My Wested Story (It's a long one)
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 2:24 pm
Two and a half years ago I was a full-time student working part-time and supporting a wife and two kids. Others have been in this same boat too, so I'm sure you'll understand how difficult it can be to put aside any money at all. I received a bonus at work that I set aside as my "jacket money". I had to dip into the "jacket money" from time to time, but about six months later I had finally saved enough to buy a Wested leather jacket.
Now, I don't think I need to describe the excitement and the nervousness that comes from buying a new Wested jacket. Especially when it is your first one. On May 4th 2002, I called Peter personally and placed my order for a standard size 48 regular Last Crusade style jacket. I asked for the cotton body/satin sleeves option and antique brass hardware. I only asked for two modifications. One was for a Raider's collar, and this was done by Peter's own recommendation. The other was that the jacket be slightly tapered at the bottom since I am larger through the chest and shoulders than the waist and hips. This was also Peter's suggestion. Otherwise, my order was pretty straightforward. I was told that my jacket would arrive in three weeks. I couldn't believe it! After 20+ years of searching, I was only three weeks away from owning THE Indiana Jones jacket.
Like many others on this board, I was concerned about my order and there was something nagging me in the back of my mind. I don't typically ignore these feelings, so I emailed Wested to confirm the details of my order. The other cause for my concern was that I had a poor connection on the phone when I called and I wanted to verify that all the information was included on the order. I sent along the order number Peter gave me and the details of my order. Imagine how I felt when I received an email back saying that my description did not match the order number I provided. I emailed right back and gave them the date and time that I called and they said that they had no record of my order.
I called Wested again and spoke to someone named Sally who told me that Peter must have taken the order form with him on vacation. We redid the order with all the original specs and I was assured that my credit wouldn't be charged twice, but now I was looking at 5 to 6 weeks for my order to arrive. I was disappointed, but still looking forward to getting my jacket.
Seven weeks later, I still had no jacket and was beginning to be very worried about it. I emailed Wested and explained that I was concerned because of the whole order number mix up and wanted to know the status of my order. I was told that my jacket was sent out on June 17th. I was relieved, and excited. The jacket would shortly be mine.
I received my jacket June 24th, and these were my first impressions:
- The fit was excellent
- The leather was the best I'd ever felt
- The collar looked too big
I emailed Peter, thanked him for the jacket, told him the fit was great and asked about the collar. He said that the order was placed for the Raider's collar but he wasn't sure if it was actually fitted with one since he didn't see the jacket before it left the shop. I emailed him the measurement of the collar and he said that it was in fact the Last Crusade collar since the Raider's collar is a half an inch smaller. I decided to keep the jacket the way it was since the collar didn't look bad with the size 48 jacket.
Since this was the beginning of the summer season, the jacket was hung up and not worn until early October. Once I started wearing the jacket, I began noticing other things that were not right. The first thing I noticed was that the lining from inside the left cargo pocket was showing through to the outside of the pocket. That is to say, that the interior lining of the pocket could be seen on the outside of the jacket around the bottom and up the side of the cargo pocket. It was sticking out a good quarter of an inch. I also noticed that some of the seams were not finished correctly and looked very ragged. The seam on the storm flap was especially bad and was not only finished poorly, but also crooked. I called Wested and spoke to Peter about it, and he said that they had a couple of new people in training on the machines and that my jacket was probably made by one of them. He instructed me to simply snip off the excess material around the cargo pocket. I also asked him about the little white marks all over my jacket and how I might get rid of them. He said that the marks are from cutting the leather and they are usually removed before the jacket leaves. He suggested I just take some water and gently rub them off. When I mentioned the seams, he said my jacket must have slipped through quality control.
The white marks came off pretty easily for the most part, but when I trimmed the excess material off around the cargo pocket, the lining inside the cargo pocket came loose. I was very upset about this and called Peter right back. He told me not to worry and to simply send the jacket to him and he would take care of it. He assured me that I would get the perfect jacket back.
November 7th, I sent the jacket back to Wested with a detailed note of what had happened and what needed to be fixed. I also asked them to clean up the seams. Imagine my surprise when I got my jacket back a short 2 weeks later! Now, imagine my immense disappointment when I opened the package and saw that absolutely nothing at all had been done to my jacket! It was sent back to me in the exact same condition that I had sent it to Wested and there was no note or anything to indicate why this was done. I called Wested immediately and left a message for Peter. For days I waited and received no phone call back. I emailed and received no response. Finally, I broke down and called Wested again. I spoke to Peter, and he told me that he had no idea what had happened. He apologized and said that I should send it to him again with another detailed note and that he would refund both of the shipping costs to me.
I had to wait until after Christmas to send the jacket back. Money was still tight. This time, not only did I send a detailed note about the pocket and the seams, I also sent a diagram indicating the specific areas that needed attention. I sent copies of the shipping receipts as well. This time when I got the jacket back, I saw that they had fixed the lining in the pocket, but in doing so had not sewn the pocket back on flat! There was now a permanent wrinkle in the leather at the hand warmer opening and it was more difficult to get my hand into and out of the pocket. The seams had not been fixed either. In essence, I now had a jacket that worse off than when I had originally received it. And, to top it all off, there was no refund of the shipping charges.
I tried for weeks to contact Wested and received no reply from anyone there. I contacted IndyGear and enlisted the help of one of the staff in trying to get this resolved. He contacted Wested and tried to get the situation resolved as well. Given this person's relationship with Wested and Peter himself, I was surprised that he received no reply either. I called Wested leather again and spoke to a person named Jerry who seemed to know of my problem and knew who I was before I ever gave him my name. He told me that it wasn't his problem and that Peter would deal with it when he returned. I couldn't believe what I was being told. "It's not my problem"? This isn't the kind of customer service that I'd heard about, but it was what I was coming to expect. Eventually, the staff member at IndyGear who had been trying to help me out got a hold of someone at Wested and was told that Peter was out of town taking care of a sick father. I can respect that, so I waited awhile before trying to contact Wested again. But by this time I was becoming very discouraged.
After not hearing anything for months and getting no resolution on the IndyGear front (despite numerous attempts), I gave up. I had in my possession a jacket that looked like a factory second, I had wasted money on shipping it back to England twice, I had wasted money on phone calls to England, and was getting no satisfaction from Wested. I decided it wasn't worth it anymore. I was disgusted with entire affair and in May of 2003, almost a year to the day of my original order, I wrote a last email to Peter telling him how disappointed I was. He finally replied to me, apologized, and offered me a "hefty discount" on my next purchase. My next purchase? Why would I even consider ordering anything from Wested again? I emailed him back and told him that instead of getting a discount on another jacket, how about I send him my jacket one more time and he send me a replacement. I received no reply.
You would think that this is where the story ends, but it isn't. Fast forward one year. During this year, I'd been reading all the posts by happy Wested customers. I'd read about lengths to which Peter had gone to satisfy his customers. I'd read about the shirt and the pants that were being offered and how much Wested was doing for the Indy community. On every front, Peter and Wested were receiving praise. So what was it about my situation that made Peter not able/willing to help me? I'm not demanding, unless you consider wanting what I paid for to be demanding. I'm not picky unless wanting a quality leather jacket to be picky.
During this year, I also graduated from school and got myself a full-time job and ordered myself a jacket from Gibson and Barnes. Everything about the experience and the jacket was completely opposite from Wested. The quality and workmanship of this jacket are unbelievable. And it came a full week sooner than they had said it would. Not only that, but G&B even called me to ask me if I was happy with the jacket. It was all around a better experience. It got me wondering though, if this company can put out a quality jacket, why can't the original maker of the jacket? I also had the opportunity to meet a fellow gearhead and see his Wested. It was nothing like mine. He saw mine and agreed that it had some problems. And he also agreed that they were problems that Wested should/could have taken care of.
Hearing all this praise and reading all the posts, seeing another Wested jacket, and knowing that I wasn't wrong about my jacket, I decided that I should give Wested leather another chance. Now, almost two years later, I sent Peter an email telling him that I really wanted to be a fan of Wested leather seeing as how they made the original jacket and had been doing so much for the Indy world. I proposed that I send my jacket to Peter himself and have him take a good look at it. If he decided that he was comfortable having this jacket in the public as an example of his work, then I would keep it and never say another word about it. If, however, he saw the things that I saw, I asked that he do the right thing and replace it.
I received an email back from Gerry saying that Peter was out of town and that she was not familiar with my situation. I emailed a summary of everything that had happened and attached all the email messages that had been sent to and from Wested leather. I didn't hear anything back from her for a week, so I sent a follow-up asking if Peter would accept my proposition. Her reply to me was that she had spoken to Peter and that "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about re-making the existing jacket." She offered to sell me a jacket at a reduced price and reduced shipping. And that was all they could do for me! I thought that Wested leather was Peter's company. Doesn't he call all the shots? What did she mean that there is nothing they can do about remaking the existing jacket? If a company makes a mistake, they eat that mistake and supply the customer with the product that they paid for.
I couldn't believe what I was reading! Peter's resolution to the situation was to have me send him more money for another jacket, and to charge me shipping for the third time! I'm not an unreasonable person, but this solution did not sound very reasonable to me. The reduction in price would not even come close to making up for all the shipping and phone charges I had incurred while trying to get the original jacket fixed or replaced. And, he was not even willing to look at my jacket. For some reason, Peter Botwright refuses to deal with me in an honest and fair manner. In good faith, I did everything I was told and asked to do and I still have a jacket that is not what I paid for. If there is any doubt about anything I've written here, I still have all the emails, the shipping receipts, and the phone bills to prove it. Not only that, I still have the jacket that says it all.
My experience may be unique, but let this stand as a warning to anyone who is thinking about buying a Wested jacket or who might be considering returning one for repairs. Ask yourself if it's worth the hassle. And ask yourself why most people will recommend selling it and buying a new one rather than trying to get it repaired.
I'm not a fan of Wested leather!
Now, I don't think I need to describe the excitement and the nervousness that comes from buying a new Wested jacket. Especially when it is your first one. On May 4th 2002, I called Peter personally and placed my order for a standard size 48 regular Last Crusade style jacket. I asked for the cotton body/satin sleeves option and antique brass hardware. I only asked for two modifications. One was for a Raider's collar, and this was done by Peter's own recommendation. The other was that the jacket be slightly tapered at the bottom since I am larger through the chest and shoulders than the waist and hips. This was also Peter's suggestion. Otherwise, my order was pretty straightforward. I was told that my jacket would arrive in three weeks. I couldn't believe it! After 20+ years of searching, I was only three weeks away from owning THE Indiana Jones jacket.
Like many others on this board, I was concerned about my order and there was something nagging me in the back of my mind. I don't typically ignore these feelings, so I emailed Wested to confirm the details of my order. The other cause for my concern was that I had a poor connection on the phone when I called and I wanted to verify that all the information was included on the order. I sent along the order number Peter gave me and the details of my order. Imagine how I felt when I received an email back saying that my description did not match the order number I provided. I emailed right back and gave them the date and time that I called and they said that they had no record of my order.
I called Wested again and spoke to someone named Sally who told me that Peter must have taken the order form with him on vacation. We redid the order with all the original specs and I was assured that my credit wouldn't be charged twice, but now I was looking at 5 to 6 weeks for my order to arrive. I was disappointed, but still looking forward to getting my jacket.
Seven weeks later, I still had no jacket and was beginning to be very worried about it. I emailed Wested and explained that I was concerned because of the whole order number mix up and wanted to know the status of my order. I was told that my jacket was sent out on June 17th. I was relieved, and excited. The jacket would shortly be mine.
I received my jacket June 24th, and these were my first impressions:
- The fit was excellent
- The leather was the best I'd ever felt
- The collar looked too big
I emailed Peter, thanked him for the jacket, told him the fit was great and asked about the collar. He said that the order was placed for the Raider's collar but he wasn't sure if it was actually fitted with one since he didn't see the jacket before it left the shop. I emailed him the measurement of the collar and he said that it was in fact the Last Crusade collar since the Raider's collar is a half an inch smaller. I decided to keep the jacket the way it was since the collar didn't look bad with the size 48 jacket.
Since this was the beginning of the summer season, the jacket was hung up and not worn until early October. Once I started wearing the jacket, I began noticing other things that were not right. The first thing I noticed was that the lining from inside the left cargo pocket was showing through to the outside of the pocket. That is to say, that the interior lining of the pocket could be seen on the outside of the jacket around the bottom and up the side of the cargo pocket. It was sticking out a good quarter of an inch. I also noticed that some of the seams were not finished correctly and looked very ragged. The seam on the storm flap was especially bad and was not only finished poorly, but also crooked. I called Wested and spoke to Peter about it, and he said that they had a couple of new people in training on the machines and that my jacket was probably made by one of them. He instructed me to simply snip off the excess material around the cargo pocket. I also asked him about the little white marks all over my jacket and how I might get rid of them. He said that the marks are from cutting the leather and they are usually removed before the jacket leaves. He suggested I just take some water and gently rub them off. When I mentioned the seams, he said my jacket must have slipped through quality control.
The white marks came off pretty easily for the most part, but when I trimmed the excess material off around the cargo pocket, the lining inside the cargo pocket came loose. I was very upset about this and called Peter right back. He told me not to worry and to simply send the jacket to him and he would take care of it. He assured me that I would get the perfect jacket back.
November 7th, I sent the jacket back to Wested with a detailed note of what had happened and what needed to be fixed. I also asked them to clean up the seams. Imagine my surprise when I got my jacket back a short 2 weeks later! Now, imagine my immense disappointment when I opened the package and saw that absolutely nothing at all had been done to my jacket! It was sent back to me in the exact same condition that I had sent it to Wested and there was no note or anything to indicate why this was done. I called Wested immediately and left a message for Peter. For days I waited and received no phone call back. I emailed and received no response. Finally, I broke down and called Wested again. I spoke to Peter, and he told me that he had no idea what had happened. He apologized and said that I should send it to him again with another detailed note and that he would refund both of the shipping costs to me.
I had to wait until after Christmas to send the jacket back. Money was still tight. This time, not only did I send a detailed note about the pocket and the seams, I also sent a diagram indicating the specific areas that needed attention. I sent copies of the shipping receipts as well. This time when I got the jacket back, I saw that they had fixed the lining in the pocket, but in doing so had not sewn the pocket back on flat! There was now a permanent wrinkle in the leather at the hand warmer opening and it was more difficult to get my hand into and out of the pocket. The seams had not been fixed either. In essence, I now had a jacket that worse off than when I had originally received it. And, to top it all off, there was no refund of the shipping charges.
I tried for weeks to contact Wested and received no reply from anyone there. I contacted IndyGear and enlisted the help of one of the staff in trying to get this resolved. He contacted Wested and tried to get the situation resolved as well. Given this person's relationship with Wested and Peter himself, I was surprised that he received no reply either. I called Wested leather again and spoke to a person named Jerry who seemed to know of my problem and knew who I was before I ever gave him my name. He told me that it wasn't his problem and that Peter would deal with it when he returned. I couldn't believe what I was being told. "It's not my problem"? This isn't the kind of customer service that I'd heard about, but it was what I was coming to expect. Eventually, the staff member at IndyGear who had been trying to help me out got a hold of someone at Wested and was told that Peter was out of town taking care of a sick father. I can respect that, so I waited awhile before trying to contact Wested again. But by this time I was becoming very discouraged.
After not hearing anything for months and getting no resolution on the IndyGear front (despite numerous attempts), I gave up. I had in my possession a jacket that looked like a factory second, I had wasted money on shipping it back to England twice, I had wasted money on phone calls to England, and was getting no satisfaction from Wested. I decided it wasn't worth it anymore. I was disgusted with entire affair and in May of 2003, almost a year to the day of my original order, I wrote a last email to Peter telling him how disappointed I was. He finally replied to me, apologized, and offered me a "hefty discount" on my next purchase. My next purchase? Why would I even consider ordering anything from Wested again? I emailed him back and told him that instead of getting a discount on another jacket, how about I send him my jacket one more time and he send me a replacement. I received no reply.
You would think that this is where the story ends, but it isn't. Fast forward one year. During this year, I'd been reading all the posts by happy Wested customers. I'd read about lengths to which Peter had gone to satisfy his customers. I'd read about the shirt and the pants that were being offered and how much Wested was doing for the Indy community. On every front, Peter and Wested were receiving praise. So what was it about my situation that made Peter not able/willing to help me? I'm not demanding, unless you consider wanting what I paid for to be demanding. I'm not picky unless wanting a quality leather jacket to be picky.
During this year, I also graduated from school and got myself a full-time job and ordered myself a jacket from Gibson and Barnes. Everything about the experience and the jacket was completely opposite from Wested. The quality and workmanship of this jacket are unbelievable. And it came a full week sooner than they had said it would. Not only that, but G&B even called me to ask me if I was happy with the jacket. It was all around a better experience. It got me wondering though, if this company can put out a quality jacket, why can't the original maker of the jacket? I also had the opportunity to meet a fellow gearhead and see his Wested. It was nothing like mine. He saw mine and agreed that it had some problems. And he also agreed that they were problems that Wested should/could have taken care of.
Hearing all this praise and reading all the posts, seeing another Wested jacket, and knowing that I wasn't wrong about my jacket, I decided that I should give Wested leather another chance. Now, almost two years later, I sent Peter an email telling him that I really wanted to be a fan of Wested leather seeing as how they made the original jacket and had been doing so much for the Indy world. I proposed that I send my jacket to Peter himself and have him take a good look at it. If he decided that he was comfortable having this jacket in the public as an example of his work, then I would keep it and never say another word about it. If, however, he saw the things that I saw, I asked that he do the right thing and replace it.
I received an email back from Gerry saying that Peter was out of town and that she was not familiar with my situation. I emailed a summary of everything that had happened and attached all the email messages that had been sent to and from Wested leather. I didn't hear anything back from her for a week, so I sent a follow-up asking if Peter would accept my proposition. Her reply to me was that she had spoken to Peter and that "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about re-making the existing jacket." She offered to sell me a jacket at a reduced price and reduced shipping. And that was all they could do for me! I thought that Wested leather was Peter's company. Doesn't he call all the shots? What did she mean that there is nothing they can do about remaking the existing jacket? If a company makes a mistake, they eat that mistake and supply the customer with the product that they paid for.
I couldn't believe what I was reading! Peter's resolution to the situation was to have me send him more money for another jacket, and to charge me shipping for the third time! I'm not an unreasonable person, but this solution did not sound very reasonable to me. The reduction in price would not even come close to making up for all the shipping and phone charges I had incurred while trying to get the original jacket fixed or replaced. And, he was not even willing to look at my jacket. For some reason, Peter Botwright refuses to deal with me in an honest and fair manner. In good faith, I did everything I was told and asked to do and I still have a jacket that is not what I paid for. If there is any doubt about anything I've written here, I still have all the emails, the shipping receipts, and the phone bills to prove it. Not only that, I still have the jacket that says it all.
My experience may be unique, but let this stand as a warning to anyone who is thinking about buying a Wested jacket or who might be considering returning one for repairs. Ask yourself if it's worth the hassle. And ask yourself why most people will recommend selling it and buying a new one rather than trying to get it repaired.
I'm not a fan of Wested leather!