I have a love hate relationship with Razo's barbershop.
On the good side:
Unlike beauty salons, they take their time on the details. Of the two times I've gone, each haircut took at least 45min. because the barber made sure to blend well. This is in contrast to beauty salons were the stylist uses the machine on the sides, blends lightly, and tries to make it as quick as possible.
On the bad:
The rest of the experience is absolutely terrible. Here's why: (in order of importance)
1.Terrible waiting times.
I called ahead of showing up and the first time I waited over two hours! Although the owner told me a time to be there and I was there at that time. On the second occasion, the wait was significantly less but it was still at least 30min. with calling ahead. What's worse is that there are walk-ins that wait a long time to get a haircut.
2.Very unprofessional environment and staff.
Most would agree that having a friendly staff that jokes around is a good thing, and for the most part it is. However, the staff talks among each other bantering, in a very unprofessional way (i.e. Joking about using the bathroom).
They also have a stereo that is playing hip-pop, Mexican Nortenas, and other music that is not appropriate for kids and therefore not appropriate for the business. I personally don't like 'banda' so I don't like that I have to put on headphones to escape the music.
On both occasions, the owner was drinking a beer. Not that it's absolutely terrible, just that again, it's unprofessional to drink a beer while cutting people's hair and using sharp objects. Not doubting his abilities to cut hair after one beer, just that it's a terrible liability and it shouldn't be done in my opinion.
A barber insisted on getting my cell phone number when I asked the next time he would be there so I could schedule my haircut ahead of time. He even mad up an excuse saying that he has a 'new number' when I instead, asked him for his. Then he wrote it on a piece of paper and took it with him (instead of writing it on the company's notes or client notes). Asking for my number when I don't want to give it is unprofessional and it made me feel uneasy.
Lastly, the barbers pick up calls and answer texts while they have a client on the chair instead of waiting until they are in between clients (especially considering the waiting times).
3. There is a dollar charge to use a credit card.
This is just an old school way of doing business, and I personally find it unappealing. What I didn't like is being charged a dollar to use my credit card after waiting two hours (vs being polite and waiving the credit card fee for the wait).
In the end I'm going to pay more at another place to avoid the bad things about this place. It's unfortunate because it has potential. read more