On December 2, I called JP and placed an order for a Raiders hat in cury felt with a "generic Raiders bash with a turn." Jimmy told me no problem, 4 week turnaround. JP took my credit card and agreed to a total price of $140 (my card wasn't charged until Dec. 17)
Over the next few weeks, I tried contacting him to clear up a possible sizing issue. Emails, calls, PMs: no response until Dec. 26, when I received this:
Jimmy had apparently forgotten that I had even placed an order! I replied:Sorry to not get back sooner. The cury is still available. Do to when you wrote I will still give the special price, $140 including shipping. If you get back to me before the end of the day Saturday the 27th I will be able to ship the hat the 5th.
Two days later (Dec. 29) I called JP and left a message asking, since apparently he hadn't started on my hat yet, if it was too late to switch over from cury felt to non-cury felt (a $35 upgrade). Within a couple of hours, Jimmy called me back. He stated that the switch wouldn't be a problem. He also stated very clearly that my hat had been scheduled to ship out on January 5 ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER HATS, but that now it would be pushed back A WEEK.Sounds great! I gave you my credit card info over the phone when we
spoke, and you charged the $140 on my account on Dec. 17. Again, specs
are . . .
Needless to say, no one on this board has reported receiving a JPD hat since then. And the days and weeks rolled by without any word from JP, despite every effort from many people to reach him. So last Friday I reluctantly filed a dispute for Jimmy's charges with my bank.
Yesterday, March 4, I got a package from Jimmy. It was airmailed from Texas on March 2. Inside was one of Jimmy's hats. Now, it is not a BAD hat in many respects, however it has a number of issues: the brim is clearly too narrow, the crown has a slight taper; worst of all, the brim edge is uneven and still shows cut marks in places. He also sent a note apologizing for the delay, stating he had been having "personal problems"; further he offered to knock 25% off my NEXT HAT PURCHASE and said he would put me FIRST ON THE LIST!
This clearly is not a top-notch, custom hat we have come to expect from Jimmy. In my opinion, he threw this hat together over the weekend in response to the bank dispute. I believe it could be worked on and made into a nice hat, but it cannot be made into the hat I ordered; therefore I am shipping it back to JP. As a result of my dealings with him, I do not have confidence in this transaction, and will pursue a full refund through my bank.
Of further concern, JP sent me a hat having outstanding orders more than 2 months older than mine. Again, in my opinion, this is undoubtedly because I had taken decisive action to recover my investment.
To say that I am disappointed would be an understatement. I also feel bad for Jimmy and wish him the best; everyone says he is a nice person and a terrific hatter. That said, I decided to post all this to let those who have outstanding orders with JP know what we are dealing with.
RaiderZee