The Buzz Stop

Buy some clippers and «buzz» yourself instead of going to this plcae.
Just got the worst haircut of my twenty-​something life from this place.
I realize that this is just a small nbhd shop, but there are a few things I expect from ANY haircut. I mean MY GOD all I wanted was a fade, my biggest mistake was telling the guy he could trim the top a little.
Here’s just a list of things that went awry at my visit:
1.) When i arrived there was loud music playing and a few people eating pizza who just looked at me. One of the guys was cutting hair so I figured he was the one on duty, so I sat down and waited. Occasionally someone would look over and give me a dirty look. Great.
2.) Eventually someone came from the back and quickly asked ‘you need a haircut?’ and walked away. YES I need fucking haircut. Why am I sitting here? I mean maybe I just came for some PIZZA but no one was offering that. Eventually I realized he was going to cut my hair and I followed him to his chair.
3.) My barber was still in high school — I found this out during my haircut, and obviously from the way he handled scissors and poked and apologized several times he was never trained to cut someone’s hair.
4.) I should’ve realized this earlier but I still i gave him permission to ‘trim’ the top a little bit. BIG MISTAKE. I ended up having to stop him half way thru cause i ended up with an uneven, way too short in some places massacre of a haircut. I guided him to clean it up in a few places before running for it!
5.) As he was attempting to do his job, hair was falling all over my face. The best he could do was use his HAND to wipe the hair off my face. WTF? How much does one of those brushes cost? $ 2-​$ 3
6.) While he was buzzing the sides he got several cell-​phone calls where he chatted and called his friends fags. Was that F*&#!@ phone call that important? If you’re a rookie, that’s cool, but PAY ATTENTION! Take pride in what you do!!!
7.) I WENT THERE FOR A FADE AND EVEN THAT SUCKED!!! IF I HAD CLIPPERS I COULD’VE DONE THIS MYSELF IN ABOUT 30 SECONDS.
8.) Finally, I had to go home and use scissors to clean up my haircut. WTF? That’s when you know you got a bad «buzz»

Background:
I have been going to the same barber in Lincoln Park for the past 6 years. When I moved to Logan Square I needed to find a new one as I did not feel like trekking back every 4 – 5 weeks. I had a hard time finding a place that was geared towards my style (white boy with a republican haircut, you know they type). Then I stumbled upon the Buzz Shop and I decided to give it a shot.
The Business:
This place is relatively new. It looks like they just filed for their business license on 2÷29÷2009. After searching around I found that the owner works from 9 – 5 and they rent the seats to the barber/​stylists for a fixed sum of money. The money the barbers take in, they keep. This is different than many other stylists I have been to where the money is routed through the business and then into the hands of the barbers.
The shop:
Being a new place, they do have some nice furnishments. The waiting area is modest and overlooks the main area. There is one main room with 8 – 10 stations. A big flat panel TV is present on the far wall and they have a reasonable music system. The floor is tiled and the walls are plain. They keep the place cool in the summer and I assume they have adequate heat for the winter.
The service:
I was greeted at the front steps by Felix (people call him Flex) and he took me right to his chair. Flex did a brief consultation and started in. I have a simple haircut but am cursed with four cowlicks on the four corners of my head. Flex spent a great amount of time sculpting my neckline and tapering the hair to address the cowlick issue. He then went to work on the top which he did with precision. This unassuming man did a great job and for a great price ($ 15 plus tip). Needless to say I will be using Flex’s services going forward. If the other barbers are of the same caliber, this place has a bright future.
The Pros:
This bright spot of my visit was the excellent job Flex did on my hair. He took his time and did it right. The atmosphere is light and jovial and the clientele varies wildly. There was a white guy in a business suit sitting next to an African American gentleman with his pants around his ankles (as is the style at the time). The place is clean and the people seem overall friendly.
The Cons:
Although I imagine some people like it, hardcore, uncensored rap music was playing at a good volume and on the TV. Personally I have no problem with this but I have to mark this place down because of it. It can really turn some people off. Also the barbers who did not have clients were wandering around or sitting on the stoop. I am not sure what sort of support staff they have but there are things that they could have been doing.
Overall I like this place. This is a very nice addition to the neighborhood and I will be going back. Although there is room for improvement, this place is worth a try if you are looking for an alternative to your current barber or stylist.