Willie Smarts 1 Westow Hill, London SE19 1TQ

"I had Laura as my hair stylist today and she did a great job. I think the price was reasonable (£53) but most importantly she took care to assess what would suit me and then gave me an excellent haircut. I had several compliments today and I highly recommend her."

"Great cut, really happy! Lovely hairdressor who took real care and time to cut my hair, despite my last minute booking at the end of the day. Willie Smarts has a local friendly feel. For the price, it would be nice if they could offer a few drink options."

"I have been going to Willie Smarts for nearly 20 years! It is the friendliest salon I have ever been to, and I have always been really happy with my cut/colour etc. I couldn't recommend them more. Just go!"

"The most surreal and awful experience I have ever had at a hairdresser or any professional London establishment in my life. I left shaking and trying not to cry with wet hair and ran to the Headmasters down the road who tried to fix what they started. I am astonished that this place is in business, it is the most amateur operation imaginable. I explained what I wanted and the main priority was layering and taking out the weight of my thick hair. Immediately after the hair wash, before doing the length, or even looking at the layers, she took a massive horizontal chop at my fringe, and then started chopping off long (outgrown) feathered sections at either side of the fringe which is when I realised something was very wrong. When I stopped the woman from hacking at my hair when I realised what was happening, she went to the owner who was a metre away saying I wanted someone else to take over and I heard him say ‘and how does she think that’s going to happen?’ He then proceeded to come over to me and go - ‘Well I don’t know what I’m looking at. We can’t FIX YOU, alright? Maybe you should leave’ I was in shock and said ‘is this not a professional hairdressers?’ And he replied ‘well no it’s clearly not is it!’. He said ‘you had a long conversation and she’s doing what you asked’ which was absolutely not true in either regard and he wouldn’t have been aware of what I asked for anyway so it was obvious the go-to response to back up his staff, in an extremely aggressive manner - the customer is always wrong here! Utterly disgraceful."

"I was left feeling underwhelmed by my experience at Willie Smarts. My haircut was bought as a belated birthday gift and I was promised a pampering. On arrival at the salon I was informed that the hairdresser was finishing up and would be with me shortly. 15 minutes into my appointment time the hairdresser informed the client in her chair that she would have someone else finish straightening her hair as she needed to speak to her next client. I thought she meant me but instead she spoke to a different person who had just finished having a consultation about how they would like their hair coloured, the cut would then take place once this was complete. After a further 5 or 10 minute wait I was finally invited to sit in the chair to have my consultation. We had a brief chat about what I would like, that I had planned to be somewhere 1 hour after my original appointment time and then I was sent off to have my hair washed. The chair that tilts (at rather an extreme angle into the sink) offers little back support and is the most uncomfortable seat i have encountered. I was then escorted back to the chair in front of the mirror to have my hair brushed through and the hairdresser was now finishing the hair of the woman who’s appointment had over run significantly. I believe my cut started 30 minutes into my appointment time and then it was completed within 25 minutes. The cut is fine but I didn’t receive the pampering/ service I expected and everything I encountered felt rushed."