Men's Wearhouse Helps Non-Customer, Gains New Customer
Josh in Pennsylvania was in a bind, and needed his suit pressed for a job interview on short notice. Very short notice—he was called on Sunday afternoon for an interview on Monday morning. The store where he originally bought the suit offers free lifetime pressing, but they weren't open on a Sunday. Trying to find a place that would help him, he made a useful discovery.
I've always been a big and tall guy, the broad shouldered former football player type. About 8 years ago, during my senior year of high school, I walked into a Men's Wearhouse store to look for a navy jacket and I found nothing in my size. This wasn't really surprising, as it's never been easy for me to find big clothes, or size 17 shoes for that matter. Because of this, when I find a store that meets my needs I generally stick to it - forever.
Over the last 8 years, I went off to college, got a job in Manhattan and eventually got laid off and ended up moving back home to the Philadelphia suburbs. While in New York I began shopping at Rochester Big & Tall, the only store that I knew of that could meet my needs. They were pricey, but the service was great and the money at the time was good. I had always been happy with their NYC store, but now that I'm back in Philadelphia, I've had two negative experiences out of two trips to the Rochester Big & Tall store in King of Prussia. The last one was about two weekends ago. I got a call on a Sunday afternoon asking me to come into New York City and interview for a job that I never applied for. Some old networking came through and an amazing Vice President level job was thrown in my lap. The only problem - it was Sunday and I needed to pull my suit out of a storage box and have it pressed in time for an interview Monday morning in Manhattan.
I called Rochester Big & Tall in King of Prussia - who offers lifetime free suit pressing - and the salesman told me that I was simply out of luck - after all, it was a Sunday and their machines were off. Not the answer I was expecting from a place where I'd spend easily over $1000 for a suit, shirt and tie. I was stumped, but then I remembered all of the Men's Wearhouse television commercials that I've seen and the stories that they portray of how their great customer service has saved the day for many people over many years. I called up their WIllow Grove store and Brett, a salesman, answered the phone. I said, "I have a weird request but I could really use your help..." Brett didn't flinch and asked me to come on in. I arrive about an hour later - Sunday around 3:30 PM, and I met Brett and then Coley, the tailor. Coley informed me that there is normally a charge for pressing - not a problem in the least for this service - but went on to say that he'd press the suit for no charge this time since I was in a bind. However, he wanted to know if I could wait a couple of hours since he was currently with a customer. Again, of course this wasn't a problem. My reaction was simply, "Wow, amazing customer service for someone who isn't even a customer! I have to write in and tell everybody about this."
But the story gets better. I literally hadn't been in a Men's Wearhouse store for 8 years and on this visit, what do I find? An extensive selection of Big & Tall dress shirts, belts, suits, slacks and jackets - and even better, some of my favorite brands for 1/3 of the price that I'd find at Rochester! (Joseph Abboud to name just one.) Well guess what Rochester, now I know of a more affordable competitor, important in these tough times, and they over measurably better customer service. I'm in talks to accept this new job and when I need to go buy 7 new suits, I'm going to Brett and Coley at Men's Wearhouse.
See the power that just getting someone into the store and treating them well can have? Josh sent the above message to Men's Wearhouse management, as well, and they sent a nice, personalized e-mail back.
(Photo: thestarshine)
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Hey Circuit City, can you read this! Oh wait, I guess you can't.
My husband & his groomsmen all got their tuxes at MW for our wedding a few years ago. We thought they were FAB and had good prices. A+
man, I sort of wish there were similar stores that women could go to for that kind of service at that kind of price. I'm really small, and it's hard to find places that offer petites sizing and tailor and press too.
That's good to hear. I wish the Men's Wearhouse on the Eastside of Tucson was more polite.
I had a suit that needed tailoring. When I inquired if they offered tailoring services for clothing not purchased, and mentioned that I expected they would charge for such service. The girl was rather brusque about it and hammered home the point that they'd have to charge me. Um, I figured that. In fact, I had just mentioned it to you.
No, I didn't use their services, and found another tailor. I'm now a Jos. A. Banks customer.
I, too, love Men's Wearhouse for pretty much the same reasons. I usually go in there with a basic idea of the suit I want (color, pattern, season, etc.) and let them choose some looks for me. I've gotten some fantastic looks that I otherwise wouldn't have picked on my own.
/fashion challenged man
I had an awesome experience for my groomsmen at MW. We got great pricing, and they had good clearance deals on really high quality shirts. I don't have a dressy job, but anytime I need good clothes, that's where I go.
"Well guess what Rochester, now I know of a more affordable competitor, important in these tough times..."
Obviously the times aren't that tough for him as he can still afford $1,000 suits.
Ehhh...I've had hit or miss service at Mens Wearhouse.
It really depends on the sales person and if they are there to actually get people in suits and keep customers, or just try to upsell the customer into multiple shirts, ties, and shoes. I've had both experiences. The OP obviously had the better type experience.
It hasn't kept me from going into a Mens Wearhouse for a suit, but it keeps me from making them my primary go-to store.
Wow a positive story! Yeha! Size 17 shoe? Damn man.
I will never buy a suit or dress pants from any other store. Men's Wearhouse kicks ass.
@TheFuzz53: I bought from them for a while. For some reason those clothes just fell apart in no time.
Macy's is a great place to find nice stuff. They are more expensive...but you can always find killer deals there. ( I got 2 CK suits for $200)
Never expected that.
The couple of times I've used a Men's Wearhouse I was pleased. The problem I find with them is that they tend to have a very boring line of clothing. I prefer suits that are a bit more wild then the typical midwest black/blue/brown variety. I found a place near me that had similar pricing, custom tailoring and all the extras but they had suits that were more my style. I picked up a medium blue suit with grey pinstripes, a black suit with bright red pinstripes and a more traditional black suit but with a much more modern cut and 4 buttons.
Despite their slightly higher price (for what the quality of suits anyways), they do have good customer service. Like the guy in the story, I was able to get a new suit, get it fitted/altered to my arm length and all, plus pressed, in like 2 days. Sure I had to drive to a separate store for alterations and press, and they aren't exactly cheap, but it was a very satisfactory experience overall. And it seems they do a fairly decent job at the alterations.
@computerwiz3491: Really? I'm looking to buy a suit or two, but a friend of mine said MW's tailoring is abysmal. Maybe it was just that store. Any comment on their tailoring?
@Galactica: You mean the suit he mentioned having to get out of storage? That presumably he'd bought in better times?
I would probably send the message off the the other store to see what kiss ass apology he would get. I mean something like "sorry, machines are off, you're out of luck" seems to me to be some kind of disciplinary action for the employee - especially if a customer was lost.
We got tuxes for Mr. Pi and the groomsmen from Mens Wearhouse, and they were really great. They made quick changes when they needed to, and made sure everything fit properly.
But, whenever Mr. Pi has gone in for suits, none of them ever fit him. He's tall, but lean. Apparently Mens Wearhouse's suits are more suited (no pun intended) for people who are broad shouldered and have some kind of extra weight (not saying it's for people who are fat). Also, what the heck is with all the pleated pants there? Everywhere I looked, pleat front pants! Terrible!
@ConroyCotta: yeah I was going to comment about the same thing, I've been in 8 weddings and three were MW groomsmen tuxes. The MW ones were all great situations, great customer service and the best prices.
@TCama: I went to a Men's Wearhouse in NYC with a former boyfriend, and recently to one in VA (Tyson's Corner) with my current fiancé, and the tailoring does seem to vary quite a bit by location. They never did get the NYC boyfriend to look quite right in his suit but the fit of my fiancé's new duds is fabulous. (And as he has a 26" inseam, he always needs tailoring on his pants.)
@TCama:
Their tailoring is YMMV...But they have always been incredible for anything I have ever needed. I was in town for one day and killed a suit (long story...). They stayed open two hours later, just to get my suit tailored and out the door, so I could wear it the next morning. I will not buy a suit from any other store.
X2 on the Joseph Abboud suits. They fit the taller sizes better than most and have extra material in the sleeves to allowed them to be easily lengthened.
I've been to that KoP Rochester before and, while I can't argue that they're pricy, my experience is that their service is second to none.
I was in a similar situation to the OP: I got an e-mail at 3:00 PM that I would have an interview at 1:00 PM the next day. I went straight to Rochester, they measured me and had a fully-tailored suit ready for me the next morning. For a couple hundred dollars, I not only got the best-fitting suit I ever owned overnight, I also landed a job that will increase my salary by almost 10%, plus additional benefits I didn't have before.
After reading this, I'll be taking my father to buy him a new suit at MW's as well as one for me.
Ugh, suits from Men's Wearhouse are just terrible.
@pecan 3.14159265: I feel his pain. I'm a tall, slender guy and it's very hard to get dress clothes that fit properly.
But did that pressed suit get him the job?
@spoco: The thought had crossed my mind. ;) But I have to admit that they're both cute in different ways. And at the time I went with the old boyfriend, he was still the current boyfriend so I'd have thought he looked good anyway. ;)
I bought a suit about 10 years ago from Mens Wearhouse, and it has gone through a number of formal dances, job interviews, and weddings, and it still looks as great as the day I bought it.
I had a similar experience at AfterHours tuxes in New Orleans. My sister was getting married and my brother in law lived out of town. As a result all his friends and family did too. I needed to get measured for my tux. AfterHours measured me free of charge even though the tux was being rented elsewhere.
@computerwiz3491: If this is the Men's Wearhouse in Plymouth Meeting (near KOP), then he is absolutely right. The service of that store won my business as well.
@LegoMan322: To each their own. Shirts I buy from Men's Warehouse last for years and fit great, but I've stopped buying shirts from Macy's because they wear out and are often sized weird considering it's the same shirt and collar size...
Suits? Well, I just don't need to wear them regularly, so I've got no opinion on Macy's, I just know Men's Warehouse has helped me out when I was in a pickle, tailoring a suit on very short notice for a funeral when I had gotten, um, a little chunkier.
Zimmerman's catch phrase is cheezy, but I've always had excellent service and quality there. That's were I go to get my suits.
I had an issue where I had accidentally washed my tailored suit paints, and a stitch had been torn. I discovered the tear after I had them dry cleaned, and I was a bit distraught, as I had a huge meeting the next day, and every alteration shop I found was closed. I swung by a MW, and was told the tailor was booked for two weeks solid for anything repair or alteration. They took pity on me, and fixed my pants in 30 minutes, and didn't charge me a thing. You can bet your ass I'll be back there to purchase whatever I need, no matter how bad the commute is. This MW was in Pikesville, MD.
I have had a number of excellent experiences at the MW on Broadway near the Wall St. subway stop.
Josh, if you get the job and it happens to be downtown, check it out on your lunch break - there are dozens of lunch carts in the adjacent park (Zuccotti Park, formerly Liberty Plaza Park).
@David Brodbeck: He's had a lot of luck with Express. They have different cuts of shirts for leaner people. And no pleat front pants!
Men's Wearhouse rocks out loud! Even after the snooty sales droid that I first encountered at one--all other encounters were pleasant, and didn't make the fat guy feel like a complete slug for actually wanting to purchase size-appropriate clothing that--gasp!!--actually looked good. +1
@Galactica: Being a big guy, if even (a) I can FIND a suit at (forget most "normal" men's stores), or (b)you go to a run of the mill B&T shop with sloppily tailored, ill-fitting suit-like apparel that appear to be cut out of Hefty bags, you soon learn that you'll pay some real coin to obtain a big guy sized Suit of Quality(tm). Since a good, moderate to expensive suit looks better, makes you feel better about yourself, and will hold up better than three JC Penney's specials, I consider it a fair trade.
You do in fact get what you pay for--you HAVE been shopping at actual quality suit places before, haven't you?
@pecan 3.14159265: I have the same problem as Mr. Pi but I'm a short guy. I think the problem is they just don't do slender that great there at all. Incidentally, I've also had success at Express. The cuts on their clothes flatter a slender build better. I'd also give Banana Republic a go, too, if you're looking for mainstream stores.
Down with pleats!
Truly great example of turning a consumer into your customer.
Add the fact that he is gonna need a closet full of suits and Rochester dropped the ball and you equal the greatest example of why you should go above and beyond in these times.
I've had MW bail me out twice, once before a short notice trip to India (don't ask) and a second time before a funeral I learned of whilst on a business trip.
If you're of standard size, you have a myriad of options, but for those of us who aren't (and 13 wide shoes are only marginally easier to find without special ordering than 17s), MW is a lifesaver. Twice they've had a suit pressed and ready to go the next morning. While I'm not a big fan of the high margin upsell, they do manage to present appropriate fashion choices with the suits which, for fashion impaired people like me, is a godsend.
@Ichiro51: As long as it's made with reasonable materials and care, a suit is a suit, within a certain price/quality ratio range.
So no, a $300 Men's Warehouse suit will not stand up to a $10,000 dollar hand-made Italian suit, but another $300 dollar suit? It will be very, very close, and probably superior because of the way Men's Warehouse deals will their suppliers. And Men's Warehouse tends to have better customer service than the other $300 dollar guys, so why not?
I'm a girl, btw, but I also shop for suits, and I wish there were a woman's warehouse. Between the few men I've bought for, and all the people I've known "in the industry", Men's Warehouse tends to have a good, well deserved reputation.
I happen to love Men's Wearhouse. They are good at finding suits in my size and then matching them to ties and shirts.