Southern Gentleman's Barbering Co. — Local services in Columbia

Great place to get a haircut in SC.

Edit several months later:

I originally just reviewed SGBCo when I first arrived in SC from TX, and gave it a simple review. Now that it has been months later I feel like it needs more of a total comprehensive review overall since the place is great.

Location: Located in downtown (somewhat) the problem is that parking is sparse with all the spots in the general area being metered parking. Bring some loose change because the meter maid in the area isn't any joke. There is a small unpaid lot behind the shop you can park in but it is normally full by after 10am.

Staff: Grouping these together because they're one in the same in some regards. From the moment you call to make an appointment or from when you enter the door you are greeted with a smile and friendly hello (no, you can't see the smile on the phone but you can feel it). You're checked in with ease and given a complementary choice of beverage (soda, water, beer, liquior). Drinks are mixed enough so you're not tipsy when you leave the shop, but they're not all mixer either. I have dealt with many different people working the front counter and all of them are extremely friendly and chatty.

Haircut: Excellent. The barbers will all work with you in regards to what you want and get it perfect. I haven't talked to a single person who has come to the shop who has been disappointed with their hair cut. My barber of choice is Danny and he hooks it up with a good military hair cut every single time. I can just sit in the chair and he does his thing. It's great to have found a place where I'm a regular and they know me by face/name alone.

Odds and Ends: The haircuts are slightly expensive ranging around 25 dollars for a dry cut, so definitely be aware of that before you come in for the first time. Appointments are a must because of the general busy nature of the shop so plan ahead.

Great place to go and I will be a customer for as long as I live in the...

I recently moved to Columbia from Atlanta and decided to try this place out since it looked like a legitimate barber shop similar to the place I would go to get my haircut back there. I booked an appt online, showed up right on time, paid the meter for parking , and was checked in. I was told by the receptionist that the person I was expecting to deal with would assist me right as soon as they were done with their current client so I wasn’t too stressed at first. I Sat back, enjoyed my complimentary drink, and waited. Once the barber was done he went to the front to what I assume was to the check his appts. Then he proceeded to go to the back and start chatting with the other stylists while cleaning up his Station. About 30 minutes goes by and I’m still not helped out. And keep in mind. I had to pay a parking meter to be here so my biggest concern was making sure I wasn’t towed because I don’t know the city very well and how aggressive towing companies are here. Another 20 minutes passes on and that same Barber proceeds to assist another customer while I’ve just been sitting waiting to be helped. I’m not a person that usually likes to complain. And I probably wouldn’t have complained if it wasn’t for the parking meter situation. Luckily, one of the other stylists was able to help me out but I feel like because I booked an appointment online specifically for a certain time slot. I should’ve been help sooner than that let alone skipped over. It definitely left a bad impression even though the second stylist did a decent job with the cut. I probably will not be returning back here. And At this point, I would be more than happy to drive the three and half hours back to Atlanta just to get my haircut. Because if I probably didn’t complain about the lengthy wait that’s probably how long I was going to be...

On February 25th, I went in to get a subtle curtain bang haircut. I had the long face-framing bangs before, but I wanted to try something new. My boyfriend comes to this place and said it is great, so I decided to go there. I booked my appointment online and it was roughly $56. I chose Emily to cut my hair because she was available that day. I showed her multiple pictures of what I wanted and said "subtle bangs" numerous times. I told her that I wanted to be able to hide them if I wanted to. All of the photos I showed reflected this. She was constantly distracted and talking to another person most of the time. She used a straight-razor on my hair and gave me dora the explorer bangs, which I haven't had since second grade. I told her I hated it and it was not what I wanted at all. She tried to style it to make me like it, but I did not. I called the shop later that day and requested to get a refund. They scheduled me the following day to get it fixed with Jodi. She did the best job that she could to help it not look so trash. Not only did Emily NOT give me what I asked for, but she did the cut so terrible. It was uneven and she cut it wrong. Jodi helped make it look less bad and issued me a refund and I am grateful for that, but I still strongly dislike what I got.

Even over a month later, I am still extremely disappointed in the haircut I received and it has 100% shattered my confidence entirely. Emily's mistake will affect me for a long time.

If you are someone who has never had their haircut here, but is considering it, do not choose Emily. I strongly regret walking into this establishment on February 25th and if I could take it...