I was confused when I saw this clip the first time some months ago, but it makes sense now. The barber asking the client if it's okay to touch her hair isn't because the client will or would say no. It's about the respect included in that question. It's asked to make the client -
and spiteful people which is not good for anyone at any level. I think it's okay to not understand this, to think it's semantics, and to make jokes about it as long as you're funny and creative and not cringe and lame.