Getting a Haircut in France

So, time marches on.  And so does the growth of my hair; so I stretched it out (from April 26, my last hair cut) as long as humanly possible--until I was regarding the world through my bangs, which made me feel uncomfrotably like a teenager again.  So I asked my landlords who they use for haircuts, and got the name of a nice man in the ville of Carcassonne who does hair--he always does a good job, they said.  So I walked to the hairdresser place, and hoped I didn't need an appointment a month ago.  When I walked in, the (male) assistant was there, who assured me that yes, they could give me a haircut.  Mr. Franck Richard had only stepped out for lunch and would be back--soon.

In fact, he was back within about 10 minutes.  I got the obligatory shampoo (I tried to tell him that Marti always cuts the sides DRY and then does the shampoo!) and then sat in the chair.  And then, he took off my glasses.  And asked me, "what do you want done?" and I explained it had been 8 weeks since my last haircut and I didn't wish to change styles, just get it cut.  [I was proud of myself for remembering that the word for hair in French is 'le cheveu' (plural is "cheveux" which sounds just like the singular), while the word for horse is "cheval".  For some reason, I have always gotten those mixed up because they sound similar, and I had nightmares about telling him I wanted my horse cut, with him charging out onto the street with a butcher's cleaver in hand . . . but no, he understood that I wanted a haircut (taille de cheveux).]  He certainly took liberties with the styling . . . I'm going to have to call or email Marti and BEG her to cut my hair either Saturday late afternoon after I return or on Sunday afternoon, before I return to work on Monday.  Around the ears is ALL WRONG--I even considered--briefly--putting my hair on the prayer list at my church, but decided that some people would think that was petty, so I didn't.  But it definitely needs work.  For someone whose entire nod to beauty is getting my hair cut every 4-5 weeks, the haircut is IMPORTANT--it needs to stay out of my eyes, surely, while I gaze at babies, but it also needs to look good.  What can I conclude from this mortifying experience?  Never trust someone to cut your hair who has TWO FIRST NAMES.  I didn't go into the salon business, now, DID I?