Jantzen, Reliable at last?

[etl]

for those of you that have had a very high success rate, is there any consensus on how best to approach Jantzen? Considering the volume that SF does with them you'd think there would already be boilerplate ordering process on what means of reaching them and best follow-up procedure for getting the goods under the often expansive range of deliveries.

any thoughts?

 

[houserichichi]

Order placed 21 November and received a "will send ASAP" email from Ricky last night. I placed the order entirely via email as the entry form was down at the time (not even sure if it's up again yet). I sent a follow up email about 3 days ago just to confirm he even received my order in the first place and he made my Christmas season by answering back just in time.

 

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by E. Tage Larsen

any thoughts?
forumites have shared a variety of stories that end in shirts ... most involve patience ... i would say, just because you do not hear back from them, does not mean your order was not added to the queue ... orders get skipped if they include out-of-stock materials ... the latest materials page does not seem to be up-to-date with the out-of-stock information ... so you should include back-up materials with your order ... i cannot tell if jantzen prefers large to small orders ... or repeat to new customers ... to some extent it appears to be the luck of the draw. i order four at a time ... save the form confirmation information ... maybe email in six to ten weeks if i have heard nothing ... if i were to get nothing in four to six months, i would guess my order was skipped ... and submit a new order with all new fabric choices ... i have found that the "tight" style produces the best close-fitting shirt ... something most of us expect from mtm ... self-measured over-the-internet mtm shirts will not come out perfect at first ... this is not the tailor's fault so much ... he cannot see you or measure you himself ... so if you are unwilling to wear shirts that do not come out perfect, you should use another shirtmaker ... you probably will need to tweak your pattern two or three times ... you should not expect a perfect fit with shirt/batch #1 or shirt/batch #2 ... again this is not something that is particular so much to jantzen as it is to all over-the-internet self-measuring mtm shirt forms ... also there will be some slight variation, e.g. in sleeve length, in an order of four shirts, probably because different fabrics have different shrinkage allowances ... so i would recommend that you order in batches of two ... i think you need more than one shirt to evaluate the pattern they are using ... your different fabrics will shrink and wear a little differently over time ... especially depending on how you launder them ... so if you order only one shirt and, based on it, tweak your pattern to 1/4 inch perfection and then order new shirts ... in substantially different fabrics ... you might find that the new shirts are no better, overall, than the first shirt ... maybe the problem with the first shirt had more to do with the fabric or the care of the laundry lady than it did with your pattern ... jantzen is not for high maintenance customers ... if you need shirts immediately, or expect attentive service, you should use another shirtmaker ... if you fussy and want the perfect fit ... patronize a living person near you, and pay more ... likewise if you expect jantzen to be terribly grateful for your business and attentive to your needs and moods ... you are probably going to get frustrated with them ... i don't see why they should be impressed or highly motivated to please you if, e.g., you start calling them every day to say where the hell are my shirts ... obviously they squeeze in the internet orders around the walk-in orders ... so (i think) the foot traffic to the store, which you cannot know, determines the speed with which they complete the internet orders ... that's all the advice to newbies that i have right now ... good luck ... in my opinion, the shirts are totally worth the wait ... they are fantastic ... and you can get an outstanding fit if you are patient and careful and study what you order vs. what you get

 

[MilanoStyle]

^^ it should be "stickied".

 

[etl]

Dewey,

It appears that your orders are all placed with the Jantzen form, is that correct? What i'd understood from earlier in this thread was that people who contacted them by email directly with the order seemed to have a greater success rate. Also, on a four shirt order how many alternate fabrics will you provide... 2,4?

Would somebody here post the email they use and what format they use for ordering aside from the online order form? Also, if reordering how do you indicate your previous pattern?

thanks.

 

[houserichichi]

Every time I make an order with the Jantzen order form I click the place order button and then the next page I save and file on my computer somewhere. I have, in the past, followed up immediately with a confirmation email of my own which they typically get back to me very quickly or, if I'm feeling comfortable (which I am now) with the waiting process, I will wait until either 4 weeks or when Ricky mails me back. If the 4 weeks pass with no confirmation I will typically follow up with an email just verifying they got my order. Ricky typically responds within 3 days.

Only once have I placed an order entirely through email and it was only done that way because the order form was down. Is it even back up yet? I'm quite comfortable with the waiting game and I feel I have it nearly down to a science.

I've placed one order via fax but found it a waste of money as the email method works fine and dandy for me.

I've placed large orders but typically leave mine between 1 and 4 shirts as I'm never in dire need of 13 nor do I ever really see that many fabrics I absolutely want. I make a new order form for each shirt and in the comments I write something to the lines of "Order 1 of x on such-and-such-a-date". I will, in the confirmation email they send, find out if my fabrics are still in stock. If not I am able to switch them via an email and the replacement shirt will be shipped out at the same time as my others that were initially in stock.

In the remarks section I will typically include, in sentence form, the changes I have made to the shirt, links to pictures online of collars, cuffs, or detailings I want specially done for my shirt (ie: extreme-Udeshi style collars, measurement changes I feel will be better expressed via diagram rather than by written word, or other personal details I feel will be better expressed with a picture).

I always follow up Ricky's confirmation email with a thank you response.

I have had good luck with Jantzen as far as getting my orders through and their promptness. I have not, however, always had my orders done exactly the way they should have been, ie: collar stays sewn in when (and I can check this because I keep all my orders saved right off the page) I requested them removable, I once had a stiff interlining in the collar (requested) but no interlining or at least exceptionally soft in the cuffs (not requested). I've had monogram colours wrong. I've had a strange issue with the trocas buttons as there are two 3.4mm button options (one with uppercase lettering and the other without) and I never know which is which), and my problem of late has been an eighth button being sewn on the front at the bottom where the "spare" one should be but is actually functional with a buttonhole on the other side of the placket. I've requested it stopped so we'll see if the new shirt arrives without that problem (my last three shirts came like that...but all three were ordered at once with no changes to length or anything so as to make it my fault).

So while my orders may not always be perfect I'm willing to absorb my pride for the little things and move on. They're cheap (cost) shirts and I'm willing to take minor details with a grain of salt. Were they to send me a completely different material or make my collar the wrong shape or my cuffs barrel when I wanted french I might be inclined to send it back but I have not run into that problem yet and I really don't think I will. I'm a picky person with my clothing but I feel Ricky gets things as close to what I'm asking for at a price I'm willing to keep paying without feeling sour about the troubles. Not everyone is so willing but I am so I will stay with Jantzen as long as they keep me happy.

 

[overdog]

Originally Posted by E. Tage Larsen

Dewey, It appears that your orders are all placed with the Jantzen form, is that correct? What i'd understood from earlier in this thread was that people who contacted them by email directly with the order seemed to have a greater success rate. Also, on a four shirt order how many alternate fabrics will you provide... 2,4? Would somebody here post the email they use and what format they use for ordering aside from the online order form? Also, if reordering how do you indicate your previous pattern? thanks.
I would think that the purpose of creating an online ordering form is to help organize the influx of requests and make Ricky's life easier. I cannot see how he would be more inclined to fulfill an order from someone who deliberately bypasses the system. Rather, I would imagine the potential for the order getting lost would be even higher. Then again, I am not Ricky, and this is pure speculation.

 

[Dewey]

this is speculation on my part, but i'm under the impression that ricky ho is not a huge fan of computer work. they don't update the site frequently, for example. and he does his email exactly the way i used to do it back when i was getting 100 urgent messages a day. it's like triage. i would not be surprised if he is not filling in around the walk-in work orders with something the right size ordered through the internet. someone needs something to do for x hours, so he hops on and finds an order for y number of shirts and sends it through. pure speculation on my part. it's a credit to the greatness of ricky ho that we sit around and try to figure out what's going on over there. certainly all the first-hand reports of visiting the shop (there are some in the archives) say the place is extremely busy.

they always have gotten the stays and buttons and general measures right for me, but one time i got the wrong fabric. i asked for 2593 and got 2393. i laughed out loud when i opened the package. in a strange way, i thought it was awesome. funny thing is, it is a favorite shirt with my wife and daughter. i wore it today, in fact, to go see "enchanted" with the daughter, because she specifically picked it out. it looks great under a dark v-neck sweater or with a solid tie and a dark sportcoat. i never would have ordered it myself, but such things have a way of working out in my experience. i'm glad i got it. it is a winner.

i've been tempted to order "whatever you want" as back-up materials, but i figure that's not helping--that would be more work for the shop. i can't tell so much about the fabric from the scanned swatches, so i make my picks and see what i gets. i expect to be surprised.

to answer the question addressed to me, above, i specified two back-up fabrics on my last order of four shirts. two of the four were basic solids, which i doubt they run out of, so the back-ups were for two particular things that i could see running out.

finally, enough confessions of a jantzen fan from me. one of the first rules of jantzen, from all i've read, is your mileage may vary. i'd like to hear stories from others who have rec'd many shirts, if they are willing to share.

 

[Brian278]

I often wonder why he doesn't just increase his production capacity. Can you imagine the numbers he could do if everyone got their shirts exactly as they ordered them in 3 weeks for the same price? I would imagine he might have trouble maintaining quality with more labor, but it still seems in the best interest of his business in the long run. It incredible when you think about it that he's basically turning down business all the time, with the amount of incidents of ignored orders in this thread.

 

[billiam]

When I visited Jantzen at their new shop just a week ago, Ricky was at his computer anytime he's not with a customer. Also, its no surprise that Jantzen processes local orders much quicker. I got measured just before 1pm and got my shirts at 5pm the next day. I ordered some more that evening, and got my shirts not the next day, but the day after, so basically, one work day turnaround for local customers, and pickups happen on Sunday evening as well.

 

[Rnd]

I was just wondering, do you need to give your measurements in Inches or Centimeters?

 

[houserichichi]

I use cm for exactness but it really does not matter. I write "cm" beside the numbers if I'm going metric though, just in case.

 

[Rnd]

That's good to know, because i always measure in cm. thanks!
I'll order one tonight when i am at home

 

[turnbull12]

Do people email ricky or just the 'info' address? I have been emailing for weeks now, and I have had no response since I placed my initial order in mid-October. I'm not in a rush or anything, just interested to know if it is a question of emailing the wrong person. Thanks.

 

[Fabro]

Originally Posted by Dewey

they always have gotten the stays and buttons and general measures right for me, but one time i got the wrong fabric. i asked for 2593 and got 2393. i laughed out loud when i opened the package. in a strange way, i thought it was awesome. funny thing is, it is a favorite shirt with my wife and daughter. i wore it today, in fact, to go see "enchanted" with the daughter, because she specifically picked it out. it looks great under a dark v-neck sweater or with a solid tie and a dark sportcoat. i never would have ordered it myself, but such things have a way of working out in my experience. i'm glad i got it. it is a winner.


Exactly the same thing happened to me, but it was three shirts. I really like them all. Sometimes mistakes take you in good new directions that you would never have gone in yourself. Flexibility is important with Jantzen.