Club Obi Wan

I just got my custom LC from Wested and it looks great Except for one thing. (Kids you might want to cover your eyes!)



Does anyone have any suggestions?

Kyle

This may sound sarcastic but I don't mean it that way but: send it back.

There's no way you should pay for a custom jacket and have that come to you from any vendor.

WOW

Mail today or tomorrow. That's very wrong looking and you should be compensated for the shipping both ways.

That is just SO wrong!
Obviously there is no quality control going on!

I'm sure Peter will make it right.

What the #µ£$& !

Regard,

Nico

It's not nice. A slip of the popper machine means a totally remade jacket. Very costly.

However, whichever vendor. Why don't people talk to them before showing the problem to everybody. You have, perhaps unwittingly, hurt their business. Just as with other vendors and other problems we have seen here it alway pays to talk to them quietly first, let them have a chance to put things right.

On an alternate note, the collar is too far from the collar stand too, it should be slightly to the left of the stitched line rather than to the right as it appears here.

Yikes!!! Send that bad boy home!

Shane

Hey knibs7!
It's really a disaster. Send it back! With Kindest Regards...
I wouldn't want such a jacket for free. I'm positiv that distressing won't help it this time
This won't help but the snap is also wrong positioned.
Does the snap config really work?

Regards

orb

That's a lot more than popper position. Was it really a custom?

I don't think it was Kyle who hurt anyone's business. Yes, contact the vendor first but maybe the guy was in kind of shock.

That whole thing is a mess. Really sad they'd even send something like that out. I hope they will make it right, shipping costs and all..

Is the photo altered? Even my OTR LC doesn't look anything like that.

What the

QC does seem to be an issue here. Something like that on a custom should never even get out. If you haven't already, I would contact Wested to have that dealt with ASAP.

I hate it when stuff like this happens too, you get all excited about getting the item you have been waiting for only to have your bubble burst.

neutronbomb wrote:

Kt Templar wrote:It's not nice. A slip of the popper machine means a totally remade jacket. Very costly.

However, whichever vendor. Why don't people talk to them before showing the problem to everybody. You have, perhaps unwittingly, hurt their business. Just as with other vendors and other problems we have seen here it alway pays to talk to them quietly first, let them have a chance to put things right.

On an alternate note, the collar is too far from the collar stand too, it should be slightly to the left of the stitched line rather than to the right as it appears here.

I'm not sure this is a fair assessment on your part KT. On other internet forums you seem to delight in negatively posting against one vendor in particular which IMO is wittingly trying hurt their business.

This is exactly one of the very important features of this site for me. To see what we are receiving from different vendors, to hear others opinions, and to hear different solutions from those who have gone before. It is understandable that we don't live in a perfect world, but my personal opinion is that transparency is a good thing and hiding or sweeping problems under the table doesn't do any of us any good at all.

I think it is a well known business principle to outsource product for cost efficiency, etc. But, then there are going to be quality control issues. So it is important for me to know exactly what my money buys me. Does it buy me a more personalized hands on experience with my jacket maker or does it not. This are important issues for me. I know other vendors outsource their product and I haven't seen such serious quality control issues. To allow this to be sent to a customer is a catastrophic failure in my business opinion. By allowing these issues to be transparent may allow a vendor to improve their business model if they so desire. But, I know I would be heartbroken and need a shoulder to cry on if this happened to me and I can appreciate that kyle turned to us for support.

I was also under the impression that the custom jackets by Wested were made at home so to speak. Are they not?

MOD EDIT: WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! You follow him on other forums to see how he posts?
I think he raises a good point, things like this should be handled with the vendor first.

neutronbomb wrote:

Kt Templar wrote:It's not nice. A slip of the popper machine means a totally remade jacket. Very costly.

However, whichever vendor. Why don't people talk to them before showing the problem to everybody. You have, perhaps unwittingly, hurt their business. Just as with other vendors and other problems we have seen here it alway pays to talk to them quietly first, let them have a chance to put things right.

On an alternate note, the collar is too far from the collar stand too, it should be slightly to the left of the stitched line rather than to the right as it appears here.

I'm not sure this is a fair assessment on your part KT. On other internet forums you seem to delight in negatively posting against one vendor in particular which IMO is wittingly trying hurt their business.

This is exactly one of the very important features of this site for me. To see what we are receiving from different vendors, to hear others opinions, and to hear different solutions from those who have gone before. It is understandable that we don't live in a perfect world, but my personal opinion is that transparency is a good thing and hiding or sweeping problems under the table doesn't do any of us any good at all.

I think it is a well known business principle to outsource product for cost efficiency, etc. But, then there are going to be quality control issues. So it is important for me to know exactly what my money buys me. Does it buy me a more personalized hands on experience with my jacket maker or does it not. This are important issues for me. I know other vendors outsource their product and I haven't seen such serious quality control issues. To allow this to be sent to a customer is a catastrophic failure in my business opinion. By allowing these issues to be transparent may allow a vendor to improve their business model if they so desire. But, I know I would be heartbroken and need a shoulder to cry on if this happened to me and I can appreciate that kyle turned to us for support.

I was also under the impression that the custom jackets by Wested were made at home so to speak. Are they not?

I posted once on a jacket that was faulty. In a similar thread to this. In hindsight I probably should have left well enough alone. Actually that thread was VERY different, he had talked to the vendor, and well let's not dwell on THAT conversation, eh?

Dutch_jones wrote: MOD EDIT: WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! You follow him on other forums to see how he posts?
I think he raises a good point, things like this should be handled with the vendor first.

and there's Dutch.

Follow him, or reads on other forum sites as well as here? I think we are allowed to visit and read at other sites are we not?

I have no idea if Kyle brought it up here first or not, do you?

Kt Templar wrote:
I posted once on a jacket that was faulty. In a similar thread to this. In hindsight I probably should have left well enough alone. Actually that thread was VERY different, he had talked to the vendor, and well let's not dwell on THAT conversation, eh?

You are talking about a thread here? You are correct, lets not dwell on that conversation, Kyle might end up with a free jacket.

Hey guys,
No the photo isn't altered. I was just pretty shocked with I noticed the collar. I did contact Wested first, though I have to admit that I didn't wait for a response before posting on here, and I'm okay with it. What purpose would contacting them first serve? No matter what they say I would still post the pictures. It doesn't change the fact that they let such a monstrosity leave their office. The fact is, that I have waited 6 weeks for this and now it looks like I will have to wait even longer to get the jacket I ORDERED.

Kyle

RCSignals wrote:

Kt Templar wrote:
I posted once on a jacket that was faulty. In a similar thread to this. In hindsight I probably should have left well enough alone. Actually that thread was VERY different, he had talked to the vendor, and well let's not dwell on THAT conversation, eh?

You are talking about a thread here? You are correct, lets not dwell on that conversation, Kyle might end up with a free jacket.

If that's the cost, I, personally would rather not.

Do you guys think that maybe they're spending too much time perfecting the "Hero' and are not paying attention to the other models ??????

Hatch wrote:Do you guys think that maybe they're spending too much time perfecting the "Hero' and are not paying attention to the other models ??????

they are too busy shrinking leather to send to some tannery in the LA area. ?
It was a joke wanted to lighten the mood a bit?

yikes.

That's not such a good commentary on quality control. Shouldn't happen and the person who did the work should know better.

That said, I can also imagine this sort of thing slipping through, as custom work is often overlooked when it comes to quality control as other folks at the business kind of assume the craftsman was on top of it.

So, somebody had a pint too many. But I think Peter will kick someone's backside and make things right.

I think I would have posted it only after I had first gone to Wested with the complaint and sent them the photos first. After they had agreed to fix it, which they normally would do, I might post it here if I felt so inclined along with the explanation that they were willing to fix it. However, I also might just not even bother to post it if they agreed to fix it.

Kt Templar wrote:

RCSignals wrote:

Kt Templar wrote:
I posted once on a jacket that was faulty. In a similar thread to this. In hindsight I probably should have left well enough alone. Actually that thread was VERY different, he had talked to the vendor, and well let's not dwell on THAT conversation, eh?

You are talking about a thread here? You are correct, lets not dwell on that conversation, Kyle might end up with a free jacket.

If that's the cost, I, personally would rather not.

Na, that as neither the cost nor result of that conversation here. Just the way some people do business.

As I said before I'm sure Kyle will get satisfaction

My opinion, send it back. Email Peter and tell him about your problem. I am sure he will make this right.

The collar and snap is just totally wrong, it looks 'rushed'. This one obviously slipped thru the QC or was looked over by someone else who doesnt quite know what to look for, this might have happend when Peter was in Croatia.

Don't just send it back, make sure they know its coming
, because it might get lost and you're in more trouble then!

I have had vendors make mistakes, it happens. The sign of the good ones are the ones that go out of their way to make it right. To me, this would include covering return shipping, making a jacket in the mean time while that one is being returned (it sounds like they will need to remake it) and all of that should be expedited. There is no reason that you should have to wait another 6 weeks for another jacket.

I remember dealing with one vendor who was making a costume item that needed to be delivered by a certain date. When the item came in on time, it wasn't right. The vendor went out of their way to correct the issue and even shipped it overnight at their expense to the hotel where I was staying.

Have to question the notion of quality control. If it's a custom jacket supposedly it's being custom made; not one of a hundred sewn on an assembly line getting a pass/fail sticker from the person stuffing them into shipping boxes. Shouldn't need that kind of QC for custom.

I don't even see a collar stand in the photo. The button being that far off, er... maybe from doing the same operation all day and messing one up, but it wouldn't be from the hands of someone with experience.

Thhe six week wait burns a bit. I hope Kyle gets whatever he thinks fair.

From personal experience, I would send it back, sure its going to be about $30-40 dollars to send it back, but your not going to be happy with it. Anyway I sent a jacket I didn't like last year, actually I think I must have received someone else's jacket. Anyway Peter got me the jacket I asked for and the second time it was perfect. I just sent my specs with the returned jacket. I am not sure why your jacket turned out the way it did, but the collar stand is way off, not just a small thing. Best of luck on this. Don't forget to follow the instructions for sending it back to Peter on his site.

IndianaChris

I just paid $27 to ship a jacket here in the US - postage costs have gotten crazy! There used to be cheaper alternatives between FedEx, UPS, and USPS and it paid to shop around, but now all are very high.

When I sent a jacket to the UK I seem to remember right around $40. So not too much more than from state to state. I put things in a box vs. a bag, just for piece of mind, so that adds a bit of weight and therefore extra money.

Raider S wrote:Have to question the notion of quality control. If it's a custom jacket supposedly it's being custom made; not one of a hundred sewn on an assembly line getting a pass/fail sticker from the person stuffing them into shipping boxes. Shouldn't need that kind of QC for custom.

I don't even see a collar stand in the photo. The button being that far off, er... maybe from doing the same operation all day and messing one up, but it wouldn't be from the hands of someone with experience.

There are alot of vendors, of many different products from jackets to car parts that will send out
all the items they make no matter how badly made they are.

There is always going to be someone who will just roll over and accept whatever they are given, and
not question the "powers that be".

I see this type of thing with Jeep parts all the time. I have a 1985 CJ-7 that I have owned now for over
17 years, and in that time, I have seen my share of badly made parts.

And I wonder to myself, who in their right mind would accept this? Didn't ANYONE look at this part
BEFORE it went out the door? It would take literally 2 seconds to see that this part is not made
right.

But for every person like me, who will NOT accept garbage, there is someone who will, and some vendors
count on that.

Some people are busy, and they don't have the spare time to pack this garbage back up, take time off of
work to get to the post office, or whatever other delivery service you might choose, and sit in lines of people
and spend even MORE money to send it back to get a new one.

Its actually worse with the car parts. You wait for weeks for a certain part, it finally comes in, and you think that you will
finally get the car back together and back on the road, only to find out that the part you waited 6 weeks for
is worthless, and now you have to wait even longer to get another one. And the delay is not YOUR fault, but
the fault of some person who, for whatever reason, desided NOT to do his job that day, and check the parts BEFORE
they were sent to you.

I see it happen with car parts, and I see it happen with jackets and other types of clothing.

Its just another fact of life that we have to deal with.

When you send this jacket back, make sure you ask for your return shipping back. Be
nice about it, and do not take no for an answer. Its NOT YOUR FAULT that what you got
was this bad. So YOU should not be out a dime for replacing it.

If Wested lives up to their usual ways, Peter will make it right, and I bet you will see him in this thread
appologizing for that monstrosity even getting out the door.

Give them the chance to make it right, which they will, and I bet you get a new jacket in alot less than
6 weeks. I have seen other people who have posted about needing jackets replaced, and in just about
every case, the replacement jacket arrives in just a few weeks, not 6 or 7.

Also, on the point about whether to post the pictures of faulty products or not, I say you SHOULD
post them. It shows vendors that they need to stay on top of their quality control, and that
just a little slip, and you can ruin an otherwise great reputation. It also will show how each vendor
responds to problems, and what measures they take to rectify the problem.

The ones who go out of their way to fix problems will get 10 times more business because they
are honest, and fix their mistakes. The ones who just figure, ah screw you, just accept what I give you, are the
ones who will loose out, as word of mouth is both the best, and worst form of advertising.

Flathead

Knibs, what's the word on your jacket? Getting a replacement I hope.

I agree with the points raised by Flathead and I would just like to ask everyone to remember how upsetting it is to receive an unsatisfactory item, especially one that you've been looking forward to possessing and that you've hoped would become an extremely valued addition to your collection.

I myself am currently awaiting a custom made whip, an item I have been patiently looking forward to receiving for a substantial length of time. My heart would be broken if on it's arrival it turned out to be an inferior product or it displayed gross negligence in respect of quality.

The anguish felt when the failure to meet expectations occurs, preventing a sense of fulfilment, can be intollerable. Is it a wonder folks get angry and feel the need to post details on the forum when it does happen.

Therefore, I feel empathy should be adopted by members to those having experienced these awful circumstances. None of us would wish it upon ourselves.
Cheers,
JTW.

I have only bought from G&B in the past, but have spoken with Peter before and he is a class act, and I believe I can vouch for his character as a quality person.

I am sure that if you called him, he would do the right thing by you, and get this issue resolved asap.

Yikes! It's never good to see such a slip up get trhough QC, but they're only human.

I too have seen a lot of threads bashing vendors (not just wested) for various reasons, like QC inconsitency, poor communication, exagerated claims of SA etc etc but then there are also a lot of happy customers threads too.

That said, there's noting wrong in saying when you have bad service as it benefits unwary future customers..but give them the chance to resolve it first.

It would be how they go about making it right, accepting responsibility and what they learn from it to stop it reoccurring that I would judge them on.

The least I would expect from any good vendor who is at fault is to be jumping through hoops, putting you top of the list and compensating you for any cost/inconvenience.

So, Kyle, what is Wested going to do about the jacket?

Dave

I don't think I can count on two hands how many times I've said here that Wested needs to get a grip on their quality control whether the product is made in-house or abroad. This happens ALL...THE...TIME. Yes, there are plenty of completely satisfied customers but the consistant amount of mistakes is just too large to ignore. So many here try to be so super nice, saying things like "but they're only human", or "Oh, I'm sure they'll make it right in the end." Why not make sure it's right before it goes out the door, Wested? HOW HARD CAN THAT BE??? HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE TO CHECK THE FINISHED PRODUCT OVER AND ALSO AGAINST THE ORDER SHEET TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS DONE RIGHT??? The answer is not long at all and it would save everyone involved time, money and the effort of having to box it back up and send it back to play the waiting game once again.

Wested, when will you learn? Why can all the other jacket vendors do it right and you have so much trouble year after year after year?

It is was an import from India or China, I can understand.....but Peter himself has said in the past that he personally inspects all the imports that come through Wested.........now this being a custom jacket, I'm sorry but it's inexcusable for something like this to make it through.

Well it has been about a week and Wested STILL has NOT responded to my email. I am truly amazed with their LACK of customer service. I haven't posted pics of it, but there is another mishap with the jacket, I just didn't want to hurt Wested's reputation THAT much but I am seriously thinking about posting the rest of the flaws.

Kyle

Show us Knibs! You've been pretty patient. A week is plenty of time to respond.
It's not like you can harm Wested's reputation any more than they've done themselves, time and time again.
No doubt in the end this will all be sorted out, but at the cost to you of several weeks without a jacket and much time
lost trying to communicate with a black hole. I look forward to pictures of your corrected jacket too, in about three months time!

Kyle, what's the nature of the other flaws? Stitching?

I'm sure there will be some reason for the lack of response...

Email two of their different emails, one to Peter and one to Gemma. I had this problem myself (not the snaps.) They wouldn't reply for a long time and claim that they did not get the email. Even though they would get my emails from the same address in the past. Then wait maybe 2 days and I would think that you would have a reply.

I have to agree that it is rather terrible that a company can let such mishaps slip. They did it nonstop with me and I finally got things settled around. Last time I do business with Wested, that's for sure.

Good luck Knibs.

I sent them another email to BOTH addresses. I told them that I haven't yet mentioned the other flaws on the jacket to the COW members, but if I didn't hear from them within 36 hours about compensating me for shipping and re-making my jacket, (I also said what many on here have said to me- that I would also find it appropriate to get a free OTR jacket for all of the hassle and inconvenience I have had to go through) then I would have to post the pictures of the other flaws.
Am I totally wrong for asking for a complementary OTR jacket for my inconvenience?

Kyle

knibs7 wrote: Am I totally wrong for asking for a complementary OTR jacket for my inconvenience?

Kyle

You haven't gotten a response to your email about a very flawed jacket you waited six weeks for (and that you now tell us has even more issues). I think you deserve some satisfaction here.

The only thing I would have done different is to have sent it back at once and started calling them.

knibs7 wrote:I sent them another email to BOTH addresses. I told them that I haven't yet mentioned the other flaws on the jacket to the COW members, but if I didn't hear from them within 36 hours about compensating me for shipping and re-making my jacket, (I also said what many on here have said to me- that I would also find it appropriate to get a free OTR jacket for all of the hassle and inconvenience I have had to go through) then I would have to post the pictures of the other flaws.
Am I totally wrong for asking for a complementary OTR jacket for my inconvenience?

Kyle

In my opinion, yes, especially if you are practically threatening to share further grievances publicly if he does not comply. If that's the case, it's extortion. NO jacket manufacturer is required to send a complimentary jacket for ANY reason. The fact that Tony has chosen to do so — of his OWN accord, mind you — speaks to the customer service of Tony. But that is not what we are talking about here, nor should it turn into yet another Nowak vs. Wested argument, unless you want this thread shut down.

Do you deserve satisfaction? Most definitely. Should you have to pay more to get the situation rectified? Not if it was the fault of the jacket maker. Peter should make it right, period. Any manufacturer should do the same in this situation. But that said, other than getting the jacket you paid for fixed or replaced, asking for an additional complimentary jacket is just plain greedy and ungentlemanly, in my book.

binkmeisterRick wrote:

knibs7 wrote:I sent them another email to BOTH addresses. I told them that I haven't yet mentioned the other flaws on the jacket to the COW members, but if I didn't hear from them within 36 hours about compensating me for shipping and re-making my jacket, (I also said what many on here have said to me- that I would also find it appropriate to get a free OTR jacket for all of the hassle and inconvenience I have had to go through) then I would have to post the pictures of the other flaws.
Am I totally wrong for asking for a complementary OTR jacket for my inconvenience?

Kyle

In my opinion, yes, especially if you are practically threatening to share further grievances publicly if he does not comply. If that's the case, it's extortion. NO jacket manufacturer is required to send a complimentary jacket for ANY reason. The fact that Tony has chosen to do so — of his OWN accord, mind you — speaks to the customer service of Tony. But that is not what we are talking about here, nor should it turn into yet another Nowak vs. Wested argument, unless you want this thread shut down.

Do you deserve satisfaction? Most definitely. Should you have to pay more to get the situation rectified? Not if it was the fault of the jacket maker. Peter should make it right, period. Any manufacturer should do the same in this situation. But that said, other than getting the jacket you paid for fixed or replaced, asking for an additional complimentary jacket is just plain greedy and ungentlemanly, in my book.

very well put Bink !!

oh dear, I sense a war brewing.
There are two ways of dealing with this situation.
[A] If one is disatisfied with a purchase one gives the vendor a chance to discretely correct an honest mistake and everyone is happy.
You loose the vendor business by making a mountain out of a molehill before contacting them. You do still get the correction but they are unlikely ever to do business with you again. Which is all very well until your costly bespoke item needs expert repair.
Just an observation.

Enigmata,
If Wested was on top of their game as the other vendors seem to be able to do then you wouldn't have to post what you just did. If is so important than perhaps Wested should start checking these jackets before they go out. It's really not hard. If they just got it right the first time then "everyone is happy". If not, it's up to us to do more work and pay more for our jackets to get them to what they should have been in the first place. Maybe doing all of that unneccesary stuff makes you happy but certainly not me.