Fruitvale Barbers — Local services in Oakland

TERRIBLE experience. My regular barber wasn't available, and I had an important event that I needed to look presentable for, so I went to the closest barber shop I found. I was in a hurry, so I called and got a walk in appointment with ATL (all the barbers there have ghetto nicknames, but as long as they do a good job I don't care if they wanna be called Lord Voldemort). I walked in and was told to sit in a chair facing away from any mirror. Some guy walked up and stood behind me, but that was it. No greeting, no acknowledgement, not even asking me what I wanted. After almost 5 minutes of just sitting there waiting I turned around, and the guy standing behind me was busy texting. I was just about to get up and walk out when the guy standing behind me acknowledged me. I told him I wanted a 4 on the sides and a 6 on top, with a rounded back. Just a simple cut which normally takes 10 to 15 minutes TOPS at any barber shop. So ATL runs a comb across the back of my head twice, and then... nothing. I turn around to see that he's once again buried in his text conversation. Another 3 or 4 minutes go by before he decides to get back to my haircut. He gets the trimmer and snips at the back of my head 5 or 6 times, and then... nothing. Turning around, I was unsurprised to see that he was once again too busy texting to cut my hair. When it was convenient for him he once again began snipping at my head with the trimmer, working only on the left side. One time, another time, a third time, gawd he must've passed the trimmer over the same spot 20 or 30 times. I didn't know what to make of it because I was sure my hair wasn't growing fast enough to warrant passing the trimmer that many times over the same spot. He passed it over the same spot so many times that my scalp was actually starting to go numb. Then he stopped again because his phone beeped, and his text conversation was obviously more important than my haircut. After taking care of his texting priorities, he once again began to pass the trimmer over the same spot YET AGAIN. Mind you, at this point I'd been sitting in the chair more than 25 minutes, and he'd only cut the left side of my hair, no intention to even look at the right, and the top apparently might happen sometime before Christmas if I was lucky. This with a haircut that takes any other barber no time at all to do. After 5 more minutes of passing the trimmer over the same spot I told him to please do the other side because I was in a hurry. He grumbled something about it taking a bit longer to blend the other side. Then he began to cut down the side of my beard. I have a full beard that I had ZERO intention of trimming, but he decided that he wanted to trim the back of it, so he went ahead and did it. By the time I noticed it was too late to say anything (again, the whole time he's got me sitting with my back to the mirror). So he trimmed my beard, and then he went back to doing the same spot he had been passing the trimmer over the whole time I had been there. FINALLY, by the grace of gawd, he decided to start on my right side. At that point I had been sitting in the chair for 45 minutes, and he wasn't even halfway done. After he passed the trimmer over the right side a few times I told him to just stop because I REALLY had to go. I got up to get my wallet, and I looked in the mirror. It was AWFUL! He had completely ignored what I told him to do, and decided to give me a ghetto fade, and completely separate the beard from the sideburn. Any professional barber knows never to do that, but this guy decided not only to do that, but to give me whatever haircut he wanted. I went to a formal event looking like a ghetto hood rat. Do yourself a favor and go to any other barber shop. Or, if you insist on going here, make sure you don't get your...

Moved to Oakland from Texas and was looking for a Consistent Barber that was Good, Professional, Reliable, and Respectful, Well, This was It, but On Top of That, This Barber took Me as a Client, at the last Minute, Right Before Christmas, was Quick, did an Exceptional Job On My Cut, Design, and Mohawk, at a Reasonable Rate, I Will be at This Barbershop almost once a Week for Sure, and They Cut All Hair Types, This is the Best Barber Around Oakland (Tried others). Thank You Filo and Thank You ATL for...

Hi my name is Tasha I was in town for the weekend and needed to hair cut I came across this barber shop and decided to get my hair cut. The barber ATL was welcoming and very professional he cut my hair perfectly. I think I've found myself a barber in Oakland. ATL THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY THANK YOU FOR BEING AVAILABLE ON THIS SUNDAY A HOLIDAY WEEKEND UNTIL...