I went in last week to see Ron U. One of the most disrespectful experiences I have ever had at a barber. I have seen Ron many times before and never had any issues, in fact this seemed like a completely different person. I showed up early as I usually do, and Ron was finishing up with a client. Seemed like a normal day and he was very respectful to this person who seemed like he was seeing him for the first time. When it was my turn, I was asked what I wanted and I told Ron that I really wasn't sure. I knew I wanted what I had to be cleaned up, but I wasn't see if I wanted it a little shorter or not. Ron was immediately thrown off by this and pushed me to give him more. I asked for his opinion and let him know that this was my cut for my upcoming wedding. He then made the comment that coming into a barber not knowing what you want is like going to a restaurant and not knowing what you want. I have been to barbers many times where I was not sure what I wanted and they helped me through figuring our what was best for me. I chalked this up to not a big deal, and really I thought Ron was joking. He also brought up that we had been going shorter and I said I really liked it when it grew in a little bit, but wasn't as into it right after the initial cut. I imagine this bothered him or something because this is where the utter disrespect began. He proceeds to cut my hair, mind you this took no time at all, probably 10 minutes. He turned me around to the mirror and I looked and I said, we can go a little bit shorter I think. He looked at me and said very rudely, WHERE? I said, well pretty much all over. He then said, you kidding me? I told Ron, no I just want to be happy with it for the wedding. He then threw bit of a tantrum, grabbed his scissors and cut my hair again in less than 5 minutes. Having been to Ron before, I know that he normally takes him time, and when it comes to the final steps he is very meticulous and precise. Sometimes he will even trim your beard even if you did not pay for that. He usually uses a hot towel to make sure you are comfortable. He did none of that, he threw a towel on the back of my neck, did a quick razor shave, then said congratulations, and ripped off the cape. I sensed a lot of anger so I asked if I offended him and he said no, but you frustrated me and said he was upset that I didn't know what I wanted and that I didn't know what I liked and didn't like. I assumed this was about the previous cut I mentioned. He then told the front desk it was a scissors cut and left the room without looking at me or saying thank you.
I spent a little bit of time after the cut to check and see if I was out of line. I even messaged a friend of mine who cuts hair in Florida and in no way is it rude or disrespectful to 1. not know exactly what you want from your cut and 2. ask for it to be cut a bit shorter after seeing the first pass. In fact, it is quite common and normal for patrons to do so.
All this to say.. I will never be going back to Ron. I don't know if it was a bad day or what but I have never had such a disrespectful experience like that. The only good thing was that he didn't completely botch my hair, the cut was fine, not great. And it would probably have been much better had he taken his time.
I always go in with a smile, I am respectful, I tip well (though I did not for this one for obvious reasons EDIT: Looks like they actually went ahead and tipped for me without me asking to) and really I don't talk that much.. and what is most confusing to me is that I have said the exact words "I am not sure exactly what I want" to Ron before with no issues and this still ended up going south. I even attempted to fix it by asking if I offended him, as I clearly did not mean to. I will say, Ron is a good barber, but you are best seeing someone else or going somewhere else in order to avoid an experience like mine. read more
