Thread: The superior shave in Jacksonville Florida

So while I've been in Florida I've been planning on visiting the superior shave in Jacksonville, and I've been asking guys on here about different types of coticule and what I should look for and all that. Needless to say I was very excited to meet the shop owner jarod, as on top of everything else I subscribe to his YouTube channel.
So I left early in the morning and the drive was about 5 hours from where I'm staying, and about half way there I realized that due to traffic I was going to be about 10 minutes late. They close at five. So when I was an hour out i called the shop and asked Jarod if he would be willing to stay open for about an extra 15 minutes, and went on to explain all the reasons why I would appreciate that small courtesy. This man chastised me with a rant that could only be rivaled by my wife! So I tried to switch gears and explain that I was from another state and a fan of his, and ready to spend upwards of 500 usd in his shop(really I had a grand in my pocket ready to blow) and
The rant continued. So I politely informed him that I would try to make it there in time and thanked him for his time. I arrived in front of his shop (the superior shave) at 5:15 on the dot, and the lights were black, no signs of life and the doors were locked. My disappointment was tangible to say the least. But what was more of a let down was the fact that I've spent so much time watching his channel, and looking forward to meeting him and picking his brain about coticule and other shave related topics, just to have him be rude and disrespectful to me. After a couple minutes of window shopping, the lights popped on in the shop and there was movement in the back, but nobody answered the knock at the door, so I resigned myself to going home without the beautiful coticule stone I so coveted. I did however go across the street and pick up some sea kelp shave cream from TAOS that was in the mall...no consolation I assure you. Jarod the disgruntled shop owner struck me as an angry,unhappy, and disenfranchised middle age elitist. He then went on in a later email to inform me that I could purchase all the coticule I liked from their website, but id rather give my money to peta than spend a single penny of my hard earned money on anything to do with the superior shave shop in Jacksonville Florida. Had This man not verbally berated me and basically yelled at me on the phone, I would fully have understood that people have schedules for a reason and I just missed the mark.no big deal. Oh well, I'll buy my products elsewhere and be just as happy. Thanks guys

What an a**hole.. especially since you drove 5 hours.. and even called. A poor display of "customer service". He was probably having a bad day but still.. You're better off buying from ardennes anyways get a lower price.



You didn't have success at infiltrating the dealer but we know the supplier.

Well...not making excuses for the guy or attempting anything like that, but yes, I have dealt with Jarrod on many occasions and yes, he can be what many might call "curt" to say the least.

Granted, there is no reason to go off and hack on a potential customer; that is just bad business. However, everyone has a crappy day on occasion. Maybe you just caught him on one. Behavior and attitude notwithstanding, the guy does have a fine inventory, decent prices, and seems to do well with the mail-order crowd.

It is sad to hear you had a poor experience with him and yes..I can totally understand why you would not want to deal with him in the future. It's a safe bet I would feel the same way.

So sad to hear this. I've never met with Jarrod personally, but I've spent much time on the phone with him. His is a straight shooting personality, but he was always tolerant of my questioning, even when I had a problem with a shedding brush. The answers and help I have got from him on the phone and email have been much appreciated. When I buy anything shave related, I always check his inventory first, and buy from him first.

He is a no-BS kinda guy; I like that about him. Always willing to tell me both the good and bad about any product/service he was willing to provide.

Like Phoenix above, I would have to chalk this up as a bad day on his part. Not a good excuse for the behavior, I admit. I'm sorry, Dramadon, that your experience was not as satisfying as mine.

It is what it is and I'm not dwelling on it, just disappointed I'd all and once again going home without the coticule I desire. If it were me, and a patron/fan let me know they were traveling from far just to meet me and exclusively purchase my product I'd make it happened for them without a verbal barrage.I've come to understand that you can't expect people to do the same things you would do and you can only govern yourself in the manner you're accustomed to without expectations on anything. Lesson learned and money saved. I'll tell you tho, looking thru that window that I've seen so many times on YouTube, seeing all those Simpson brushes, beautiful coticule bouts, and high end strops...I was drooling and super let down. Oh well, on to the next.

Ardennes coticule couldn't be more polite or helpful, also speak and write extremely good English so that won't be a problem. Deal direct with courteous people, makes life much more pleasant.

Good luck on the coticule hunt.

I don't know the man, Jarod, & I have never done business with the Superior Shave.
With that said, please allow me play the Devil's Advocate here;

If I wanted to visit a location 5 hours away, I live in Florida too, I would consider that an ALL day trip; with a possible sleepover in a hotel. I would have left early too, early for me would have been 6 am, on the road. Question: How did you not make it there before 5pm , even with traffic? You had 11 hours to get there. Even with a major highway closure, Florida has alternate North & South routes that will bypass a problem such as this.

I don't want you mad at me for bringing this up, but you have put it out here. Could it be that you cut yourself a little short when preparing for the trip & set yourself up for a disappointment?

On the other hand, if you did,,, it still does not excuse any negative interaction that occurred as a result. by either party.

I'm sorry your day was ruined, I mean that.

Those are some good points too from someone who knows the geography..

So the shop itself is open from ten until five. Gps says it's only a 3 hour drive and my friend that lives here confirmed that time frame. I left at noon. I mean two extra hours seems plenty. Being from a place like Vermont, where I've never dealt with traffic like this is, in hind sight, something I should have thought about. As for staying overnight. It wasn't possible. I did consider it, but I had to be at a client's house this morning.actually I was super close to making out there before closing. I rolled into Jacksonville at 430. It took 45 minutes to travel ten miles, and I arrived at the shop at 515. I've never in my life been in traffic that clogged up before. And at the end of the day it's not the fact that Jarrod was unwilling to stay open.I get it people have lives. It was the way that he acted and treated me when I talked to him that blew my mind. If it were not for that, I'd have no problem simply calling him and talking about what I want and then ordering it online. My line in the sand is this. I treat everyone with the same courtesy and respect that I demand and expect, and for him to treat a person as if they're doing nothing but inconveniencing him, is downright disrespectful and unacceptable.but like I said before I'm ok, I'm alive and life is good. Ardennes is an email and a button click away, and the online shop Is always open.

Definitely agree, courtesy is easy, free and priceless. One thing to say "sorry too late", another to rant at someone. Have ordered from ardennes direct before and they are top notch.