I went to the newest SWAG Shop location at 365 Edgewood Ave Atlanta GA and received the worst barbershop experience in my life!! The haircuts are overpriced and the customer service would make Dr. MLK, Jr. roll over in his grave!! I paid $30 for a trim and she didn't even touch the top of my head with the clippers and I already had a shape-up. I asked her to taper trim the sides and neck as they were getting a little too high. The customer service was lacking and the two barbers (one male/one female) working there have average skills at best!!
The female barber is more effiecient in terms of getting folks in and out of her chair if your pressed for time, however, her speed causes her to make tactical mistakes with your haircut such as missed spots, uneven lines and poor overall quality. If your into having a hard, sharp Steve Harvey-ish hairline this is the place for you, as they specialize in pushing your hairline back 2 inches in every direction!!! However, if you want a more subtle and soft natural looking line up, they are clueless on how to execute this look. They only seem to be able to cut the typical cookie cutter styles (fades/ceasers) and have no skills when it comes to servicing different hair types or using shears to even out curly hair. The female barber (Natalie) probably cuts two heads in the time it takes the other barber to cut one head. However, I watched as she didn't wash her hands between cuts after rubbing on guys faces/beards which is probably a health code violation. The barber near the door is a much more meticulous (nice word for slow as hell) which may be considered good, if you take pleasure in sitting in a barber chair for an hour.
During my visit he literally stopped in the middle of a cut to go outside and talk to someone while a customer was in his chair!! The customer service is what you would expect from a typical hood barbershop. No one greets you when you walk inside, when I arrived the door was locked-they were clearly open. My guess is they try to keep the drug addicts that roam the block from coming inside to sell lotion and other miscellaneous items. There are random people hanging out inside the barbershop not getting any service; the barbers are too busy in conservation with those folks to greet the customers that come for service. As an out of town visitor, time is of the essence. Therefore, sitting in a barbershop for two hours or trying to figure out how many of the guys hanging out in the barbershop are getting a haircut ahead of me is unacceptable.
During my visit, two white guys walked into the shop to get a haircut and absolutely NOBODY greeted them. They literally stood there like two deers stuck in the headlights. After standing there for 5-10 minutes one of the white guys had enough courage to finally ask "how does this work?" The guy told them it was two hour wait (he cuts super slow) on a Thursday at 3pm. Again, the barbers are clueless to the fact that everyone isn't a local from the neighborhood who hangs out in the barbershop! They should have a receptionist to greet customers and explain the wait times, schedule appointments or give instructions to folks about each barbers availability and pricing. There is limited seating, so good luck finding a seat and keeping yourself entertained as there are no books, magazines or television to kill the endless time you will be waiting.
I'm a fan of Killer Mike and visited the Swag Shop on the strength of the vision he wants to create for male grooming, however, the YouTube videos and commentary he provides are non existent at the Edgewood Ave location!! Killer Mike needs to send in some mystery shoppers to witness the racthetedness that goes on at the shop! read more