DONT GO HERE UNLESS YOU ARE ALREADY A REGULAR!
I've gone to Mac's twice. Both times have been bad experiences so I'm calling it. No Mas.
First time was around the time I moved to Long Beach in 2010. He let me sit there for an hour while he pleasantly talked with a regular. I talked with the guy in the chair about some legal problems he was having but noticed that Mac wouldn't speak to me. Dude and I were talking friendly... typical Barbershop banter, but Mac would only speak to him like I wasn't in the room.
Once the guy's haircut was done, Mac's pleasant demeanor with dude changed to standoffish and before I even sat down he asked me 'what do you want?" I said I wanted the sides tightened up and a low fade straight around my head, a basic haircut.... Apparently my hair was too short because he told me 'I don't cut on top of someone else's work'. What are you talking about!?
Like I had a crappy tattoo outline I wanted him to fill in and put his name on.
I told him it had been over a week but he tells me "Go back to who ever cut your hair last time!" So after waiting for over an hour, I got sent packing without a hair cut.
Thing is, I get that any shop owner reserves the right to refuse service, but he could've done that at the beginning. And I get having an honor code in your line of work... I'm all about that.
But codes of honor have to make sense. This was just a BS excuse to try to twist discriminating against someone into a matter of integrity. He never even actually let me sit in the chair so he never had any intention.
Like I said - B. effin S
I went a second time recently (my barber passed away and I was desperate) and this time he did cut my hair....
I wish he had given me the boot again.
I sat uncomfortably in his chair trying topics and getting shut down... cars (Nope!, music (He clearly identifies as a punk rocker) Nope!, sports (Nope), the barbering craft... (nope) nope, tools of his trade... You ever use a Model 111? Shut up, nope and be quiet! No matter the conversation topic I tried, he shut me down.
The vibe this guy kicked off was just awful. This guy has a CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER and apparently thinks acting like a dick is "Old School".
I have no idea, but it was a bad experience. Cutting hair well is only part of being a good barber. A good barber, a barber who is OLD SCHOOL (I heard Mac repeatedly refer to himself as 'Old School') is as good at the nuanced part as just cutting hair. An OG, old school barber makes people feel welcome, and can seem like meeting an old friend for the first time. Because guys who really are OG and really are Old School don't need to put up some Hardass front.
My old barber from up north was old school. He was the real deal. He'd done a stretch of time in State, he'd lived the life and paid his debt and was a giant man who no one wanted to mess with. But he was warm and welcoming to regulars and newbies alike when they walked in the door. He was probably more attentive to newbies because he knew they needed the extra treatment to be made to feel comfortable... And you looked forward to spending an hour in his shop every couple weeks.
With Mac, I'm sure some of his regulars get good treatment, but if you don't already have a relationship.... triangulating my experience to other reviews.... It's a crap shoot. He may act cool, but it seems like just as often he treats people like crap because to him that somehow makes him feel big and tough and "old skool". read more