I went to White's Barber Co. as a result of the positive user reviews here, and I regretted it.
For one thing, they don't maintain a professional atmosphere. They keep things casual, like a living room environment - the problem is that while it might be comfortable for them, new customers easily feel out of place.
Far, far worse than that, however, is that while each station has a mirror (as you would expect), **nobody uses it**. Instead, it seems their policy to have everyone face *away* from the mirrors. Seriously, I don't know what they're thinking. I can only guess that it's because they're trying to have everyone face the TV. However, what's the point of having mirrors if they don't use them? I'm not there to watch TV, I'm there to get my hair cut.
This is an especially egregious mistake when it comes to NEW customers. How the heck are you supposed to know if they're making a mistake, doing something with your hair that you don't want, if you can't see what they're doing? They didn't let me look at a mirror until they were all finished, and I was terrified of what my hair looked like because I was never allowed to see it while they were working!
Instead, I faced the people waiting - which was uncomfortable enough. But even worse is that on more than one occasion, I was facing the person in the chair next to me. That was very uncomfortable, NOT professional, and NOT what I want for a barber/salon experience!
Of course it didn't help that the mirrors were far away from the chairs with deep insets due to the cabinets they had on either side, and the table in front of the mirror of every single station was crammed full and absolutely messy. As in, disgustingly messy. Even when I was finally *allowed* to look at a mirror, I was too far away to see any detail.
When I was done, I discovered that they take credit cards via a smartphone application - as in, there is a small magstripe reader they have mounted to their CELL PHONE. That's great if you're working a flea market or craft fair - but I expect better than that for a brick-and-mortar establishment.
What was truly horrendous, however, is that the person taking my card payment asked me what I wanted to charge. What? Apparently, she meant what I wanted to add for a TIP. Are you frigging kidding me? You're going to interrogate me in person for the tip amount? People *choose* whether to leave a tip - they should NEVER be *questioned* about it!
My experience at White's Barber Co. was extremely uncomfortable and their atmosphere, styling practices, work surfaces, and business practices were unprofessional. They need to visit an upscale salon and see how it should be done.
I am *never* going back. read more