I was actually pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to Fantastic Sam's. I came here to get my daughter a hair cut. Our stylist (I forget her name and I'm terrible) was super kid friendly and nice. Kept my daughter smiling and engaged. Fiona loved having her scalp scratched during er shampoo. I'm always very wary when I go to get her hair cut. Being of half Black and half white her hair texture is very fine and curlier than Curly Sue!!! Not many people can cut super duper curly hair well. We took off a good three inches and it looks absolutely adorable (I may or may not be biased). The stylist gave me a great idea for a cream like leave in conditioner to help with the brushing of her hair that didn't cost an arm and a leg and also gave Fiona a token for a bouncy ball when it was over! She and I were both happy. read more

Khadra was awesome! She was very sweet and friendly and super accommodating of what kind of hair cut I wanted. I came here after having a bad expierence at a Fantastic Sam's off of Navajo- where their stylist were rude, and unprofessional. read more

Why pay huge $$ for a hair cut when you can get a good one at a reasonable price?! I got excellent service, great hair cut and friendly staff. If you're in the area and need a cut, this is a good place to go! read more

Great place. Everyone here does awesome work. I'm never disappointed. Such a friendly environment, all the girls are super nice and helpful with any questions I may have. read more

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I came in on a wensday morning and no one was there to greet me and when the lady in the first chair finally greeted me she reeked of cigarettes and rushed to finished my hair! read more

Can I give this place negative stars? That is how bad it is! My daughter 16 yrs old (using her bday money) went in for a new do! Much to her dismay she came out of there with a terrible haircut and the worst bleach job ever! They lied to her, took advantage of her (she wanted to do this herself) and then damaged her hair to the point it was breaking off and we couldn't put a comb or brush through it! After days of repair and conditioning treatments, hundreds of dollars, and lots of tears we found a place that fixed the damage (as much as they could) and she could walk out of the house again! Kids are so cruel on social media. This was extremely traumatic and then add insult to injury they refused to refund her money! The manager of this store was rude, lied to me, and basically blamed it on my kid! Do not go here! I will be telling EVERYONE! read more

So happy to see Sonya. She was at another one in El Cajon that closed. She has always done my color right and my trim. I'll be requesting her every time. read more

Best service ever. I went to get my hair colored and had my two boys with me all the girls there were amazing. I love my hair too read more

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I was really disappointed by my experience at Fantastic Sam's in Santee last week. I took my teenager there for a haircut after calling ahead and being told over the phone that the price was $21. On the day we went to the shop, I was told the price of a haircut is $25. I waited at the front of the shop while my teen had her haircut. When the service was finished, I was presented with a bill for $40 because the stylist had asked my teen if she wanted her hair blow dried and did not consult with me or inform me in advance that the blow dry was an additional service that carried an additional charge. Does Fantastic Sam's typically let customers walk out of the store with wet hair? Won't be returning to this establishment for any future services. read more

Absolutely horrible experience. Will Never come to this location again or let anyone I know. My wife went to This location last week they messed up her hair cut she went in the next day fixed it no problem. Since they took care of her, I chose to give them a shot. Walked in today around 10:05 sat for 8-10min before I was helped. Girl came out of the back asked if I was here for a haircut she said ok. Proceeded to rinse her hair talked to the other employee. Employee told her I wasn't checked in yet. She asked her if I was just getting a haircut. I was thinking why doesn't she just ask me. Then she finally made her way to the counter took my phone number, I told her I was getting a shampoo and cut and had a coupon. she said show my the coupon. I pulled it up on my phone and she said we don't take coupons unless they're printed out. I said you've taken them before off of the phone(my wife used this method last week) she said my manger says we aren't taking them unless they're printed out. I said I'll go somewhere else, your loss. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME GOING TO THIS FRANCHISE read more

Hazel did a good job of my hair. I didn't know the right words to ask for what I wanted but she figured it out just fine. Wasn't awkward like sometimes haircuts can be. I'm no good at small talk and she picked up on it. read more

The prices are very good, and for the most part, the haircuts always turn out alright. I've never had any coloring done here so I can't say how that is. The employees are all pretty nice in my experience, however, I feel like a majority of them are unhappy with their lives. There's a few that just seem depressed, which then deters me from wanting to come back. I come for the convenience of the place and the good prices. Also, there has been times when I went around 5:45pm and they were closed, though they're supposed to be open until 7. Just an ok place. read more

Danielle is amazing! I have been to every high end salon in San Diego! She makes miracles. She is honest and no hidden costs. Not to mention, the best chunky highlights I've ever have had s better experience . My hair looks absolutely beautiful! Ask for Danielle! She is amazing!!! read more

Because of the magical hands of Nadia, I have been getting so many compliments and smiles. She had blessed hands where with every cut, the hair looks healthier and grows thicker and longer. I have been getting my hair cuts by her for years and every time, she surprises me. read more

I had a great experience at fantastic sams. I went in for a haircut and wanted light layers. My stylist was Nadia and she did a great job and my hair cut was beautiful. I am so happy that I got the hair cut I wanted! The customer service is amazing as well, I felt cared for from the second I walked in. Overall would definitely recommend!! read more

I came in for a keratin treatment and was very satisfied with the results! It lasted for the six months it was supposed to and I will be going for another treatment soon! read more

This hair salon has the sweetest hair stylists ever. Amazing work.. I always leave happy!

We will never trust our long hair to these ladies again. I went in today with my two grand daughters. One of us had mid length hair and wanted a short designer cut. The stylist did a fantastic job! There's your star. While the ladies in the shop were nice, polite, and seemingly knew their stuff - the one thing they didn't do was listen to their customer as regards the other two of us. My other grand daughter had hair down to below her bra strap. She wanted a trim. The stylist suggested long layers and showed my grand daughter how much hair she'd be taking off which was about 3 inches. After the long layers, my grand daughter's hair is now just below her shoulders having lost about 6 inches of her hair! But wait, there's more! My hair was down to my waist and I wanted a trim. Different stylist. I said 3 inches. She encouraged long layers and I'm figuring, "If you can do long layers with that 3 inches, I'm good." 6-7 inches of my hair is GONE! I can't even tell you how upset the two of us are. I'm going to say that they did a decent job on the shorter haircut but do NOT go there for a trim. They'll cut all your hair off! We will never go back. NOTE: I don't have photos handy right now but I hope I can come back and edit this to show you what was done. I do not recommend. read more

Took my daughter in for a "trim" today, thinking maybe taking an inch or two off. She has very curly hair to the middle of her back and I told the lady she had just given herself a hot oil treatment. She didn't wash it or even wet it. She tried to brush it out with a small comb. When she couldn't get to the ends because of "tangles", she just cut them off! She cut 6 inches off of my daughter's hair. I told the front desk/manager I was so upset. She just gave me a small bottle of product and said "sorry." My daughter's hair barely touched her shoulders now. Never, NEVER will I go back! read more

First off, I wish you could rate lower than a 1 star. I went in to get highlights in my hair of my natural color(a very dark ashy blonde) so that when my box dyed(purple/dark red brown) hair grew out it would not be too harsh. I told the stylist that I had box dyed my hair quite a few times prior to this as well. She put bleach to do highlights in about half of my hair and then proceeded to go do another client's hair. She came back, about 15-20mins later, and looked at the highlights that were in and asked me if I had dyed my hair a violet color and I replied with yes, which she already knew because I told her. She then said "oh okay that's why they're coming out pink." She then proceeded to do the rest of my hair and let me sit in the dryer for a very long time (probably around an hour) while she did ANOTHER clients hair. She never once checked up on me until she was done with the other client and by then my hair was ready to be rinsed. We went to the sink to rinse my hair and she put a few products in it and we went back to the styling chair. She started brushing my hair and when I glanced at the brush it was all BLEACH BLONDE hair that was melting in the brush that had fallen off of my head. She then cleaned the brush right in front of me and claimed this was normal for all of this to fall out because I had previously box dyed me hair and now we were lifting the color. I did not think anything of this because I had never had my hair done professionally before. My hair is now fried and crispy and all of the blonde highlights are about half the length of my hair because the rest melted/broke off over the next day. My mom got a haircut at the same time as me and they did everything they told her not to, which was cutting it above the shoulders and no layers. Her hair is bobbed with layers now. Safe to say we will NEVER be going back there and neither should you. read more

First off, I don't waste my time reviewing anything unless its 5 stars and worth the time. Second, I've been displeased in the past but never felt it was that necessary that I have write about it. With that said this place should change its profession from salon to butcher shop. I took my boy there to get the sides of his hair shortened and to take a little off the top. When he was done all of his hair was nearly cut off, the best way I could describe it's like he got his whole head shaved to a "#2" but with random patches of long hair. Then to top it off, based on the amount of hair down his shirt and hoodie, it appeared that she cut his hair off and shoved it down his shirt. He was so itchy I had to stop running errands to go home so he could shower and change. I would have been better off to take the money it cost to buy some scissors and cut it myself. read more

I really, really hate to leave a bad review, but this place requires it. I hate to say that out of all the times I have brought my kids, they have never gotten a decent cut. Not once. I must be a glutton for punishment, because I have brought them probably 3-4 times. But, no more. I now travel to the one in Grossmont Center, even though the Santee one is just 2 blocks away. What kept bringing me back was the $9.99 price for a kids cut, but I cannot justify paying for a cut here. My last experience at this FS was last week. I walked in with my 4 kiddos, 2 boys needing cuts. There were 2 stylists in plain view. No one acknowledged us, or said a word to us for almost 10 minutes. I was tempted to leave, but was pressed for time. I am really big on customer service, and this FS fails in this area. Not just this visit, but every. single. visit. Once we were finally acknowledged, one of their long time stylists took my son back. She was nice enough to him, but probably spent an entire 5 minutes with him so she could get back to her other client in one of the air dryer chairs. His cut was hideous, so when my second son got to go back with the 2nd stylist, I asked if she would please redo it herself. She was sweet and did so. She did an ok job on them both. Just ok. The back was crooked and she nicked my little boys ear but didn't tell me and I didn't notice until I got home. Grrr. I really would give this place one star, but the younger girl that was willing to redo the cut, was nice enough to do so, so I will give the extra star for her. They lacked customer service, experience, and just common courtesy. I not only will never return, but have even told my friends to avoid this place. Too bad, since they are so close! read more

ETA: NOW they are using the phone number I gave them to call me for "offers" once a month. No way - telemarketing with my info now? So, I've been here a couple times. Nu is pretty good & I have no problem with her cuts. I wasn't impressed with her highlights, it looks like my roots had grown out when I left the salon. There is another Asian lady there, her station is the first on the left as you enter- do NOT let her touch your hair. She's done my mom's, my friend's, and now my daughter's--all done wrong. She didn't give my mom the cut she asked for, but insisted she was right. My mom was a hairdresser so she knows how cuts are supposed to be. My friend's hair was cut all wrong and flipped out and was uneven. My daughter's was supposed to be an angled/inverted bob, with the back just above the hairline & the front at chin level. She argued with me that her hair wouldn't go that short because of cowlicks & gave her a plain bob. Funny, because my daughter usually has this style, and EVERYONE stops to comment how cute it is on her. So WHY can you not do it? Now it's just big & poofy - like a bowl on her head. Even if YOU don't think it'll look good, you still give the customer the cut they ask for. She swore it was angled - there is nothing angled to it. I also wasn't pleased that she'd just come in from a smoke break and I didn't see her wash her hands. Thank goodness for shampoos! I honestly thought she couldn't screw up another cut, certainly this woman went to school & had training. Maybe my mom & friend didn't push for what they wanted. I did, and she still didn't do it. read more

Worst service EVER!!!! I thought I would take my daughter and mother in law to get their hair cut and try fantastic Sam's my mom always took me here when I was a kid and I have known a few girls who used to work here. We walked in at 5:50 over an hour before they close... Wait 10 minutes for this rude short Asian lady with short thick hair came over and said you come back tomorrow!! I said we were looking to get it done tonight. She said no you come back tomorrow!! I said that's okay we will go some where else!! She said okay that's fine!! There was 1 other person in the lobby and another gentleman in the back that I could see almost finishing up a male hair cut... So is it just us?? Or is this typical customer service??? You lost our business... read more

Bad customer service had an appointment for 12:30 employee was rude and continued to tell us our appointment was at 12:30 in a very rude manner not a great view for a first time customer read more

I went in with my boyfriend today around 1 and I left super happy! My boyfriend also said he is happy with his haircut. I definitely recommend Shantel to cut your hair, I showed her a picture of what I wanted and she gave me the perfect length even helped me out figuring out the layers. super happy! read more

Every time I go to this fantastic sams the ladies don't want to do anything I ask them to do. This one time I wanted my hair 2 toned (that blonde & black look) but reversed. This lady (who looked like the evil mom from the movie tangled) freaked out when I said I wanted black in my hair. She even said that she didn't want to do my hair with black. That I needed to choose a different color...excuse me? Whatever happened to giving the customer what they want...this is hair we are talking about here. Obviously I knew what I wanted. By the time I convinced myself I should just leave and do it myself (which I voiced and noted that I do my own hair all the time I just felt like being lazy) she finally gave in but it was a 2 day project. The only cool thing she did was put a red feather in my hair the correct way. read more

The two haircuts I've had here were not very good. The first time I donated my hair to Locks of Love. My haircut was free, which was nice, but I asked the lady, a shorter lady (Latina?), to just cut it straight, no layers. She cut it to just above shoulders after cutting off the length to be donated, and I thought it was going well. Then I realized that she was vigorously chopping off upper sections of my hair and I asked her if she was creating layers and she said "yes" and that it would create more body and movement. It was too late to change it, since the upper layers were only a couple of inches long there was no way to salvage it but to continue with the layers. Needless to say, the layers looked really weird on me and made my hair wavy, but not in a pretty way, more in a fried, frizzy, too much static way. I didn't like it, especially since I specifically asked not to get layers. The second time I went, figuring I would give them a second chance, was just a couple weeks ago, almost a year after the donation and layering haircut. I asked the lady, a brunette Caucasian lady, to cut my hair high enough so that the layers would be gone. That put my hair just below shoulder length. She seemed to do a pretty nice job, though I thought the right side of my front hair seemed a bit longer than the left. Sure enough, when I got home and the hair dried, it was very obvious that the right side is longer than the left. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to do a straight cut without messing up, but now that I have had two "eh" haircuts there, I won't be going back. read more

I shouldn't give a star but I guess the woman did cut my hair so theres your star. First off I had hair down to my mid back and the women hacked my hair to my neck line. Ahh.. I was beyond frustrated after she did a blunt dry cut. It continued to get worst as it when on. She barely spoke to me and when she did I could barely understand her. It seemed like her attention was focused on another employee getting some clients. Anyways, she continue to cut my wet hair. She left my hair so wet (which I'm pretty sure she know it was shorter than I wanted) so I couldn't tell the difference of the length. It was joke how bad this cut was. At checkout a different stylist rang it up and charge the lowest price. I'm pretty sure she knew how awful the cut was. Save yourself some time and find a person who actually can do hair correctly. read more

I went here to get my bangs fixed as I had cut them a little short. I also asked for a small trim to just clean up the ends of my hair. The stylist (I don't know her name but she hardly spoke english) then proceeded to cut off about three inches at least of my hair and put all kinds of super short layers in it. I have thick hair which does not look good layered like this. To top it off she cut my bangs way too short and thick so now if I pull my hair back I look like I have a bad bowl cut. I have been crying for three hours. NEVER EVER GO HERE. She is one of the top rated stylists there. It is bad news. Save yourself the emotional rollercoaster and skip this place. read more

I asked for highlights. .. what I got was streaks that looked like a skunk. The blond was way way too blond. I am very upset. I am trying to get a job and this does not make me look very professional! I told her it was too blond and she said that I had to come back the next day if I still did not like it! read more

Wonderful people! Very happy with their services! I went and had Michelle I believe was her name she was so friendly and she worked on my hair until we got it exactly how I wanted! I am sad we are leaving California as I wish I could take her with me! The other staff are so friendly my 2 year old daughter was with me and they were great with her as well. I am giving this a 5 star rating as services are good, place is clean, people are friendly and prices are affordable! read more

if I could rate less than a star I would. I was referred to Chantel so made it a point to ask for her. they do not take appointments so when I found she was working I rushed down to get a cut. what a mistake. I realize everyone has bad days, but as a professional dealing with the public you suck it up and put your big girl panties on. I have never been treated so discourteously by anyone in a service industry. And that's saying something since I'm in my 60's. she did not speak to me except to ask perfunctorily what I wanted. the vibes coming from her were horrible. I couldn't speak. I actually had to hold back tears as she cut my hair. I got out of there as quickly as I could after the cut. I paid the $20, tipped her $20. will never go back...I mean WILL NEVER GO BACK read more

Went to get mine and my sons haircut tonight. Waited to check in for about 5 mins, then another lady walked in. Once someone was available I was checked in, then they checked in the other customer. The lady checking us in then took the lady who came in after us before taking us. When I asked why she was taken before us, I was told that she was getting highlights and only that one hairstylist does highlights. So we waited for our turn. The stylist that ended up helping us, I believe her name is Amber, started with my sons hair. As I was watching her cut my sons hair, I could see how rough she was being with him. She was pulling his hair with the clippers, scratching his head with the comb and being very aggressive while doing his haircut. I did not see her smile once during the haircut or even talk to him. I don't know if she was having a bad day or what was wrong, but she just came across as being pissed off. I decided not to get my own haircut at that point. And unfortunately my sons hair cut did not turn out well. I will not be going back to that salon again. read more

I have been coming here for a long time and they recently have made some new changes with management and employees I like this place it is the best fantastic Sam's in San Diego I recommend Rachel and Monique Rachel is great at Cut, color,and blowouts OMG this girl can do a perfect blowout like celebrity status no joke .....I have curly hair and she makes it perfect if you want your hair to look gorgeous fantastic SAMs in Santee is the BEST PLACE EVER best perk walkins and appointments all about customer service read more

Fantastic Sams - Hair Salons Near Me - Santee, California

Very satisfied with my hairstylist, NU!!! She did an amazing job with my hair, personally I loved every moment of it. I'm not the type to have full blown conversation but I like to enjoy the art of doing air she showed me every step made sure that I liked it first before continuing. I will return soon to just get pampered!! Thank you read more

Pathetic. Walked in at 9am, stood at counter waiting for someone to acknowledge me. 5 minutes went by before I sat down. 2 other people walked in about 15 mins later. Immediately helped and brought back to get haircuts. When I mention that I was skipped, they just apologized saying they were focused on their customers. Go anywhere else but these pathetic people. read more

I have been having my hair done by HAZIL for years. I cannot thank her enough for her talent, she has introduced me to new looks, techniques and styling. HAZIL is Amazing, lovely, friendly. If you are looking for someone who is professional, HAZIL would be the right person for you. Trust me she is the best. Thank you Hazil for your awesomeness. read more

Love Monique! She is an awesome hair stylist that does great work she knows exactly how to make my hair look how I wanted it even with a vague description lol my hair has never felt so healthy!! Will definitely be using her regularly!! read more

It was my first time here and my hairstylist was Rachel who I might add did an AMAZING job. My hair is naturally curly and tight curly so I like to flat iron it which did some major damage. Every stylist I have gone to I have never gone back to because I just didn't really like the service and it just did make a difference in my hair too much. With Rachel she paid extra close attention to my hair and listened to exactly what I wanted,she did such an amazing job I'm so happy with my haircut. I will be definitely be coming back to specifically RACHEL I loved all the recommendations she offered me as well. read more