Swank – A Gentleman’s Grooming Salon

Closed for good.
Wish there was a way to remove this from Unilocal.
Any recommendations on a guy’s haircut place in Tampa are welcome.

I have been looking a great stylist since moving to Tampa two years ago and finally found someone that is just as great if not better than my old stylist back in LA. Gina really cares about your happiness and that you get what you want! She does not rush you and tells you what will work for your hair type and the best way to style your hair. I have never had anyone ask where I get my hair cut before but now I try and keep one of her cards on me because she is just that great. She even sent me a text after my first cut or two to make sure I am happy with it after I washed and styled it myself.
After learning the area, I really wanted to move down in St Pete to be closer to the water but still drive to South Tampa to see Gina and her genius.

The best men’s haircut and grooming in South Tampa. The owner & lead stylist /​barber takes her time and seems to know what will look good on every head. I’ve been a customer for over 6 years and now my friends go regularly.

Gina has been cutting my hair for many years and she does a stellar job. She definitely knows what she’s doing, takes a lot of pride in her work, and pays attention to the details. I can’t imagine going anywhere else! Seriously. Well worth the price.

Gina has been cutting my hair for almost two years and always does an excellent job. Apart from being a very sweet person she takes a lot of pride in her work and is one of the best stylists I have ever been to. I feel her prices are a bargain when considering the quality of her work. If you want a $ 15, 20 minute cut you’re better off with Fantastic Sam’s or the like. If you want someone who really takes the time to give a great haircut, this is your place.

I had high hopes to convince my husband to stop going to bargain barbers and get a proper haircut that didn’t leave him looking like his friends got drunk and tried to cut his hair. Unfortunately, Swank did not deliver. I scheduled an appointment for him and even though he was reluctant to go, he arrived promptly and then had to wait for more than a half an hour. As he sat, he took in the ambiance of what is being billed as an upscale guy’s hair place, but there was nothing GUY about the place. No big TVs showing sports, no Sport Illustrated or other magazines guys would like. What’s worse is that the stylist (who is also the owner) was asking the guy she was working on what it was like to have a beard and how to best care for beards, which are things I would expect someone who «specializes» in men’s grooming to know.
When she finally got around to cutting my husband’s hair, she told him she wanted to spend an hour with him to really get to know his needs, how he wanted to portray his image, what kind of work he did and how his hair style could help him be better at his job, which sounds great if you have an hour to kill and you haven’t already been waiting for more than 30 minutes past your appointment time. My husband explained this to her, but she ignored him and proceeded to take nearly an hour to cut his hair. It is important for me to note that it was TECHNICALLY the best haircut he has ever had, but after more than 90 minutes in the salon, the great cut wasn’t enough to make up for the time lost.
Just when it seemed like the never-​ending haircut would end, the stylist sat down beside my husband and chatted at him for more than an hour. When she finally ran out of things to talk about, she still felt it was appropriate to take my husband’s money ($ 40 for a men’s cut) after keeping him at the salon for more than 2.5 hours making him wait for his appointment and using him as a surrogate confidante (oh, and there was a haircut in there somewhere).
All in all, the experience left him frustrated and annoyed. I think it’s going to be a long time before I can convince him to try another non-​bargain basement haircut place because no matter how much of a hack job they do, it won’t be as bad as losing 2.5 hours of his life to an unprofessional drama queen.