Finally, a shop that takes care of their communities!
This is a review 5 years in the making, actually.
When I moved here five years ago, I came from a town where I frequented a barber shop that had a very specific vibe and environment that I never really felt “at ease”, I was just there to get a cut and go home.
As a new local Deaf resident, of course I had to reach out to the business first to see how they would handle it rather than surprise myself. Yet, I was still met with surprise, but in a good way, as the owner - Dave - emailed me back right away, letting me know he was more than happy to do any type of accommodation I needed. He made me feel at ease, and told me to just come in and find him and I would be taken care of.
Going there for the first time, I could tell this shop had a very friendly vibe and it felt like a saloon that you could roll in any time of the day and nobody would bother you with trouble. You were part of the gang whenever you walked in. No judgment, no “cliques”, no nonsense - just a straight forward barber shop full of people that are genuinely kindhearted, talented, and passionate about what they do for their community.
Sitting down for the first time, I had to show him my phone with the notes typed out about what kind of haircut I was going for. I was expecting the usual situation where hearing people still try and talk slow to my face because they don’t fully grasp the concept of Deafness. Instead, Dave just opens his own phone’s notes app and we’re going back-and-forth communicating in my most preferred method.
I didn’t need to simplify my desires by just downgrading my requests to “simple gestures” and a thumbs up or a thumbs down like at my old barber shop.
That was my usual treatment at most places where people didn’t understand how to interact with Deaf people or practically any persons with disabilities, even. By the second time I had gone back, the entire staff already had loaded their phones with the special note app - ready for any potential deaf customer that came through the door.
I couldn’t believe it. They were being… proactive?
Yet, they continue to surprise me even more. I found out they often give haircuts to veterans and contribute in local community events. Dave also had discussions with me about how to make people with other disabilities more comfortable here.
They will offer you a drink if you are thirsty on a hot day or an ear for conversation if you need to unload your stress for the day, or help you stay distracted, or give you total quiet and calm if you wanted it.
Anyone can walk in here and you won’t feel out of place, there’s no “shop culture”, such as the kind you might see at other barbershops and salons that ferment over the years with certain attitudes or cliques and groups.
Five years later and I’m still coming here because I just can’t see myself going anywhere else - not many people know how to handle Deaf customers like these guys do.
I’ll be coming back for as long as this barber shop stands because it’s one of the only places aside from my own home that I can feel comfortable hanging out at.
I rarely do these reviews - I feel like establishments typically speak for themselves throughout the community and with the bodies that flows in and out of their doors.
However, I have to give respect to the only barber shop in my life that has treated me so well, to a point where I can genuinely walk through their doors, look at the ensemble, and call them friends. I have never once been disappointed or let down by anybody or any experiences, and you might wonder why such a profound review for a simple barber shop?
That’s the thing… It’s not just a simple barber shop.
Barbers
Barbers
Barbers
“Review
Finally, a shop that takes care of their communities!
This is a review 5 years in the making, actually.
When I moved here five years ago, I came from a town where I frequented a barber shop that had a very specific vibe and environment that I never really felt “at ease”, I was just there to get a cut and go home.
As a new local Deaf resident, of course I had to reach out to the business first to see how they would handle it rather than surprise myself.
Yet, I was still met with surprise, but in a good way, as the owner - Dave - emailed me back right away, letting me know he was more than happy to do any type of accommodation I needed. He made me feel at ease, and told me to just come in and find him and I would be taken care of.
Going there for the first time, I could tell this shop had a very friendly vibe and it felt like a saloon that you could roll in any time of the day and nobody would bother you with trouble. You were part of the gang whenever you walked in.
No judgment, no “cliques”, no nonsense - just a straight forward barber shop full of people that are genuinely kindhearted, talented, and passionate about what they do for their community.
Sitting down for the first time, I had to show him my phone with the notes typed out about what kind of haircut I was going for. I was expecting the usual situation where hearing people still try and talk slow to my face because they don’t fully grasp the concept of Deafness.
Instead, Dave just opens his own phone’s notes app and we’re going back-and-forth communicating in my most preferred method.
I didn’t need to simplify my desires by just downgrading my requests to “simple gestures” and a thumbs up or a thumbs down like at my old barber shop.
That was my usual treatment at most places where people didn’t understand how to interact with Deaf people or practically any persons with disabilities, even. By the second time I had gone back, the entire staff already had loaded their phones with the special note app - ready for any potential deaf customer that came through the door.
I couldn’t believe it. They were being… proactive?
Yet, they continue to surprise me even more. I found out they often give haircuts to veterans and contribute in local community events. Dave also had discussions with me about how to make people with other disabilities more comfortable here.
They will offer you a drink if you are thirsty on a hot day or an ear for conversation if you need to unload your stress for the day, or help you stay distracted, or give you total quiet and calm if you wanted it.
Anyone can walk in here and you won’t feel out of place, there’s no “shop culture”, such as the kind you might see at other barbershops and salons that ferment over the years with certain attitudes or cliques and groups.
Five years later and I’m still coming here because I just can’t see myself going anywhere else - not many people know how to handle Deaf customers like these guys do.
I’ll be coming back for as long as this barber shop stands because it’s one of the only places aside from my own home that I can feel comfortable hanging out at.
I rarely do these reviews - I feel like establishments typically speak for themselves throughout the community and with the bodies that flows in and out of their doors.
However, I have to give respect to the only barber shop in my life that has treated me so well, to a point where I can genuinely walk through their doors, look at the ensemble, and call them friends.
I have never once been disappointed or let down by anybody or any experiences, and you might wonder why such a profound review for a simple barber shop?
That’s the thing… It’s not just a simple barber shop.
If you are just l“