Took my 19 year old son in to get a haircut at the same time as I did at the Waterloo location on Ira Needles. Terrible. Took a long time to log us in for some reason, then I got my haircut which was slow and of poor quality. Though the majority of haircuts are for men, this was far from the quality barbershop type experience. None of the shaving the back of the neck, offering to trim eyebrows, or ears, no offer of product in the hair, had to remind her a few times of the razor number for sides and back. But worse was my son's. So bad in fact that we will be going to get another cut tomorrow. He asked for a number 3 on the sides and back and got a number three just over the ears so effectively a mullet! Uneven haircut with one side longer than the other, and lots of uncut random hairs. Unbelievably bad. We'd had some bad cuts here before about 10 years ago and thought we would try it again since we were passing by. Big mistake. read more

Poor customer service, appointment system with no notifications and confirmation and "It's none of your business to let customers know if their name is too long to type into the system-- we just pay for the service and not for your comments" read more

I got my hair filled and coloured here by Jeff and for around $100. For a first choice haircutters location I think its pretty pricy but I was quoted $300 elsewhere so decided to go with first choice. I was a little nervous given all the negative reviews but I was just getting my hair filled and coloured so wasn't too worried. My stylist was Jeff and I had a really good experience with him! He seemed very knowledgeable and made the experience comfortable! I'd recommend asking for him if you ever do decide to come. I'm satisifed with the end results as the colour is nice and even over my previous bleached and mixed coloured hair. read more

Came here for a haircut and got quite possibly the worst cut ever... For $22.60 CAD the outcome was absolute shit. The woman doing my hair was busy talking to the two other hair stylist. At the beginning, the stylist was doing a decent job, a good job even. As I had to take off my glasses, I could not see the hair properly till the end but I could atleast get the general style of my hair. Towards the end, the two other hair stylist chatted about some black friday deal and that's when shit started... The stylist suddenly sped up the process and began cutting my hair really really fast. Within a minute or so, she was done. It was until I got back and my girlfriend told me my hait looked uneven that I realised how terrible it was. My hair looked like crap, uneven sides, longer on the left and short as fk on the right but but even like a good uneven...it was a disasterous uneven. Not recommend. read more

This one time, they did not wash the dye out thoroughly and when I told them about it, they suggested I washed my hair again on my own at home that night. That is so....unusual??? It was itchy and scathing. They also got my shirt/back wet when washing my hair, and even asked me to dry my own hair using their hairdryer while the 'stylist' went to clean up. During the dying process, I was complaining about the dye hurting my skin (like forehead, not like, scalp, it was a good inch away from my hair) and the stylist just really...laughed until I started tearing up. This part and the getting my shirt wet part I did not mind too much since well, things happen, but her attitude was so unprofessional. It felt like she was giving her niece or something a hair treatment for fun, rather than with a paying customer. Seriously, what kind of 'stylist' asks their client to go wash their hair again at home because they did not wash the dye out enough. I am talking like, I scratch my head and colour/acid was dripping from my fingers from my scalp. Their excuse was that they did not know how long to wash the hair for. What the actual fuck. To be fair, she washed it again when I asked her to (maybe I was too polite, she thought I was not serious about things, but I just think it is very dangerous to have a pissed off 'stylist' handling acid on your head). But I was in the fucking 'hair salon,' holding their hairdryer, drying my own hair while the other stylists watched, talking to each other in the front of the store. When does a client go into a salon and dry their own hair? Prices were very good, the ending result was 'as expected' but the process was horrible. My advice: find a good stylist there and only go when she is there. I think some of the staff are accustomed to treating anyone who looks like a student with as little care as possible. I'm going to leave out name though, I don't want to ruin anyone's job/career, but I hope you get the idea. read more

This is a standard First Choice. You go in, give your name and phone number, which is kind of weird to me. They really shouldn't need my phone number. I've never had a bad haircut experience here, then again, I don't have the most complicated hair style. I always drop in without an appointment. If I come in when there's a line, I just come back another time. It's pretty convenient since it's in Campus Plaza. read more

Hairstylist was very rude, and acted more like a drill sargeant through the whole process. Resulting in a very choppy, rough haircut that I had to recut myself to even look somewhat decent--not impressed. read more

3 stylists working when I arrived. All looked up at me but none said a word or took my name down. 3 other patrons waiting ahead of me. After the first one was seated, the now finished stylist disappeared, and then the next one did too after finishing with her customer. So only 1 stylist left with now 4 patrons waiting. What a joke at the length of time this took and the unfriendly service provided. Definitely my last time at this location. read more

The barber looks like a novice. His performance was a disaster. I never go back to this place. read more

Worst haircut in my life. It doesn't even have to look good, but to have an uneven haircut, asked to fix it, and make it even worse is unacceptable. Never going again... ever. Went back to get it corrected, got attitude and ended up walking away. I never write reviews but this experience was by far the worst customer service I've ever had in my life. read more

My boyfriend was getting a haircut and I was just waiting around at the First Choice in UW plaza. After my boyfriend paid, I noticed some extra long pieces of hair... so I asked the barber to trim it again. She looked slightly annoyed and just quickly cut off an entire patch. It was cheap and fast but not worth it. read more

I have been getting my hair coloured, cut, and styled at First Choice Haircutters at University Plaza since 1988. I have never once received a poor cut or style there. I have been to other salons where they have not even done an adequate job. I get my hair styled short and the hair dressers at this First Choice make my hair look stylish and attractive. The staff are friendly and knowledgable. A great hair salon for students, but great for anyone! read more

Don't get your hair cut by Courtney she's awful. In a rush and is just looking to get it done quickly. Paid 20 bucks for a buzz cut she did in 5 minutes. She didn't even fade or detail the cut right. Worst. read more

WORST haircut ever. Honestly, these people don't know how to cut hair and make it look presentable. The quality of their cut is crappy and laughable ( and for something so standard like layers). And I don't just mean one person too, my friend and I got haircuts from two different people and they are both equally as horrible. My barber in particular was also very rushed like she wanted to get it done as fast as possible...so unprofessional. I'd much rather cut my own hair than have them cut it. Not worth a single cent of my money, in fact it's a waste of my money and time. Now I have to get my hair fixed up at another place.... Please be smart and spend your money elsewhere. read more

I have long hair with layers and asked for a trim. The hairstylist only trimmed the bottom so I was left with a straight line of a trim at the bottom and shaggy layers that needed trimming not long after. Worth spending a little more to get what you want if you are a bit fussy about your hair. read more

I walk in expecting a "Hello! How are you today!" I get a sneery woman who looks at me with her nose in the air and asks my name. Tells me to sit down and says "how short?". I show her a picture for reference and say I want a fade and a part. She asks me what 'number' I want on the trimmer, despite having a picture for reference. Already tentative upon hearing the negative reviews of the place, I simply changed my mind and went for the safe option: buzz the sides and give it a part. I didn't trust her to handle my much longer hair that I spent quite a while growing out. Again she asks me what 'number' I want. I wasn't aware that I needed to know how long each number was, something that I was under the impression a paid professional should know. She did not seem confident at her job, doing a poor job of a trim and an uneven part. After shampooing my hair, she did not seem to be aware that wet hair needed blow-drying and I needed to request it. . There exists a certain standard of service that exists at any salon where you pay a reasonable amount of money for a haircut. I got better service paying for an $8 haircut in Markham, so that standard most certainly is present for the price I'm paying at First Choice. The staff were not friendly and it was not a pleasant establishment. It was not a pleasant experience nor a comfortable one. I decided to give it a chance despite the commonly repeated joke among UWaterloo students that "First Choice should be your last choice". Sadly, it is the truth. First Choice shouldn't be anyone's first choice. read more

Received my last haircut at First Choice on Bridgeport Rd. Waterloo . I have very fine hair, I asked her for a trim with no more than one inch off. She said that she will give me a "modern" page:. All she talked about was herself and how good she was, that she had been working for 16 years, and that I would love my haircut. At the end, I had a short wedge, and very short. I left feeling really upset, and thinking it would take me 6 months to grow back. The cut was uneven, and the hair on the back of my head is a chopped up mess. She certainly did not listen to what I wanted. I will NEVER go back! Thank goodness for hats! read more

Took my son here for his first haircut and they screwed it up. How do you screw up a buzz cut on a 3 year old??!! I could have done a better job myself! read more

Goran and Rosalynn are awesome at highlights. Rosalynn is also fantastic at styling. She did my highlights and styled my hair for my university grad photos and it couldn't have looked better. I was more satisfied with their work than high-end places in Waterloo AND I paid a lot less. I would highly recommend these two stylists to anyone who is looking for a cut or highlights and Rosalynn for an updo. read more

I'm not one to write reviews, but I had to this time. This rating I'm giving is not for First Choice, but for one of the stylists who works there. Over the course of my life I have never been a regular at any barber shop just cause I get the basic cheap haircut here and there. So I go to whatever shop is closest and cheapest. Now I've been to this shop before this and I've gotten very bad cuts(Still have pictures) by different barbers, but First Choice is cheaper than premium barber shops I've been to which is why I keep going to First Choice shops. However a little under a year ago I walked into this shop and had one of the best haircuts I've ever had by a hairstylist named Slovy(not sure if i spelled it right) and I've been regular ever since. I highly recommend that if your getting your haircut in Waterloo and especially if you go to this specific location, get it cut by Slovy as she has expertise and is consistent and reliable. I've gotten a lot of compliments on my undercut combover that she cut. read more