Avoid the new Bumblebee - cheaply made and painful
My experience is almost identical to Roxanne V's.
I have been a customer of this company since 2002. The original model had a very reliable and smooth/painless cutting mechanism. Yes, it did require routine oiling, and the power adapter was heavy and bulky, but the cutting process was always safe and easy.
I replaced my aging cutter with the new lightweight blue "Bumblebee" in October 2022. It was not because of the blade mechanism on the old cutter, which was still working perfectly. The plastic hose/swivel clamps had become brittle and broke, reducing the suction power of my vacuum. There was not a replacement option on the company website.
My first few cuts with the new Bumblebee were OK, but I did notice that it occasionally pulled my hair much more than the old-style cutter.
On about my 4th cutting session, the motor made a grinding sound, started getting hot, and the unit stopped cutting effectively. I checked the blade assembly and found that the inner blade attached to the rotor had broken off its plastic support.
I tried to e-mail the company several times for a warranty replacement, and never received a reply. I decided to order a replacement blade assembly through the website. Interestingly, the order was processed and fulfilled immediately.
It seemed like my problem was solved. But when I tried cutting with the new blade assembly, my hair would become painfully entangled in the rotor/spindle. My hair is not long - The amount I was trying to cut was at most 3/4 inch. I had to disassemble the blade mechanism and clear the spindle of torn-out hair. Nothing about the blades looks unusual. The outer cutting blade is securely attached to the nozzle, and the inner blade is affixed to the rotating shaft. The cutter seems to behave as intended when turned on - no abnormal vibration (but the Bumblebee is much "buzzier" than the original cutter). But when placed on more than 1/4 inch of hair to trim, it painfully grabs the hair and tries to spindle it until the blades clumsily cut the hair away. Hair that's any longer actually gets spindled, and the cutter must be stopped before the hair is pulled from the scalp.
After the replacement blades didn't work, I again tried to email the company for support. After 3 more unreplied emails, I tried in February to compose my complaint in Romanian, because I saw that the owner is a Romanian immigrant.
The owner replied and asked me to confirm my address for a return label. I answered him promptly, and then he went silent again. I have resent my reply several times since then, all without response.
Between the poor design/effectiveness of the new Bumblebee cutter and the unresponsive customer service, I think the Haircut.com company has transformed into a fly-by-night junk merchant. Beware of this company and its shoddy new product.
18 October 2023
Unprompted review
