T
The_Machine
Hello all!
I am a barber and a former employee for the Art of Shaving. To protect my identity, I will not say at what store or give specific time frames.
First of all, I will say that I love barbering and I love the concept of bringing back a good old fashioned hot towel shave. Is the product all it is said to be? I think so. In holding the product in your hand alone you can tell it is a high quality product. As you can see, I have no problem with the product but rather, the way the company does business.
When I was employed by the Art of Shaving, I was employed under the impression that it was a "Barber Spa" and thus would impliment the ideas of a traditional barber shop combined with the ideals and principles of a spa to make a high end men's grooming parlor.
Upon arriving to our training site, I was introduced to various different barbers, some that lived as far as 70 miles away with only 1 having prior experience with the company. All three of us new comers were asked to perform sample shaves in front of the company master barber, with the "head master barber" going last. 3 very good shaves, all in the allowed time frame. Finally, the Head Master Barber was up. This particular barber bragged about his quickness so to our surprise, he was slower than malasis and left a number of rough spots on his model until VOILA; like an angel from the sky, he busted out a Gillette Fusion and proceeded to go perform 2 more passes with the safety razor rather than putting in the effort to do it all with a straight razor (believe me, it can be done).
As we opened the shop we got to meet the sales people. Amongst them were zero employees with any managerial experience or experience in anything similar but rather high end retail. The manager of the store went as far as to tell us that he had to pay his way to Miami (FL) for a managerial meeting where he was trained by the person who finished as the runner up candidate for the same exact position (s/he was already a company employee). Needless to say, she didn't train him on anything other than how to stock shelves and how to order from Staples. Two weeks later, he was fired because he called the district manager after 10pm with questions on filling out payroll.
The next day, we met his replacement; the same person who trained him. Now, I'm no genious but If I were a betting man, I'd be my life on it that s/he knew it was only a matter of time before he was fired.
As the district manager brought introduced us to our new boss, she brought in her husband for a shave. The man who was scheduled to do the shave (The Head Master Barber) was out sick (cough cough; at his other shop shaving one of his clients he got from TAOS) leaving either myself or another co-worker to perform a Royal Shave on the man. As my buddy clearly explained to her and her husband, he had a number of ingrowns and would have to use a safety razor on some areas to prevent bleeding. The end result: she wrote a memo out the next day voicing her displeasure with the service performed on her hubby and threatening that excessive use of The Gillette Fusion Razors would result in Termination.
As weeks passed by but before the 90 days probation period was up, our second employee was fired because of his violent past. My question at that moment was why hire the guy if he's got a record that you're not willing to over looked. At the same time, I begun to worry for my job after I was written up for taking 35-40 minutes for a hair cut. I pointed out to the Head Master Barber that for $35, we were not offering a SuperCuts haircut and pointed out that I had to shorten the clients haircut after I was done with it, despite cutting to the the length he wanted it to begin with. His response: "Well in that case you need to tell him next time, I did what you asked, I can't charge you the price of a haircut when I've had to cut your hair twice in one sitting."
The next day, the Head Master barber conveniently forgot that he had work and I was asked to take his appointments. One of his clients came in reeking on marijuana smoke and told me he used to get shaved by the owner of the shop I worked at before hand (who was a former TAOS employee) and that our Head Master Barber had fired him at the old location "because he couldn't stand his arrogance." The Taste I felt in my mouth was foul. It was as if someone were talking about my father (afterall, they were talking about the man who once called me his apprentice). As soon as I finished the shave, i brought this to our manager's attention who did nothing but assure me that she had gotten fired for drawing several terrible reviews on yelp (or so she had heard) and suggested I stay away from him for my own good. I got on the company's computer, Yelped the company's name and location and the guy had nothing but 4 and 5 star reviews.
About a week or so passed by before I was humiliated infront of everyone in the store, including all shoppers, employees and the security office when the head master barber questioned my abilities in the middle of a haircut. It was so frustrating that I had to step to the restroom, let out some steam and then resume my work. My client pulled me aside and told me not to let it get to me (he thought i had went to the restroom to cry). Since the end of the day was near, I packed my stuff and left without acknowleding my so called "boss."
The next day, I called in sick as I considered filing a for harassment. An employee at another store had agreed to partner up if I did follow through as she was written up for not making quotas DESPITE BEING IN THE TOP 10 PERCENTILE OF THE COMPANY! Instead, I ended up getting on my knees and praying to god that I would keep my job.
If you would have told me the next morning that I would be my last day actually working for the company I'd would have called you nuts, but sure enough it was. 10 minutes before closing, I was asked to perform a shape up on a kid who was meeting his idol that night. Our company policy was not start any service with less than 45 minutes left on our shift. Pressured by our manager, I unpacked my tools and begun. The boys mom was a ***** as she asked me to put lotion, oil and even hair gel on the boy's hair line to prevent irritation. I explained to her that such products would irritate rather than sooth because of the fact that the face skin was rather raw on areas where the edgers had been placed. Still, she suggested that she knew her baby better than anyone in the world and suggested I do as she asked. I asked the head master barber if I could refuse service and he said yes but not to the kid since he had been coming there for months. Everyone in the shop, barbers, sales people, the kid himself, etc. liked my work, except for the mother. try after try after try after try and my work wasn't good enough for her son on his special day. It got so bad that she asked me to borrow my tools, which is a big no no. Finally she concieved and left.
The next morning when I returned I was told I was fired because the mother was no pleased with the outcome of my work. I tried to have the head master barber back me up, but he didn't.
Today, I found out that the mother's complaint, never happened. She never came in, called, wrote a letter, email or anything. Infact, as another former employee who lasted longer than I did put it, s/he overhead management talking about how I looked like a thug because I wear a high fade, a sharp front hair line, a nicely shaped beard and use guards to fade rather than using a clipper over comb technique.
I have no criminal record. I was an honor roll student and a letter in baseball and football. I've smoked marijuana 3 times in my life, have never consumed alcohol and have never tried a cigarette. I grew up in the projects but was raised by a heavy hand. I've never gang banged though I was mistakenly stabbed in my upper back as a teenager. I own a gun which is registered by the state. I don't swear around women and children and I go to church 3 times a week. I'm majoring in Criminal Justice.
The art of shaving sterotypes people.
I am a barber and a former employee for the Art of Shaving. To protect my identity, I will not say at what store or give specific time frames.
First of all, I will say that I love barbering and I love the concept of bringing back a good old fashioned hot towel shave. Is the product all it is said to be? I think so. In holding the product in your hand alone you can tell it is a high quality product. As you can see, I have no problem with the product but rather, the way the company does business.
When I was employed by the Art of Shaving, I was employed under the impression that it was a "Barber Spa" and thus would impliment the ideas of a traditional barber shop combined with the ideals and principles of a spa to make a high end men's grooming parlor.
Upon arriving to our training site, I was introduced to various different barbers, some that lived as far as 70 miles away with only 1 having prior experience with the company. All three of us new comers were asked to perform sample shaves in front of the company master barber, with the "head master barber" going last. 3 very good shaves, all in the allowed time frame. Finally, the Head Master Barber was up. This particular barber bragged about his quickness so to our surprise, he was slower than malasis and left a number of rough spots on his model until VOILA; like an angel from the sky, he busted out a Gillette Fusion and proceeded to go perform 2 more passes with the safety razor rather than putting in the effort to do it all with a straight razor (believe me, it can be done).
As we opened the shop we got to meet the sales people. Amongst them were zero employees with any managerial experience or experience in anything similar but rather high end retail. The manager of the store went as far as to tell us that he had to pay his way to Miami (FL) for a managerial meeting where he was trained by the person who finished as the runner up candidate for the same exact position (s/he was already a company employee). Needless to say, she didn't train him on anything other than how to stock shelves and how to order from Staples. Two weeks later, he was fired because he called the district manager after 10pm with questions on filling out payroll.
The next day, we met his replacement; the same person who trained him. Now, I'm no genious but If I were a betting man, I'd be my life on it that s/he knew it was only a matter of time before he was fired.
As the district manager brought introduced us to our new boss, she brought in her husband for a shave. The man who was scheduled to do the shave (The Head Master Barber) was out sick (cough cough; at his other shop shaving one of his clients he got from TAOS) leaving either myself or another co-worker to perform a Royal Shave on the man. As my buddy clearly explained to her and her husband, he had a number of ingrowns and would have to use a safety razor on some areas to prevent bleeding. The end result: she wrote a memo out the next day voicing her displeasure with the service performed on her hubby and threatening that excessive use of The Gillette Fusion Razors would result in Termination.
As weeks passed by but before the 90 days probation period was up, our second employee was fired because of his violent past. My question at that moment was why hire the guy if he's got a record that you're not willing to over looked. At the same time, I begun to worry for my job after I was written up for taking 35-40 minutes for a hair cut. I pointed out to the Head Master Barber that for $35, we were not offering a SuperCuts haircut and pointed out that I had to shorten the clients haircut after I was done with it, despite cutting to the the length he wanted it to begin with. His response: "Well in that case you need to tell him next time, I did what you asked, I can't charge you the price of a haircut when I've had to cut your hair twice in one sitting."
The next day, the Head Master barber conveniently forgot that he had work and I was asked to take his appointments. One of his clients came in reeking on marijuana smoke and told me he used to get shaved by the owner of the shop I worked at before hand (who was a former TAOS employee) and that our Head Master Barber had fired him at the old location "because he couldn't stand his arrogance." The Taste I felt in my mouth was foul. It was as if someone were talking about my father (afterall, they were talking about the man who once called me his apprentice). As soon as I finished the shave, i brought this to our manager's attention who did nothing but assure me that she had gotten fired for drawing several terrible reviews on yelp (or so she had heard) and suggested I stay away from him for my own good. I got on the company's computer, Yelped the company's name and location and the guy had nothing but 4 and 5 star reviews.
About a week or so passed by before I was humiliated infront of everyone in the store, including all shoppers, employees and the security office when the head master barber questioned my abilities in the middle of a haircut. It was so frustrating that I had to step to the restroom, let out some steam and then resume my work. My client pulled me aside and told me not to let it get to me (he thought i had went to the restroom to cry). Since the end of the day was near, I packed my stuff and left without acknowleding my so called "boss."
The next day, I called in sick as I considered filing a for harassment. An employee at another store had agreed to partner up if I did follow through as she was written up for not making quotas DESPITE BEING IN THE TOP 10 PERCENTILE OF THE COMPANY! Instead, I ended up getting on my knees and praying to god that I would keep my job.
If you would have told me the next morning that I would be my last day actually working for the company I'd would have called you nuts, but sure enough it was. 10 minutes before closing, I was asked to perform a shape up on a kid who was meeting his idol that night. Our company policy was not start any service with less than 45 minutes left on our shift. Pressured by our manager, I unpacked my tools and begun. The boys mom was a ***** as she asked me to put lotion, oil and even hair gel on the boy's hair line to prevent irritation. I explained to her that such products would irritate rather than sooth because of the fact that the face skin was rather raw on areas where the edgers had been placed. Still, she suggested that she knew her baby better than anyone in the world and suggested I do as she asked. I asked the head master barber if I could refuse service and he said yes but not to the kid since he had been coming there for months. Everyone in the shop, barbers, sales people, the kid himself, etc. liked my work, except for the mother. try after try after try after try and my work wasn't good enough for her son on his special day. It got so bad that she asked me to borrow my tools, which is a big no no. Finally she concieved and left.
The next morning when I returned I was told I was fired because the mother was no pleased with the outcome of my work. I tried to have the head master barber back me up, but he didn't.
Today, I found out that the mother's complaint, never happened. She never came in, called, wrote a letter, email or anything. Infact, as another former employee who lasted longer than I did put it, s/he overhead management talking about how I looked like a thug because I wear a high fade, a sharp front hair line, a nicely shaped beard and use guards to fade rather than using a clipper over comb technique.
I have no criminal record. I was an honor roll student and a letter in baseball and football. I've smoked marijuana 3 times in my life, have never consumed alcohol and have never tried a cigarette. I grew up in the projects but was raised by a heavy hand. I've never gang banged though I was mistakenly stabbed in my upper back as a teenager. I own a gun which is registered by the state. I don't swear around women and children and I go to church 3 times a week. I'm majoring in Criminal Justice.
The art of shaving sterotypes people.
