Gents--
I was lucky enough to be in Chicago this past week on business, less than a mile from Truefitt & Hill's ("T&H") store on Michigan Avenue. I couldn't pass up the opportunity so I made an appointment for a shave and haircut.
I was disappointed with the experience.
T&H is on the 6th floor of the Bloomingdales building, along with a number of other upscale shops. The T&H storefront is rather small; upon entering there are two small retail areas, each perhaps 12ft wide by 6ft feet deep, seperated by a hallway, where they have all of their products on display, along with those of several other manufacturers (I remember seeing Coates and Castle Forbes, plus various "hardware"--brushes, cartridge razor handles and the like; I bought a small tube of Coates Tea Tree and a tube of T&H 1805, and a small free sample of Castle Forbes Limes). I asked if they carried Trumper Lime Skin Food and was told "they're our competition, we don't carry anything from them"--which I thought was interesting since they carried the other products I just mentioned. I noticed the place had sort of an odd, "stuffy" feel to it, to which I attributed to their wanting to come across as "up-scale British." If that was their intention, they failed.
Walking past the retail area, down the short hallway, is their barbering area. Again, its rather small: six small cubicles, three on either side of the hallway. Each cubicle had curtains for privacy. I was greeted by my barber, sat in a comfortable chair, and the shave began. It started out encouraging: hot towels, followed by some kind of pre-shave oil massaged in, more hot towels, hot lather applied (from a latherizer), more hot towels, and finally another layer of hot lather. The barber used a traditional straight razor. It became apparent early-on that the barber was having trouble with the grain of my beard (admittedly, it wanders in several directions, particularly around my chin). But I figured my beard was adequately prep'd so I just sat back and let him "have at it." He did one pass more-or-less with the grain, but re-applied the preshave oil in spots and re-shaved. I thought that was a bit odd, and somewhat unpleasant, but I figured he knew what he was doing. After the first pass, more hot towels, another layer of oil, and another visit from the latherizer for the second pass. The barber seemed to have more trouble with the second pass, using his razor every-which-way, dabbing on more oil and going over the same spot sever times from different directions, which was getting uncomfortable to me. In fact, at one point I asked "having trouble?" and he said "yes." Maybe I should've stopped him then, but I figured it was close to the end of the shave anyway. After the shave I got more (!) oil, a warm towel, then a cool towel. He dabbed a bit of something under my nose which stung a bit so I assumed it was an astringent on a small cut, then proceeded directly to the haircut. The haircut was uneventful: I didn't ask for anything fancy, just told him how I usually had it done and he did it. I should mention that at no time was I facing the cube's mirror (with either the shave or the haircut); I was just shown my hair with a hand mirror held up in front of me.
After I returned to my hotel room I looked in the bathroom mirror to inspect his work: I had a cut of 1/8th inch or so under my nose, one heck of a razor burn on the right side of my neck, and a rather oily complexion to boot. The haircut was adequate but no more. I decided to leave well enough alone and went about my business for the evening. The oily skin finally cleared up about two hours later. After the oil cleared away I felt my beard; rather than being "baby's butt smooth" there were a number of places that had significant stubble. The following day I noted that I probably could have used a shave (but didn't, to let my poor face heal) and my hair stuck out on odd directions so that I had to re-shampoo. I paid almost US$100 for this?? I should've spoken up. So far I have had two shaves from upscale barbers; one at Art of Shaving (AOS) in Las Vegas and this shave. The AOS experience was FAR superior.
I really like T&H products; they're excellent quality. But I will not be recommending their barbering services to anyone. In fact, I plan to send their management a letter version of this posting.
--Mark
Visit to Truefitt & Hill in Chicago
-
mantic
- Wielder of the Zorrick
- Posts: 2390
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 11:47 pm
- Location: Somewhere Between Snook and North Zulch, TX
Gents-- I have sent the following letter to Truefitt & Hill North America:
[Return Address]
10 August 2004
Mr. Guy Cartwright, President and CEO
Truefitt and Hill North America
600 W. Van Buren St.
Chicago, IL 60607
Dear Mr. Cartwright;
I was lucky enough to be in Chicago this past week on business, less than a mile from the Truefitt & Hill ("T&H") store on Michigan Avenue. As a new wetshaving enthusiast (since May) I couldn't pass up the opportunity so I made an appointment for a shave and haircut (Friday, 6 August).
I was very disappointed with the experience.
Before my appointment I browsed the retail area, noting a number of fine British products such as Coates and Castle Forbes along with T&H, purchasing a small tube of Coates Tea Tree and a tube of T&H 1805. I asked if Trumper Lime Skin Food was available and was told "they're our competition, we don't carry anything from them"--which I thought was odd because of the other products I just mentioned (and Trumper does not have a named, licensed outlet in the USA that I know of).
My shaving experience started out encouraging: hot towels, followed by some kind of pre-shave oil massaged in, more hot towels, hot lather, more hot towels, and finally another layer of hot lather. It became apparent early-on that the barber was having trouble with the grain of my beard (admittedly, it wanders in several directions, particularly around my chin). But I figured my beard was adequately prepared so I just sat back and let him "have at it." He did the first pass more-or-less with the grain, but re-applied the preshave oil in spots and re-shaved. I thought that was a bit odd, and somewhat unpleasant, but I figured he knew what he was doing. After the first pass, more hot towels, oil, and lather. The barber seemed to have more trouble with the second pass, using his razor every-which-way, dabbing on more oil and going over the same spot several times from different directions, which was getting uncomfortable to me. In fact, at one point I asked the barber if he was having trouble and he said "yes." Maybe I should've stopped him then, but I figured it was close to the end of the shave anyway. After the shave I got more (!) oil, a warm towel, then a cool towel. He dabbed a bit of something under my nose which stung a bit so I assumed it was an astringent on a small cut, then proceeded directly to the haircut. The haircut was uneventful: I didn't ask for anything fancy, just told him how I usually had it done and he did it. I should mention that at no time was I facing the cube's mirror (with either the shave or the haircut); I was just shown my hair with a hand mirror held up in front of me.
After I returned to my hotel room I looked in the bathroom mirror to inspect his work: I had a cut of 1/8th inch or so under my nose, a large razor burn on the right side of my neck, and a rather oily complexion. The haircut was adequate but no more. I decided to leave well enough alone and went about my business for the evening. The oily skin finally cleared up about two hours later. After the oil cleared away I felt my beard; rather than being "baby's butt smooth" there were a number of places that had significant stubble. The following day I noted that I probably could have used a shave (but didn't, to let my poor face heal) and my hair stuck out on odd directions so that I had to re-shampoo. I paid almost $100 for this?? So far I have had two shaves from upscale barbers; one at Art of Shaving (AOS) in Las Vegas and this shave. The AOS experience was FAR superior.
I really like T&H products; they're excellent quality. But I will not be recommending your products or services to anyone until I have a satisfactory resolution to this appalling incident (in fact, this experience has been a topic on three different Internet discussion groups that I participate in and everyone is very interested in the response I receive from you). For the prices charged, and the reputation of the name that--by license--is used, my experience was not acceptable. I would like to ask for a refund of the money I spent for my shave and haircut, or at least equivalent product credit. Thank you for your time.
Yours Very Truly,
[Name]
Cc: info@truefittandhill.com
Cc: Alan and Joanne Broughton, Truefitt and Hill, London
[Return Address]
10 August 2004
Mr. Guy Cartwright, President and CEO
Truefitt and Hill North America
600 W. Van Buren St.
Chicago, IL 60607
Dear Mr. Cartwright;
I was lucky enough to be in Chicago this past week on business, less than a mile from the Truefitt & Hill ("T&H") store on Michigan Avenue. As a new wetshaving enthusiast (since May) I couldn't pass up the opportunity so I made an appointment for a shave and haircut (Friday, 6 August).
I was very disappointed with the experience.
Before my appointment I browsed the retail area, noting a number of fine British products such as Coates and Castle Forbes along with T&H, purchasing a small tube of Coates Tea Tree and a tube of T&H 1805. I asked if Trumper Lime Skin Food was available and was told "they're our competition, we don't carry anything from them"--which I thought was odd because of the other products I just mentioned (and Trumper does not have a named, licensed outlet in the USA that I know of).
My shaving experience started out encouraging: hot towels, followed by some kind of pre-shave oil massaged in, more hot towels, hot lather, more hot towels, and finally another layer of hot lather. It became apparent early-on that the barber was having trouble with the grain of my beard (admittedly, it wanders in several directions, particularly around my chin). But I figured my beard was adequately prepared so I just sat back and let him "have at it." He did the first pass more-or-less with the grain, but re-applied the preshave oil in spots and re-shaved. I thought that was a bit odd, and somewhat unpleasant, but I figured he knew what he was doing. After the first pass, more hot towels, oil, and lather. The barber seemed to have more trouble with the second pass, using his razor every-which-way, dabbing on more oil and going over the same spot several times from different directions, which was getting uncomfortable to me. In fact, at one point I asked the barber if he was having trouble and he said "yes." Maybe I should've stopped him then, but I figured it was close to the end of the shave anyway. After the shave I got more (!) oil, a warm towel, then a cool towel. He dabbed a bit of something under my nose which stung a bit so I assumed it was an astringent on a small cut, then proceeded directly to the haircut. The haircut was uneventful: I didn't ask for anything fancy, just told him how I usually had it done and he did it. I should mention that at no time was I facing the cube's mirror (with either the shave or the haircut); I was just shown my hair with a hand mirror held up in front of me.
After I returned to my hotel room I looked in the bathroom mirror to inspect his work: I had a cut of 1/8th inch or so under my nose, a large razor burn on the right side of my neck, and a rather oily complexion. The haircut was adequate but no more. I decided to leave well enough alone and went about my business for the evening. The oily skin finally cleared up about two hours later. After the oil cleared away I felt my beard; rather than being "baby's butt smooth" there were a number of places that had significant stubble. The following day I noted that I probably could have used a shave (but didn't, to let my poor face heal) and my hair stuck out on odd directions so that I had to re-shampoo. I paid almost $100 for this?? So far I have had two shaves from upscale barbers; one at Art of Shaving (AOS) in Las Vegas and this shave. The AOS experience was FAR superior.
I really like T&H products; they're excellent quality. But I will not be recommending your products or services to anyone until I have a satisfactory resolution to this appalling incident (in fact, this experience has been a topic on three different Internet discussion groups that I participate in and everyone is very interested in the response I receive from you). For the prices charged, and the reputation of the name that--by license--is used, my experience was not acceptable. I would like to ask for a refund of the money I spent for my shave and haircut, or at least equivalent product credit. Thank you for your time.
Yours Very Truly,
[Name]
Cc: info@truefittandhill.com
Cc: Alan and Joanne Broughton, Truefitt and Hill, London
-
mantic
- Wielder of the Zorrick
- Posts: 2390
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 11:47 pm
- Location: Somewhere Between Snook and North Zulch, TX
Yesterday I received the following letter, dated August 30, from the Kirk Merchant, General Manager of the store (personal information redacted, misspelling is mine):
----------------------------------
I read your letter and was very concerned. Such a negative experience is the exact opposite of what he we here at Truefitt & Hill strive for. In fact, it is positive experience and word-of-mouth that have made us so busy. We do very little advertising.
There were several points in your letter. Let me try to address them in order.
In our retail area, we sell a wide variety of fine men's grooming products from around the world with specific emphasis on Britain and America. You mentioned Coates and Castle Forbes, but we also carry Caswell-Massey, America's oldest perfumer; Kent and Mason Pearson hair brushes; Molton Brown, which focuses mainly on bath products; as well as many others. Coates sells only shaving cream. Castle Forbes is Scottish and has a line of colognes, but not much else. Geo. F. Trumper is based out of London and has a full line of men's grooming products including colognes, aftershave, shaving cream, soap, and hair products, just as Truefitt & Hill does. Thus Truefitt & Hill London views them as their competition and has required that we do not carry their products.
As for the barbershop, we are at heart a traditional men's barbershop. The look of our shop is modeled after traditional British men's barbershop, such as Trumper and Truefitt & Hill in London, but our philosophy is something new. Traditional services such as a shave and a haircut as well as the men's club appeal of a traditional barbershop have been put together with spa services such as facials, manicures, and pedicure's with an emphasis on relaxation. The bulk of our clientele are businessmen who come to escape their hectic work day. Although our shop is considerably different from the traditional American men's barbershop, we kept our barber chairs facing away from the mirror in that same spirit. The configuration allows conversation, not only between the barber and client, but also among fellow clients. Although facing the mirror during a haircut is more common in unisex salons, if requested, our barbers are happy to turn the chair around. Of course, at the end of the haircut, you can turned around to view the haircut, or, as it is our custom, given a hand mirror to check the back of your hair.
Our shaving procedure generally includes the use of oil, a glycerine based shaving cream, and cocoa butter, where appropriate; two to three shaves with hot lather, both with and against the grain; moist, hot towels before and after each shave; and aftershave and a cold towel at the end to close the pores. Steps can be added, removed, or altered by the barber, based on his or her judgment. Shaving is an inexact science, which is probably why there is so much interest in it. If a simple setup procedures work for everyone in the world, there wouldn't the myriad shaving products there are. Some men can shave with no water and a broken piece of glass (well, maybe not literally), while others use a pre-shave wash, a preshave oil, a good glycerine-based shaving cream with the shaving brush, a hypoallergenic aftershave lotion, and a face moisturizer, and they still have problems with ingrown hairs and razor burn. The trick is to find what works best for you.
When the client sits in the barber chair the barber, based on his or her experience, determines what to do to give him the closest, most comfortable shave he or she can. However, since everyone's skin and beard react differently, and vary widely, there cannot be a guarantee that that the client will experience no irritation or stubble. Growth the next day and ingrown hairs again depend on the client's beard. This being said, the shave you received was completely unacceptable. At three years experience with a straight razor, the barber you were with is by far our youngest barber in shaving years, and it's unfortunate that with such an admittedly difficult beard, you were scheduled with him. Because shaving has not been taught in Illinois in quite a while, it is very difficult to find Barbers who have been professionally trained in straight razor shaving, and although he has been doing very well to this point, with inexperience missteps like this are inevitable. Still, a cut and excessive razor burn our unacceptable anywhere, let alone a shop with our reputation. Had you made your dissatisfaction known at the time of your appointment, you would have not been charged. Customers should not feel scared to voice their opinion to the store's management. Customer input is by far the most helpful information we can get.
I've included with this letter a gift certificate for a shave, a haircut, a manicure, and a shoeshine. Before coming in, I recommend you make an appointment. Georg Adamson is our head barber. He has over 30 years experience shaving. We intend to live up to our reputation. If any questions, feel free to give me a call.
Sincerely,
Kurt Merchant
General manager
Truefitt & Hill Chicago
-------------------------------
(OT Note: I transcribed the letter using Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech recognition package I recently loaded onto my computer. It performed admirably, getting most of the proper names correctly on the first pass!)
While I appreciate the gesture made here, I doubt I'll be back in Chicago anytime soon to take advantage of it.
--Mark
----------------------------------
I read your letter and was very concerned. Such a negative experience is the exact opposite of what he we here at Truefitt & Hill strive for. In fact, it is positive experience and word-of-mouth that have made us so busy. We do very little advertising.
There were several points in your letter. Let me try to address them in order.
In our retail area, we sell a wide variety of fine men's grooming products from around the world with specific emphasis on Britain and America. You mentioned Coates and Castle Forbes, but we also carry Caswell-Massey, America's oldest perfumer; Kent and Mason Pearson hair brushes; Molton Brown, which focuses mainly on bath products; as well as many others. Coates sells only shaving cream. Castle Forbes is Scottish and has a line of colognes, but not much else. Geo. F. Trumper is based out of London and has a full line of men's grooming products including colognes, aftershave, shaving cream, soap, and hair products, just as Truefitt & Hill does. Thus Truefitt & Hill London views them as their competition and has required that we do not carry their products.
As for the barbershop, we are at heart a traditional men's barbershop. The look of our shop is modeled after traditional British men's barbershop, such as Trumper and Truefitt & Hill in London, but our philosophy is something new. Traditional services such as a shave and a haircut as well as the men's club appeal of a traditional barbershop have been put together with spa services such as facials, manicures, and pedicure's with an emphasis on relaxation. The bulk of our clientele are businessmen who come to escape their hectic work day. Although our shop is considerably different from the traditional American men's barbershop, we kept our barber chairs facing away from the mirror in that same spirit. The configuration allows conversation, not only between the barber and client, but also among fellow clients. Although facing the mirror during a haircut is more common in unisex salons, if requested, our barbers are happy to turn the chair around. Of course, at the end of the haircut, you can turned around to view the haircut, or, as it is our custom, given a hand mirror to check the back of your hair.
Our shaving procedure generally includes the use of oil, a glycerine based shaving cream, and cocoa butter, where appropriate; two to three shaves with hot lather, both with and against the grain; moist, hot towels before and after each shave; and aftershave and a cold towel at the end to close the pores. Steps can be added, removed, or altered by the barber, based on his or her judgment. Shaving is an inexact science, which is probably why there is so much interest in it. If a simple setup procedures work for everyone in the world, there wouldn't the myriad shaving products there are. Some men can shave with no water and a broken piece of glass (well, maybe not literally), while others use a pre-shave wash, a preshave oil, a good glycerine-based shaving cream with the shaving brush, a hypoallergenic aftershave lotion, and a face moisturizer, and they still have problems with ingrown hairs and razor burn. The trick is to find what works best for you.
When the client sits in the barber chair the barber, based on his or her experience, determines what to do to give him the closest, most comfortable shave he or she can. However, since everyone's skin and beard react differently, and vary widely, there cannot be a guarantee that that the client will experience no irritation or stubble. Growth the next day and ingrown hairs again depend on the client's beard. This being said, the shave you received was completely unacceptable. At three years experience with a straight razor, the barber you were with is by far our youngest barber in shaving years, and it's unfortunate that with such an admittedly difficult beard, you were scheduled with him. Because shaving has not been taught in Illinois in quite a while, it is very difficult to find Barbers who have been professionally trained in straight razor shaving, and although he has been doing very well to this point, with inexperience missteps like this are inevitable. Still, a cut and excessive razor burn our unacceptable anywhere, let alone a shop with our reputation. Had you made your dissatisfaction known at the time of your appointment, you would have not been charged. Customers should not feel scared to voice their opinion to the store's management. Customer input is by far the most helpful information we can get.
I've included with this letter a gift certificate for a shave, a haircut, a manicure, and a shoeshine. Before coming in, I recommend you make an appointment. Georg Adamson is our head barber. He has over 30 years experience shaving. We intend to live up to our reputation. If any questions, feel free to give me a call.
Sincerely,
Kurt Merchant
General manager
Truefitt & Hill Chicago
-------------------------------
(OT Note: I transcribed the letter using Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech recognition package I recently loaded onto my computer. It performed admirably, getting most of the proper names correctly on the first pass!)
While I appreciate the gesture made here, I doubt I'll be back in Chicago anytime soon to take advantage of it.
--Mark
Wow...thanks for posting the follow-up Mark. It's a relief to know that T&H at least has some sense of customer service. It seems like the letter was thoughtful and apologetic. I'll continue to use their products but would still proceed with caution if I ever considered going to their shop.
Vince
Vince
:::Vince:::