Disappointed in US Wings...

[jbunting]

Well I just wanted to write about my experience with U.S. Wings which has not been positive overall....

I ordered a Collectors Edition Signature Series Indy-style Vintage Adventurer Jacket back in July of 2010. After the transaction processed fine, I didn't hear from them at all for a few weeks so I sent them an e-mail asking if they had any word on the jacket. I got an e-mail back saying (paraphrased) "Oh, it's out of stock. We sent an e-mail telling you, they should ship by September." Well, I checked my spam folder, inbox, etc. They had never sent an e-mail but oh well, I replied that I could live with that since I wouldn't wear the jacket until it was chilly anyway. Well September came and went with no word from US Wings. I sent another e-mail in early October and got a reply back that they apologized for the delay and had no idea when the jackets would ship. I never received any kind of tracking number and then suddenly the jacket showed up in late October. It was too big (my fault) and I came on here and got some opinions on the fit from you guys. Thanks for the replies btw, and the consensus was that the jacket was too big.

I e-mailed Myke at US Wings that I would like to exchange my large jacket for a medium. He replied back with a return authorization number and I sent the jacket back via UPS. Thanks to the tracking number I saw that it arrived safely back at US Wings in early November. November turned into December and I hadn't heard a word back from U.S. Wings. A few more e-mails to Myke were never answered. So around mid December I called them up. The lady I talked to said "We don't have anything about an exchange, just that you wanted to do a straight return." I said "No, I never asked for a return, I have all of the old emails I sent showing I asked to exchange a large for a medium." She said "Ok, we can do that, but the Collectors Edition is out of stock and we have no idea when we'll get it." I then asked if I could do an exchange for a similar jacket instead of waiting for months yet again. We settled on exchanging my original Vintage jacket for a VIP Adventurer's Jacket. She said "That one's in stock, let me go pull it before someone else gets it. It won't ship today, it's too late, but I'll get it out tomorrow." So I thanked her and thought that would finally be the end of it. Well December turned into January, no jacket, no shipping number, no e-mails from US Wings. I called yet again and was told that the first lady I talked to no longer worked for US Wings, my jacket had not shipped and in fact they were still showing it in their system as a straight return, not exchange. So I told them my story yet again, I did not want a return, I wanted an exchange. She said that wouldn't be a problem and she'd get the jacket out to me soon.

The jacket arrived today and the fit is great. One big problem though, the cuffs of the sleeves look as if they were sewed by a blind person. Both cuffs are completely uneven, sewed badly, and you can feel a lot of excess leather bunched up inside the sleeve. I'm not returning it this time, with the way things are going it'd be months before I'd expect to see another jacket. I haven't contacted US Wings, at this point I think I'd just rather go to a local tailor and try to have the sleeves repaired rather than deal with US Wings again. I know they have a good reputation but my experience with US Wings has been mostly a headache. Thanks for listening to my gripe.

Has anyone else had such a frustrating experience with US Wings? And any advice on the sleeves?

Thanks,
Josh

EDIT: I just want to make clear, this isn't meant to be a rant against US Wings. I realize from visiting these boards that my experience is probably in the minority. It's just very frustrating to go this long and still not have things taken care of. And the jacket is beautiful, if it wasn't for the jacked up looking sleeves I'd be completely pleased with it.

EDIT #2: I changed the post subject line because I thought the original sounded a bit on the dramatic/too angry side.

[Michaelson]

The only suggestion I can offer is to call them one last time and ask to talk directly to David Hack and no one else.

Regards! Michaelson

[TheExit148]

People really need to work with the vendor first to resolve the issue, before posting on here their problem. It doesn't help. Sorry it happened, but deal with the vendor first.

[jbunting]

I have dealt with them, numerous emails and phone calls over many months. My entire original post details my dealing with the vendor. That didn't help much either. That's why I came here to see if anyone else had similar experiences/suggestions.

[Mark Brody]

First of all, I'd second what TheExit148 said. Even though you've called them a dozen times, this (poor construction quality) is still a new issue, and Hack would like to hear about it from you rather than reading it here.

Secondly, I find emailing US Wings to be very unreliable. Even calling customer service on the phone can be ineffective unless you speak to Myke or, apparently, Sgt Hack (though I've only ever taking issues as high up as Myke - he generally provides all the help I need without having to bother the CEO)

Third, I'll repeat the advice I got when my defective US Wings jacket arrived - don't fix something that's brand new. If it was supposed to arrive in perfect condition and it had manufacturing defects, return it, and they'll give you $10 for return shipping (since this problem was their fault). Whether you want to exchange or simply return is entirely up to you.

So far, I've seen that you can generally get whatever it is you're looking for at US Wings, but it may take a little work and some phone calls; but it's certainly not as risky as paying for a custom Wested that's so tight in the chest, you can't zip it up (I'm still kicking myself over that one).

[Long John Tinfoil]

I'm with Mark. It's always best to get with the vendor before going public. Even if your experience with staff has been uneven, Sarge always seems to come through.

LJ

[Indyzane]

Yes I had a similar problem with my Collectors Edition Signature Series Indy-style vintage adventure jacket! But I did work with the leather and corrected my issue by 'working the leather '. My only suggestion is call David Hack Owner of US Wings and work out the problem.

Other wise my only other suggestion is to see if the hems line up and maybe getting the leather wet and trying to straighten the cuff hems together. That's what I did, proceed with extreme caution because the jacket will not be returnable with you doing this!

I hope this helps but It sounds like the jacket needs to go back and try another jacket? Good luck! Sarge can't look at every jacket that goes out the door so don't be to mad. Good luck, the problem will be corrected.

Zane

[stevemahaffey]

I think I understand what you mean about the cuffs of your jacket. My Collector's Edition was the same way. At first it was rather uncomfortable, but with a little wear, eventually the cuffs started feeling right. Now, the only problem I have is that if I am wearing heavier clothing under the jacket, the lining gets pulled out the cuff when I put it on. Not a big deal, though, as it always goes back where it is supposed to be with just a tug of the shoulder seam or something. I also have an Antique Cow Hero, and the cuffs are perfect on it. I know NOTHING about working with leather, but I assume the cuffs on the hero are perhaps steam-pressed or something where the CE-SS is not.

I also understand how it can be somewhat troublesome at times to get a response from Wings, but Sarge WILL get back to you. Eventually. I ordered my son the Kid's Legend in late November. Up until Christmas, I had several email exchanges with Sarge concerning a slip-up in their office. They accidentally charged me full price for the jacket instead of the COW member price. That hasn't been resolved yet, but I have assurances from Sarge that it will be, so I am trying to be patient. The jacket didn't make it here in time for Christmas, but when it did arrive earlier this month, my son LOVED it. That's what matters.

Right now, the only real beef I have with Wings is that, along the course of those emails with Sarge, he mentioned to me something of a possible change to their COW member discount policy. After a couple of more emails, he told me that he'd had a change-of-heart, and decided that he would not be dropping the member discount, but would have to modify it in the case of the Kid's jacket. He was just losing too much money on that one to justify it. I understand. Business is business. - But then I see Michaelson's post on the 20th of this month stating that there would be "No more COW discounts at Wings". I'm more than a little disappointed. Both of the Wings' jackets I have are second-hand. They came in PERFECT new condition from some friends here, but they were secondhand, just the same. I was planning on ordering one for myself direct from Wings this year, but without the discount, I just can't handle it. But that's my problem, not Sarge's. Like I said, business is business.

Sorry to hijack your thread.

[bobcatmvp1]

I agree with Mark Brody and jbunting, you can't really rely on e-mail with U.S. Wings. It will either take far too long for a response (sometimes if at all) or you will have to e-mail them 3-4 times to get an answer. I still believe they make a quality product overall though, and that's what I'm interested in. I'm sorry to the OP for his troubles, it can be tough sometimes.

[singsingjohnny]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, hopefully they are resolved soon.

I just ordered one last weekend, hopefully it goes alright!

That leather is nothing like what I pictured at all, doesn't really resemble what's on Wings' site or jackets owned by members...

[jbunting]

I'd say in person it's fairly close to the color on the website. It's the Signature Series VIP Cowhide (IJVIP). The flash of the camera makes it look like a lighter brown.

[singsingjohnny]

Ah, the VIP, gotcha. I was thinking of the CE, Crystal Skyll style.

The leather looks nice, I think Wings'll do you right and you'll end up with an awesome jacket!

[jbunting]

The CE ala Crystal Skull is what I originally wanted but after being told it was out of stock and they had no idea when they'd get it I exchanged for the VIP. I'm leaning towards keeping this jacket and making do. It's not horribly noticeable unless you are looking for it and if the sleeves bother me enough I may see about having it altered locally. I just don't feel like the potential headaches of sending it back yet again and dealing with seven more months of customer service hassles.

[Dr. Evil]

How much would you sepnd on shipping the jacket back and then how much would you have to spend on shipping to get another one sent to you?

How much would it cost to get the sleeves reglued?

[binkmeisterRick]

If the jacket has issues because of its manufacture, he shouldn't have to pay a dime in shipping.

[Chewbacca Jones]

I don't think it normally would cost anything to exchange the jacket. But, jbunting's point here is that he's already done that during a 6 month long mess of a transaction. Personally, I have never had the slightest difficulty with US Wings, but if I had gone through what jbunting has, I'd be more inclined to get it fixed locally, as well.

I believe the purpose of this thread is to impart an experience, more than to seek a solution.

[bigrex]

Sometimes it helps to air frustrations, I can sense a mixture of frustration and relief in your writing. I too would probably go the tailor route you are taking, your logic sounds sensible to me. In my mind you've given Wings more than ample benefit of the doubt this time around judging from your story. Too bad employees made for several missed opportunities where you could have been converted into totally a pleased customer.

[Sgt.]

I'm with Mark. It's always best to get with the vendor before going public. Even if your experience with staff has been uneven, Sarge always seems to come through.

LJ

For some reason some people feel it is a better to post their feelings in writing and not pick up the phone and say.. I am a member of COW and I would like talk about a problem I have... Is Sgt. Hack in? I even have two toll free phone numbers.. As a long time member of COW I have found over the years is that for any member of a Club a Vendor is the best Friend any Club will ever have! Where else can a Member call the owner of a Major company and get through to Him one on one? I and all My employees read all postings.. No I don't read them every day just like most COW members don't But I am in my office every day and I do read all Pms and I do read all my e-mail and answer each and every one! My people can and will work with anyone that works with us.. I don't mix words nor do I ever go in the back door. Now I have a question.. What if the Vendors did not support the Fans?

Sarge

[jbunting]

Thanks Sarge for the reply and the access you give to customers and COW members. It is a rarity for companies to do this. I shouldn't need that kind of access though, I should have been able to order a jacket and have that order fulfilled without a problem, but unfortunately that didn't happen. You say "For some reason some people feel it is a better to post their feelings in writing and not pick up the phone...". I spent seven months "picking up the phone" and it didn't get me anywhere. After seven months of trying to deal with U.S. Wings to get this straight, I'm just over it. I'll keep the jacket as is and if the sleeves end up bothering me enough I'll take care of it. Best wishes to you Sarge. In the grand scheme of things, with everything else going on in the world, a couple of less than perfect sleeves aren't that big of a deal.

[RayROnline]

I'd like to add my 2 cents. I have 2 Wings jackets. Both are of excellent manufacture. I did have poor responce to email from the web site, but email to Sarge directly was quickly answered. I also had no problem calling and speaking with him personally. Sarge is very knowledgable and easy to talk with. In my opinion, he is also very concerned about maintaining the quality of his product and the happiness of his customers.

I highly recomend direct contact with Sarge what ever your questions or concerns. He's a pro!