Benny's Barber Shop & Salon — Attraction in New York

Summary: Best barber experience I've ever had. 100% would recommend anyone to go there. Walked in, no wait. They took me immediately. They accept card, so you don't have to worry about cash.

Get ready for a lengthy review.

New to the area, and I was looking for a place to get my beard trimmed. Benny's has good reviews, so I check it out. Now I know why they have so many positive reviews!!

Walked in and Yuri took care of me. I told him I asked if they did beard trims, and he said yes. Sat in the chair, and he took his time asking questions to make sure he knew exactly what I wanted. I told him I didn't want it too short but just cleaned up, and that I typically end up with a trim that is too short. He studied my hair growth and suggested using multiple lengths on the trim, in order to blend the hair (I have a couple of thin area in my beard). He was 100% right. Best beard trim I've ever gotten.

He asked if I wanted the back of my neck cleaned up (I did) and he suggested a blend on it, which ended up looking great.

At this point, he starts to ask me about my hair -- it's super long and frizzy. I have curly hair but I've never found anyone who can treat it right. This is where the cut went from good to great.

Yuri started to educate me on my hair type -- and it was abundantly clear that he just wanted me to be happy with my hair and to help me out. He wasn't doing any of this to up-sell me a hair cut.

As we discussed how I shampoo my hair, he informed me of the proper way to do it and said "here, let me shampoo it for you. I won't charge you, it's free -- I just want to teach you so you understand the best way to take care of your hair."

This methodical and educational process took about 45-60 minutes total, and it was incredible. I've never had someone cut my hair who legitimately cared about my hair and wanted to help me take care of it well.

I walked in for a beard trim. I walked out with the best barbershop experience of my life. I'm now better educated, have a fresh beard trim, hair cut, and hope for my...

THEY GIVE A DISCOUNT FOR 5 STAR REVIEWS. Might be why there are so many of them.

Wasn't necessarily expecting to get a haircut today, but the guy at Benny's saw me check out the storefront and asked if I had questions. Couple minutes later, I decided to roll the dice and chat to see what'd happen. I'll fully admit that he was helpful with giving pointers on hair maintenance, and I think the quality of the haircut itself might be good? I have no means to evaluate this, and I kind of doubt it cause I was in the chair for maybe 15 minutes total.

In terms of my experience? He didn't ask what I wanted at any point, and when I asked how much it'd be before committing to getting a haircut, he never gave me an answer. And I asked multiple times. I usualy get a $3 cut from the American Barber's Institute students, so money is a huge factor for my haircuts. I walked in with probably around 5-6 inches (picture was taken about a week and a half ago) of hair, said that I liked it a bit longer in the front because I hate my hairline/fivehead, and that I knew I needed to get it cleaned up but didn't know how. I now have maybe an inch anywhere. He gave me a pep talk about confidence and whatnot, which I genuinely think was well intentioned, but I ended up giving him all the cash I had left from my bartending tips ($25, when it was supposed to be I think $35) for a haircut that I didn't ask for or like or know the price of. The barber is probably a good dude, and I respect the hustle and the way that it seemed he genuinely cared about me, but holy crap was this a bad experience. I can't recommend it, and I can only actually advise to avoid it if you dont have a specific plan to ask for.

This could very well just be on me for not asserting preferences, but I also wasn't really given any opportunity to say basically anything before he buzzed off a solid 3 inches as his first move. Wild experience that I'm legitimately planning on writing a sketch about later. Thank god I have a nice closet of hats for the next...

i have came here for years but past few times have left feeling conflicted. to start yuri has a pattern of not being ready at appointment time. he then rushes through the consultation, cutting me off mid sentence in describing what i want and even started cutting before i was finished talking. he just started chopping away at sections of my hair in a way that felt messy and random and rushed. again i felt like we didn’t even finish establishing exactly what i wanted so i stopped him to explain again and he assures that he knows whats best and keeps cutting. the whole cut was done in 5 minutes. in the end the cut always looks good, but the experience is just as important. theres a constant feeling of urgency like he is just thinking about the next client. it doesn’t feel like he listens to you or gives you time to speak, express concerns or make edits.

on top of that i have been charged a different price many times despite my hair always being the same length, despite always asking for the same thing.

another issue is that yuri is the only barber on staff who is comfortable actually cutting styled hair—the other barbers only do fades/beard work and simple cuts to my knowledge. this becomes a problem when he is not ready at your appointment time, either because he double booked or took a walk in client knowing he has an upcoming appointment. there are times i booked online and showed up and he wasn’t even there, and i had to come back another day.

at this point its a growing list of issues that outweigh a good haircut. most notably, to me, is being rushed through my appointment, talked over, and choices about my hair being made for me without talking through it. no one wants to feel that way even if it ends up looking good. there are other places who will cut your hair thoroughly, attentively, patiently, and at the time you...