ThePetros
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 8, 2011
- Messages
- 147
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Please forgive my long review, I am trying to be as comprehensive about my experience as possible. I'm not trying to be pedantic - just giving the information as I saw it. I chose Cad and the Dandy for my wedding suit based on a recommendation from a friend. Its reasonable price (for Savile Row) and good reputation made it an easy choice.
To be clear, the finished suit is of good quality and I'm pleased with it. But the customer experience for anyone who has any semblance of knowledge of how a suit SHOULD fit was infuriating. The staff made me feel as if they wanted to wash their hands completely of me after 2 fittings - even though they failed to resolve the issues I kept raising. The tailoring work got progressively sloppier as we moved through the process until I was literally being handed garments with crooked and unfinished edges, puckering from faulty stitching, and broken buttons.
Also, these are my experiences and mine alone. My friend who recommended it to me didn't have anywhere near this sort of interaction with CATD. I also write this because I recognize I was likely the 1 out of 100 customers that fell through the cracks. However, it's the 1 out of 100 customer experiences like this that ought to give anyone pause when choosing to spend over 2K on a suit, especially one for their wedding day.
This perfect storm of bad customer service, faulty tailoring, and poor advice have left me quite unhappy and deflated. A good suit should make someone stand taller. Even though I am logically happy with the suit, the experience makes me want to curl up in a ball while wearing it.
I choose not to name and shame any of the staff as multiple staff members assisted me and therefore I take the stance that this problem was institutional rather than one staff member personally. I will only name one of the owners, which will be apparent below. I am aware that CATD will likely read this post and so I hope it evaluates every person who interacted with me and my garments in this process.
My initial experience:
The experience at first was excellent. I booked an appointment in March to make sure I have everything ready for my wedding day in August. I generally didn't want to be rushed. I was measured, came in for two cloth fittings, of which I was pleased with. They were cheerful, walked me through the process and were not pushy with their recommendations.
3 weeks after the final cloth fitting (sometime in early June) I finally got the suit. It needed some adjustment but everything was more or less to my liking. At this stage, I was still pleased. That's where things went wrong. I was told that the suit would be altered in about a week. 3 weeks went by and nothing. I phoned them to inquire and I couldn't even get a straight answer. Knowing that time is ticking (now late June) I insisted on an appointment. When I arrived, I found out it was not ready - I was contacted just as I was walking into the shop to let me know this... Understandably - this did not bode well.
A week later or so, the jacket and waistcoat were adjusted, only to find that there was a bit of bunching at the collar that was not there before. The trousers were still unresolved (only to have to go back 4 more times to fix) - the tapering was too drastic and the trousers would still not drape the right way. When pointing it out to staff, they were bellicose and made me feel as if I was being too picky saying, "everyone prefers the hem a certain way". When being explicit with how I wanted it to fall, they insisted that "THIS fabric won't do that". The staff seemed to either not have the tailoring knowledge to understand the problem and recommend a solution - or were deliberately evasive with it. Either way, it is unacceptable.
With much consternation, they finally widened the trouser legs and got it to where it needed to be. However, the bunching on the jacket and waistcoat were still not resolved. When pointing it out to them again, the staff - and even one of the owners, James - insisted the garments would "press-out" and "fall into place" after wearing it a while. Having never purchased a custom made suit, I took their word for it and therefore took the suit home. After wearing it for 2 hours or so, the problem was only more apparent. I showed it to my future mother-in-law, a trained seamstress of 40 years - she immediately knew this was an alteration error.
The rework:
I immediately contacted them, and to their credit asked I come in to resolve the issues. This was now my 8th visit to the shop. I arrived, only to find them again bellicose in their tone about what required alteration. They tried to defend the waistcoat, even though it was ill-fitting from the back - bunching considerably at the collar any time I moved around. However, when I put on the jacket, the bunching problem was so profound that the manager starting pinning without a fight. He stayed quiet the rest of the fitting knowing just how poorly this looked for CATD.
I returned later that week, the issues were sorted - only to find a new issue of puckering at the shoulders of the waistcoat. This was apparent the moment the garment was on me. It was a horror for me to see. At first, he tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but his eyes and body language did not disguise the fact that he knew this was a fault. Yet again, it was I who pointed it out to him and he said it would "press-out", he took it to the back several times and no - this was yet another alteration error. I asked him if he would accept this. He didn't answer and he couldn't look me in the eyes for the rest of the fitting...
He told me it would be ready the next day, and it was. Everything was finally fixed and I now have the suit in hand, literally right at the deadline - 1 week before my wedding (total 5 months and ~11 visits to the shop!!!!).
My conclusions:
I can concede that I may be more particular than most regarding the fit of my suits - though that is my prerogative and why I chose to go for a custom made suit for my wedding. However, my requests were not ones of style, but of fit and were not out of the ordinary alterations that any tailor worth their salt should have picked up without having to be pointed out by the customer.
To be honest, I am not disappointed that the suit required multiple alterations. It happens, it's a bit of a trial and error - I understand that. However, what I cannot forgive is when staff and one of the owners pushed me out the door of the shop with my suit in hand insisting that a problem of tailoring would "press-out", and then tried to do it again a second time. I should have not been let out of the shop with a suit they knew full well had an alteration mistake. This is quite unprofessional and not of a standard I would ever expect from any tailor, let alone one on Savile Row. Also, CATD knew very well that the suit would be worn on my wedding day - therefore it was imperative that it was to the most ideal standard. Returning a month after the suit breaks in was not an option - or rather, it was no longer an option because the suit was not ready in time to do so.
Not only that, but a tailoring service is only as good as how happy the customer is walking out the door. Had I not been steadfast in pursuing the problems with my suit, I would've had the most expensive off the peg suit I ever bought. And still, even with my suit in hand - my experience has left me deflated as I mentioned above.
Furthermore, I am hesitant to recommend CATD to anyone who a) doesn't have a mastery of how a suit should fit or b) doesn't have a tailor in the family who can adequately point out the flaws at fittings - because it is obvious that staff and even the owners can't or won't do so. If CATD doesn't get your suit right on the first go (as it did for my friend) it will be an uphill struggle trying to set it right.
I would give CATD 2 out of 5 stars, rather than none because I am indeed happy with the final product, but the process has left a very bad taste in my mouth and would make me think twice about giving them repeat business. Like a barber or a doctor, you should have the utmost trust in the service your tailor delivers. Whether by ignorance or malice - through dealing with these repetitive mistakes and trying to pass off faults as just creases, that trust was broken several times by CATD. By the end, I could not trust anyone in the shop, neither the staff nor the tailor, not even the owners.
If you do choose them, you WILL eventually get a good suit - but you MUST be on your toes and fight them if something does not look right - they surely will not do it themselves. It's unfortunate that CATD takes such an adversarial attitude towards customer service. If it doesn't intend it to be adversarial, it should reevaluate how it interacts with customers getting frustrated at returning over and over again to find very basic problems unresolved.
To be clear, the finished suit is of good quality and I'm pleased with it. But the customer experience for anyone who has any semblance of knowledge of how a suit SHOULD fit was infuriating. The staff made me feel as if they wanted to wash their hands completely of me after 2 fittings - even though they failed to resolve the issues I kept raising. The tailoring work got progressively sloppier as we moved through the process until I was literally being handed garments with crooked and unfinished edges, puckering from faulty stitching, and broken buttons.
Also, these are my experiences and mine alone. My friend who recommended it to me didn't have anywhere near this sort of interaction with CATD. I also write this because I recognize I was likely the 1 out of 100 customers that fell through the cracks. However, it's the 1 out of 100 customer experiences like this that ought to give anyone pause when choosing to spend over 2K on a suit, especially one for their wedding day.
This perfect storm of bad customer service, faulty tailoring, and poor advice have left me quite unhappy and deflated. A good suit should make someone stand taller. Even though I am logically happy with the suit, the experience makes me want to curl up in a ball while wearing it.
I choose not to name and shame any of the staff as multiple staff members assisted me and therefore I take the stance that this problem was institutional rather than one staff member personally. I will only name one of the owners, which will be apparent below. I am aware that CATD will likely read this post and so I hope it evaluates every person who interacted with me and my garments in this process.
My initial experience:
The experience at first was excellent. I booked an appointment in March to make sure I have everything ready for my wedding day in August. I generally didn't want to be rushed. I was measured, came in for two cloth fittings, of which I was pleased with. They were cheerful, walked me through the process and were not pushy with their recommendations.
3 weeks after the final cloth fitting (sometime in early June) I finally got the suit. It needed some adjustment but everything was more or less to my liking. At this stage, I was still pleased. That's where things went wrong. I was told that the suit would be altered in about a week. 3 weeks went by and nothing. I phoned them to inquire and I couldn't even get a straight answer. Knowing that time is ticking (now late June) I insisted on an appointment. When I arrived, I found out it was not ready - I was contacted just as I was walking into the shop to let me know this... Understandably - this did not bode well.
A week later or so, the jacket and waistcoat were adjusted, only to find that there was a bit of bunching at the collar that was not there before. The trousers were still unresolved (only to have to go back 4 more times to fix) - the tapering was too drastic and the trousers would still not drape the right way. When pointing it out to staff, they were bellicose and made me feel as if I was being too picky saying, "everyone prefers the hem a certain way". When being explicit with how I wanted it to fall, they insisted that "THIS fabric won't do that". The staff seemed to either not have the tailoring knowledge to understand the problem and recommend a solution - or were deliberately evasive with it. Either way, it is unacceptable.
With much consternation, they finally widened the trouser legs and got it to where it needed to be. However, the bunching on the jacket and waistcoat were still not resolved. When pointing it out to them again, the staff - and even one of the owners, James - insisted the garments would "press-out" and "fall into place" after wearing it a while. Having never purchased a custom made suit, I took their word for it and therefore took the suit home. After wearing it for 2 hours or so, the problem was only more apparent. I showed it to my future mother-in-law, a trained seamstress of 40 years - she immediately knew this was an alteration error.
The rework:
I immediately contacted them, and to their credit asked I come in to resolve the issues. This was now my 8th visit to the shop. I arrived, only to find them again bellicose in their tone about what required alteration. They tried to defend the waistcoat, even though it was ill-fitting from the back - bunching considerably at the collar any time I moved around. However, when I put on the jacket, the bunching problem was so profound that the manager starting pinning without a fight. He stayed quiet the rest of the fitting knowing just how poorly this looked for CATD.
I returned later that week, the issues were sorted - only to find a new issue of puckering at the shoulders of the waistcoat. This was apparent the moment the garment was on me. It was a horror for me to see. At first, he tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but his eyes and body language did not disguise the fact that he knew this was a fault. Yet again, it was I who pointed it out to him and he said it would "press-out", he took it to the back several times and no - this was yet another alteration error. I asked him if he would accept this. He didn't answer and he couldn't look me in the eyes for the rest of the fitting...
He told me it would be ready the next day, and it was. Everything was finally fixed and I now have the suit in hand, literally right at the deadline - 1 week before my wedding (total 5 months and ~11 visits to the shop!!!!).
My conclusions:
I can concede that I may be more particular than most regarding the fit of my suits - though that is my prerogative and why I chose to go for a custom made suit for my wedding. However, my requests were not ones of style, but of fit and were not out of the ordinary alterations that any tailor worth their salt should have picked up without having to be pointed out by the customer.
To be honest, I am not disappointed that the suit required multiple alterations. It happens, it's a bit of a trial and error - I understand that. However, what I cannot forgive is when staff and one of the owners pushed me out the door of the shop with my suit in hand insisting that a problem of tailoring would "press-out", and then tried to do it again a second time. I should have not been let out of the shop with a suit they knew full well had an alteration mistake. This is quite unprofessional and not of a standard I would ever expect from any tailor, let alone one on Savile Row. Also, CATD knew very well that the suit would be worn on my wedding day - therefore it was imperative that it was to the most ideal standard. Returning a month after the suit breaks in was not an option - or rather, it was no longer an option because the suit was not ready in time to do so.
Not only that, but a tailoring service is only as good as how happy the customer is walking out the door. Had I not been steadfast in pursuing the problems with my suit, I would've had the most expensive off the peg suit I ever bought. And still, even with my suit in hand - my experience has left me deflated as I mentioned above.
Furthermore, I am hesitant to recommend CATD to anyone who a) doesn't have a mastery of how a suit should fit or b) doesn't have a tailor in the family who can adequately point out the flaws at fittings - because it is obvious that staff and even the owners can't or won't do so. If CATD doesn't get your suit right on the first go (as it did for my friend) it will be an uphill struggle trying to set it right.
I would give CATD 2 out of 5 stars, rather than none because I am indeed happy with the final product, but the process has left a very bad taste in my mouth and would make me think twice about giving them repeat business. Like a barber or a doctor, you should have the utmost trust in the service your tailor delivers. Whether by ignorance or malice - through dealing with these repetitive mistakes and trying to pass off faults as just creases, that trust was broken several times by CATD. By the end, I could not trust anyone in the shop, neither the staff nor the tailor, not even the owners.
If you do choose them, you WILL eventually get a good suit - but you MUST be on your toes and fight them if something does not look right - they surely will not do it themselves. It's unfortunate that CATD takes such an adversarial attitude towards customer service. If it doesn't intend it to be adversarial, it should reevaluate how it interacts with customers getting frustrated at returning over and over again to find very basic problems unresolved.
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