Hey everyone on B&B, I'm Atreyu and I'm an avid student of the traditional shaving culture (I think traditional shaving sounds better than wet shaving, please bare with me). I started my journey a little over 8 months ago after being inspired while watching my grandfather shave for the last time before his passing on April 2nd of this year. He was 89yrs old and before beginning his shave he told me the story of his shaving history beginning when he was just a 12yr old in the Philippines, sprouting his first 4 whiskers.
That was 77 years of shaving history in which over time he mentioned that he never changed his method of shaving, but overtime through his travels around the world (he was a sailor/fisherman/exporter) He found and tried many different products from other countries. He then guided me step by step on the process of traditional shaving and each step of the way I felt like I was hearing a grand tale while watching history unfold before my eyes. The look of pride on him was inspiring, and he was overjoyed with being able to teach his grandson (28yrs old btw) something that he loved. He was a rare sight in my life, as someone who woke up looking forward to that shave.
After his passing, I looked back on that last day I spent with him, and couldn't help but feel like he was passing a torch down to me, and it was my duty to carry that torch on. So I dumped the cartridges and bought myself a Merkur 34c, my first start shaving kit from AOS. One thing that stood out to me was when he said, "Every where I've been, I found and learned things that wouldn't just make shaving feel like an obligation, I found products that opened my eyes to new ideas, and I learned techniques that made shaving more like an honored tradition."
With that statement in mind, I wanted nothing more than to have that same journey in my life where shaving wasn't a chore, it was a relaxing meditative experience. I couldn't do that just going out and buying any old razor and can of goo. I wanted to go search, find, and be amazed by the products I can get and learn more about the techniques and tools I could master. That's led me to subscribe to Wet Shave club, as it seemed like an affordable way of getting to try, test, and find products easier.
Now I officially subscribed to Wet shave club last Thursday Dec. 5th. Now I did research the company and found both people who enjoy it and people who weren't to happy with or impressed by what Wet Shave club had to offer. Even one reviewer I saw on Youtube said it wasn't worth the money. I myself have always been the type of person to seek opinions on products but never one to be swayed to like or hate it until I try it myself so I subscribed and I'm waiting on my first box shipment. One thing I did like about the company was that they offer a complete starting solution for anyone seeking to get into Traditional shaving. The first time members box includes, Safety razor with leather cap, Soap usually from artisan companies, styptic matches, blades, and may or may not include aftershave (some reviewers mentioned getting it and some said they didnt so its a hit or miss). They also never send you the same stuff twice, so each month you get new soaps, blades, post shaves ect.. In my mind, that's a great way to get to try new products for low costs per month.
Now my first review about them I will state is more of a concern, cause I believe first impressions are everything and so far my first impression was that they don't adhere particular to their claims. On their website, they state that first time subscriber orders are processed and shipped same day! This was NOT the situation with me. I got an email next day saying my order was shipped and I was given a tracking number. When I checked the tracking number, It said my shipping label was created, but mentioned nothing of my box being shipped, nor arriving at the post sorting facility, so it was safe to say my box never left their facility at that point. I gave the benefit of the doubt as to maybe the USPS was slow to update their status on my shipment.
I emailed their customer service today to ask why after 4 day's my product status hasn't updated, as I was concerned that my box isnt sent yet their website states same day shipping. I will give credit that their replies to customer concerns was super quick. I got a reply to my email within 3 mins!! So that I found absolutely fantastic. In their reply email, They had mentioned that the reason my box wasn't sent out was, They printed my label before realizing they no longer had any of their Safety razors in stock, and they were waiting for their new shipment of razors to come in before sending my order. That right their definitely concerned me as to why would a company that states, same day shipping would ever dare make that statement if they don't always have sufficient stock. I mean literally they state it as its concrete, no maybes or possibly, its a clear statement that its same day shipping for all first time subscribers.
Now the second issue I had was, If they realized that the moment after printing my label and sending me tracking information that they were out of stock, why not send the customer (ie: myself) an immediate email explaining the situation so as to not leave the customer waiting 4 days wondering what the hell had happened. I understand that sometimes in companies as in life, things happen that can't be avoided, but as a consumer I felt like they could of honored themselves by being quick to notify customers of such issues as to show customers that our satisfaction is of highest concern. That lack of concern for me did not at all leave a great impression as I began to wonder how many, if any times they did this to other customers.
So for my first review of the Wet shave club, I can only point out the one good thing about them so far was they were quick to email back for my concern, which shows good customer service, but they fell short at caring enough to notify me of the issue the moment it happened (at least they admitted to finding the mistake) but did nothing to solve it or even let me know about it until having me wait 4 days and get annoyed enough to email them which is kind of wrong in my book. Many companies could save themselves loads of angry customers if only they were quick to report back end issues.
Once I receive my box, I will do a full review of shipping time, the razor, the products that came, and a full shave/post shave review for everyone.
That was 77 years of shaving history in which over time he mentioned that he never changed his method of shaving, but overtime through his travels around the world (he was a sailor/fisherman/exporter) He found and tried many different products from other countries. He then guided me step by step on the process of traditional shaving and each step of the way I felt like I was hearing a grand tale while watching history unfold before my eyes. The look of pride on him was inspiring, and he was overjoyed with being able to teach his grandson (28yrs old btw) something that he loved. He was a rare sight in my life, as someone who woke up looking forward to that shave.
After his passing, I looked back on that last day I spent with him, and couldn't help but feel like he was passing a torch down to me, and it was my duty to carry that torch on. So I dumped the cartridges and bought myself a Merkur 34c, my first start shaving kit from AOS. One thing that stood out to me was when he said, "Every where I've been, I found and learned things that wouldn't just make shaving feel like an obligation, I found products that opened my eyes to new ideas, and I learned techniques that made shaving more like an honored tradition."
With that statement in mind, I wanted nothing more than to have that same journey in my life where shaving wasn't a chore, it was a relaxing meditative experience. I couldn't do that just going out and buying any old razor and can of goo. I wanted to go search, find, and be amazed by the products I can get and learn more about the techniques and tools I could master. That's led me to subscribe to Wet Shave club, as it seemed like an affordable way of getting to try, test, and find products easier.
Now I officially subscribed to Wet shave club last Thursday Dec. 5th. Now I did research the company and found both people who enjoy it and people who weren't to happy with or impressed by what Wet Shave club had to offer. Even one reviewer I saw on Youtube said it wasn't worth the money. I myself have always been the type of person to seek opinions on products but never one to be swayed to like or hate it until I try it myself so I subscribed and I'm waiting on my first box shipment. One thing I did like about the company was that they offer a complete starting solution for anyone seeking to get into Traditional shaving. The first time members box includes, Safety razor with leather cap, Soap usually from artisan companies, styptic matches, blades, and may or may not include aftershave (some reviewers mentioned getting it and some said they didnt so its a hit or miss). They also never send you the same stuff twice, so each month you get new soaps, blades, post shaves ect.. In my mind, that's a great way to get to try new products for low costs per month.
Now my first review about them I will state is more of a concern, cause I believe first impressions are everything and so far my first impression was that they don't adhere particular to their claims. On their website, they state that first time subscriber orders are processed and shipped same day! This was NOT the situation with me. I got an email next day saying my order was shipped and I was given a tracking number. When I checked the tracking number, It said my shipping label was created, but mentioned nothing of my box being shipped, nor arriving at the post sorting facility, so it was safe to say my box never left their facility at that point. I gave the benefit of the doubt as to maybe the USPS was slow to update their status on my shipment.
I emailed their customer service today to ask why after 4 day's my product status hasn't updated, as I was concerned that my box isnt sent yet their website states same day shipping. I will give credit that their replies to customer concerns was super quick. I got a reply to my email within 3 mins!! So that I found absolutely fantastic. In their reply email, They had mentioned that the reason my box wasn't sent out was, They printed my label before realizing they no longer had any of their Safety razors in stock, and they were waiting for their new shipment of razors to come in before sending my order. That right their definitely concerned me as to why would a company that states, same day shipping would ever dare make that statement if they don't always have sufficient stock. I mean literally they state it as its concrete, no maybes or possibly, its a clear statement that its same day shipping for all first time subscribers.
Now the second issue I had was, If they realized that the moment after printing my label and sending me tracking information that they were out of stock, why not send the customer (ie: myself) an immediate email explaining the situation so as to not leave the customer waiting 4 days wondering what the hell had happened. I understand that sometimes in companies as in life, things happen that can't be avoided, but as a consumer I felt like they could of honored themselves by being quick to notify customers of such issues as to show customers that our satisfaction is of highest concern. That lack of concern for me did not at all leave a great impression as I began to wonder how many, if any times they did this to other customers.
So for my first review of the Wet shave club, I can only point out the one good thing about them so far was they were quick to email back for my concern, which shows good customer service, but they fell short at caring enough to notify me of the issue the moment it happened (at least they admitted to finding the mistake) but did nothing to solve it or even let me know about it until having me wait 4 days and get annoyed enough to email them which is kind of wrong in my book. Many companies could save themselves loads of angry customers if only they were quick to report back end issues.
Once I receive my box, I will do a full review of shipping time, the razor, the products that came, and a full shave/post shave review for everyone.
