Duke Street Barbers
Barbers in Reading
15 Duke Street
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 4SA
Contact Numbers
Opening hours
Monday to Thursday: 8:30am - 7:30pm
Friday: 8:30am - 7pm
Saturday: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Sunday: 10am - 5pm
Key Services
Reviews
Terrible Service
Wednesday 10-01-2018: Duke Street Barbers is not my usual venue but as i was late out of work and in bad need of a haircut, i decided to give them a try - I had heard good reports from friends about them. As it was the evening time i made sure to check their door sign for their closing hours which stated 19:30 (their website also states 19:30). I also made sure to check if they had a 'last customer' policy whereby they accept new walk-ins up until a certain time before shutting. They have no such policy on their sign and because of this i decided it would be okay to walk in at 19:05 for my haircut bearing in mind my hair usual takes around 15 minutes to cut. When i walked in their was a chap having his haircut already, otherwise the place was empty. After a few moments one of the barbers came down to attend to me. I asked him if i was too late to which he said something along the lines of 'not to worry, there is still 20 minutes before we close'. He did not say this in a sarcastic tone and i explained that i understand from my own line of work how frustrating it can be to have someone come in last minute. I like to relax while having my haircut so not much was said until near the end when he asked me if i was happy with the haircut. From sitting down to this point was all of ten minutes so unusually fast. I ran my hand through my hair to check the length and politely asked if he could take a slight bit more off the. He obliged but his mannerisms suggested he was annoyed. After this he asked me once more if i was happy. This is when my issue occurred. The tall bald man who was still cutting the hair of the man from when i arrived complained that my hair looked fine and i quote "come on man, we have families to go home to". The barber who was cutting my hair chimed in saying "oh don't worry, i won't be taking anymore off" in a way that implied that had i been still unhappy with the length of my own hair he was going to refuse to cut it anymore. The guy cutting my hair also complained that he was supposed to go to the gym tonight but would need to cancel due to being delayed so much by me. Not being one to take sarcastic comments lying down i replied that i was very sorry for assuming they were open until 19:30 as the sign on the door implies!! I am well aware of what is and isn't banter and this was most certainly not friendly banter. I was made to feel like my custom was not wanted and that i was an inconvenience to them. Overall, i felt the whole service was rushed, somewhat aggressive and rude. I paid the 13 quid and left. Overall, from sitting to walking out the door took 15 mins. As i left, the guy who was there when i walked in was still getting trimmed!!! I would recommend that anyone who likes to be treated to a good service avoid going here. They are priced similar to most places in town but the service is well below standard. I don't usually write reviews but after having such a poor experience in this barbers, i felt the need to write this mother of all reviews!
Paul Lynch - 10/01/2018 | report this review
Excellent
I regularly have my haircut and hot towel shave(heavenly) from the guys at Duke Street Barbers. Always very professional, friendly and good value for money. I'd recommend this establishment to anyone. Top class!!
Luke Parker - 16/11/2011 | report this review
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