The Art of Shaving

I will never be back here again. Yeah, they’re extremely overpriced and carry a VERY limited selection of razors, but if that was my only issue here, I probably still would stop by once in a while to see if they had any new stock/​sales. My biggest issue with this store is the employees and customer service.
I came here a few days before Christmas to buy a shaving set for my boyfriend. He only uses safety razors, and because those are harder to find, I figured a specialty store like this would carry some. They did, but only four razors, only Gillette and Muhle brand. Selection was poor, but I figured I came here so I’d try one. I picked the one that was most similar to the one he currently owned. However, they didn’t sell sets! You could buy razors, stands, brushes, blades, and soap individually, but they didn’t sell them together. Okay, that wouldn’t be so bad if they actually had items that matched! The closest match I could get was silver everything… The plating was completely different on the razor and stand and it made everything look mismatched. That kind of sucked but they only had one type of stand and one type of brush (in different levels of coarseness) so there was nothing I could do about it. I ended up purchasing a stand, razor, blades, and brush for a total of $ 280.
Somewhat disappointed with my purchase, I spent hours trying to arrange it to look like I didn’t just dig through the clearance section somewhere and pull out whatever I could find to no avail. I ended up going on Amazon and looking for sets and found so many for so much cheaper! I ended up getting a matching set containing everything I had purchased from The Art of Shaving from Merkur (which is one of the best brands of safety razors, in my opinion) for $ 88. My boyfriend loved the Amazon set, so I showed him the items I had purchased from The Art of Shaving so he could pick between the two. It wasn’t even a choice and he went with the Amazon items.
I go in on the 26^th, and here’s where the trouble really begins. I go in to return all my items, and they take everything from me, look at my receipt, etc. and can’t figure out who I bought it from at first. Eventually, the person ringing me up realizes it’s the woman working with her (there are only two people working in the store at the time), so he tells her to issue the refund instead. She begrudgingly accepts, before looking at the receipt. Then she lets out a huge sigh and hands it back to the person I was originally talking to saying that she would not do the return because she’s already done so many returns today and she’s tired of it.
We both think she’s joking before she goes into the back room to sit down. The back room is really tiny and to the side of the register, so I can still see her sitting there pouting. She’s complaining about how she just «lost a $ 280 sale» and wouldn’t do the return for it, all while sitting there pouting about it. The other worker rings me up (without apologizing for his coworker’s behavior) while the other woman continues to complain. The guy ringing me up says that he never gets returns because he can spot when people are serious about their purchases and will only help them. Umm, okay, I don’t think that’s part of good customer service. You can’t go around ignoring certain customers while waiting for a «good one» to come in (it’s a small store that isn’t very busy).
My transaction is eventually completed but by the end of it I just want to get out of there. I don’t appreciate being talked about right in front of me, and employees should never make a customer feel guilty for making a return. That was one of the most unprofessional experiences I’ve ever been in. If I could remember the employee’s names I would definitely be reporting them (or at least the woman) to corporate. Save yourself the hassle and buy online for better products, prices, and service.

Horrible customer service. Don’t waste your time with these jokers. Just buy online. Aundre the store manager promised to throw in free merchandise for our purchase and he didn’t. Called him about it and he told me to pound sand. Never going back to that store.

I’m in the brotherhood. Yes, I signed up for the Art of Shaving membership, but frankly, it seems to get you nothing (like in discounts). But I’m a fan of their products. If you shave, once you try their products, you may never go back. The initial investment is high. Their products are expensive but it matches the quality you would expect. This particular store didn’t seem as friendly as the other ones, but the products are the same.

Their razors are expensive but unique. Ty was great and funny his customer service was awesome. Also the manger theon was pretty nice as well

Total rip-​off. AoS, please go bankrupt in the next recession.

Aside from the over-​priced nature of the gilette razor, the shaving set actually is solid. Here’s what I did. I bought the silver tip badger brush off of Amazon for $ 60:
At AOS they sell that same brush for $ 180 – 250.
So the actual Sandelwood shaving set I bought cost me $ 70 (Shaving cream, after shave, and pre shave oil). The silvertip brush is claimed to last 15+ years depending on if you take care of it properly. I firmly believe this one set, at least the shaving cream, will last me 2 years because you only need a dime size amount due to the badger brush. Any shaving product of higher quality you buy is going to cost around $ 15 – 25 per item. This is obviously a luxury, but it’s good at what it does.
You can use whatever razor you want, so I wouldn’t recommend dropping 100+ for one. The only razor I would buy from there would be a straight razor, which you can probably get cheaper on Amazon.
The customer service there was ok, the employee knew his stuff but was dismissive when my wife made comments which was odd.

Okay no lie, they are a little pricey bit worth it. The guy helping me was great. He even looked at how I shaved and made me realize I was doing it wrong. I didn’t but the 150 shaver but I got some samples and some new blades and new ideas. I will be back online!

***This review is not for salon services provided, but rather for
customer service during delivery of their products.***
If you ever find yourself in a bind, wanting to purchase something for someone special but without complete knowledge of the gift in question; then, you know how important it is to work with a salesperson who really understands the inventory.
Personal grooming is essential, albeit very taxing if you don’t have the right products. The Art of Shaving was recommended for men with very curly hair — to eliminate ingrown hairs and irritation.
The young lady gave me alot of information about what was necessary to buy, versus the cosmetic packages that serve duplicate purposes. She even tossed in a sample for me! I really liked the professional environment, and walked away feeling like «Ok, it’s not JUST shaving…». I’d definitely recommend this location.