use of a men's razor with the occasional full shave.

A big ass sheet of five blades that looks like a cattle guard, is not for trimming. it is for a skin-level shave (a shitty one), and only that. An UNO has a very fine and maneuverable head, which our customers have come to love for that exact reason.

But here you have a corporation doing everything they can, to move a piece of merchandise that is nothing more than a heated version of their other bullshit razor, the Fusion 5. People/ companies did good, bad or indifferent things during this pandemic. So which one were these folks doing?

During this pandemic, Georgia-Pacific or Kimberly-Clark probably could have offered payment plans on pallets of toilet paper to consumers direct. And, there probably would have been some takers. But... it would have been the wrong thing to do. So, they didn't do it.

Now, I've no qualms with a buddy giving you a short-term loan for a grand and asking for his grand back in a month so you don't bounce eight checks, amassing $320 in NSF fees and being embarrassed to the people to whom you wrote those checks, and to your bank. That buddy-loan was of an absolute utility to you. It'd even be worth it if he said he wanted it back with $100 on top. However, when you sell a consumer staple as basic as a shaving razor and you want to offer payment terms for it... I feel that's just a little evil, nomsayin'? A razor is just a consumer staple, a toiletry. I mean, financing a TV makes more sense. I don't recommend it... but, it makes more sense.

UNO is never going to bullshit you. We're a single-blade razor company providing a high quality affordable cartridge razor which does all of the things it needs to do, and does them well. Is it convenient, and easy to use? Yes. It reduces razor bumps? Yes. It reduces razor burn? Yes. It drastically reduces, if not eliminates ingrown hairs cause by shaving? Hell yes. The steel is of superior quality and durability, relative to essentially any multiblade? That's a gigantic yes. The cartridges are 83 cents each, and if you're just trimming maybe a beard edge and neck that dozen blade pack it comes with might last you an entire year of shaves, or more? Yes.

And to Gillette... well, rarely is it wise to outright pimp-slap your competition in the mouth, but in this circumstance I think it's warranted. During this pandemic Paul and I were there and we saw what ya did, we saw it with our own two eyes, so you can wipe off that grin bitch, we know where you been... it's all been a pack of lies.

And here's a link to their “Toxic Masculinity” ad which cost them an estimated 5.7B dollars in lost revenue because of how many men and women it pissed off. This is what they think of you. You're just a cash register; clearly, you don't already know how to be a gentleman, whatever your age, but they're here to teach you. Maybe they don't even like the man you are, or the man your father is or was, but clearly they'll gladly lie to you and finance a battery-operated, exorbitantly-priced toiletry to get money out of your hands, and into theirs. Called out.

Because of the pandemic however, I've noticed people have begun to have less time for bullshit. They're shining in truth. They're seeing the world and things in it for what they are, and not what they're told they are. We've gotten loads of new migrants to Montana, and they always answer with some form of “man, I just got so tired of the bullshit in (wherever). People weren't meant to live like that, and work like that.” There's wisdom in this. But we all get used to how things are, as a component of our human nature and coping skills. Admittedly. Many of our female customers who rave about the outcome of an UNO shave on their bikini line and armpits bring the same revelation. “Before this, if I know I am going to the lake, beach, etc. I had to shave my bikini line with my Venus X days beforehand because the day right after I will have ugly red bumps everywhere and I need my skin to settle down.” You see? An acceptance of bullshit. A chronological plan developed through human experience to avoid something which is otherwise totally avoidable. She thinks the bumps, well... that's just how it is, right? No. It is not how it is. You are suffering today because of a decades-old marketing war between razor giants.

Whatever side of this pandemic you happen to be on, whether you're in the mindset of Jim the IT guy from above, or an 80 year-old Montana rancher with respiratory issues entering the feed store, handed a mask, farts on that mask and hands it back to the kid at the entrance and says “no thanks, kiddo”... we've all definitely seen a few things this year that we know just simply ain't so.

Either way, Paul and I hope this year and every year from now on finds you all in a better place mentally, physically and emotionally. Without any bullshit.