West Indian Golden Beauty Supply

Living in the area and being a woman with hair, I thought, why not pop in here?
How about four reasons why not?
1) the stench. why does this place smell absolutely horrible? it smells as if there was a flood a decade ago, the carpets (yes.) all got mouldy, and nobody did anything to address the problem. it reeks.
2) better bring earplugs. on my visit, there were TWO televisions BLASTING competing shows. one sounded like a horrible american news channel where people fight to be offensive under the guise of being «honest,» and the other sounded like «you are NOT the father!”-style talk show.
3). the products. I’m pretty sure all these products were expired. all of them. there were boxes of hair relaxer for men that were clearly from the 1980s.
4) the «Service.» let’s start with being ignored in favor of the blasting television. but oh! nope! i’m not being ignored, i’m actually being watched like a hawk. this became clear when I flipped the lid on a product to give it a sniff and was squawked at, «DON’T OPEN THAT!»
seriously, this is no way to run a business. if your store must smell vile and be deafening, at least be nice to your customers.

** 2.5 stars **
I was here last week, in search of some supplies for an upcoming hair appointment.
What’s good: it’s a fairly large-​sized store, with all sorts of hair products … if you relax your hair or need synthetic hair for extensions, that is.
Service was okay — one of the people that worked at the store asked if I needed help, and pointed me in the right direction when I told her what I was looking for. Plus I got a free calendar (albeit a religious one).
What’s meh: While it’s never a bad thing being the «neighbourhood» West Indian hair supply store, this is definitely your mom’s/grandmother’s hair supply store (sorry! but it’s true). It definitely still has the feel of a store from a past era where finding a black hair supply store meant they were few and far between.
As well, I found that a couple of the things I bought being a bit overpriced — particularly when I saw some of these things in other stores later on, and they seemed like they were a few dollars cheaper.
And I get the impression that not very many people come here (perhaps unless they’re going to the salon next door). It was pretty much deserted the entire time I was there; some of the inventory they had looked like it had been there for quite some time (and I don’t mean months); and the older woman tending cash looked kind of bored — when she didn’t disappear from the cashier’s counter. But maybe that’s what things are like on Tuesdays. Perhaps it’s busier on weekends.
While I didn’t have a bad experience, I don’t think I’ll be returning here anytime soon.