Well, now I have a new default hair salon!
On a tight budget and with a limited schedule, I did a frantic Yelp search this morning for affordable men's hair cuts within walking distance of my home. There was basically a consensus, looking at the review summaries that popped up: Cuts Off High! I poked around a bit, looked at the website (which was not completely inspiring) and made the call. I thought the man answering on the other end sounded a little gruff or quick, but the appointment was made quickly for a great time slot so that was that.
If the man on the phone sounded like he valued time it might be because I had been talking to the owner, operator, and stylist who would be helping me. In retrospect, as a basically one-man operation, this place is smooth as silk pie. I arrived a bit early, and was back out the door with a completely new head of hair- and looking at my watch, it was only eight minutes past my scheduled appointment. What! Also, the haircut only cost me $10. WHAT!
I am so happy with the haircut, especially vis-a-vis the price, that I can not even begin to think of going anywhere else for my next hair cut. The man who served me, Ray, was beyond personable and made the whole usually-anxious experience (for me) sail by- one of the reasons I was shocked at the time-frame was because I felt like we had had quite the meandering, casual conversation.
I went in with only vague notions of what I wanted, and Ray delivered- and was even pleased to be told "do what you'd like, within these simple parameters." He talked me through his decisions as he made them, and worked efficiently. He was funny, talkative, and just plain damn good with the scissors.
AND he had Stargate: SG-1 playing on the TV in the salon. While I'm not personally especially familiar to the show, it was a lot better than most background noise at salons- and it was turned up just loud enough to hear comfortably from the chair without drowning out conversation.
The place doesn't try to look fancy and it's better for it; some salons look much more pretty but then charge a king's ransom in comparison, with longer waits, less attentive service, and dreadfully slow service. Ray told me he wants the place to feel comfortable, down-home, almost like the rural hair-cuttin' shop in a small town out in the country. The only way it might feel more authentic is if it was run out of a house on a woodsy lane!
So yes, I was quite enamored with my trip to Cuts Off High and my appointment with Ray. He said he gets a lot of referrals through Yelp and it's easy to see why; service this awesome needs to be talked about, often, to people of discerning tastes. So here's another mark on the chalkboard in favor of this great business; trust all these stars, because this place has EARNED them! read more