I assumed that all of my reviews of the wedding service providers for my son’s wedding a few weeks back were going to be a breeze to write. They all seemed so professional, kind and helpful, and The Country Gent was no different. Father of the groom (for an an out of town wedding) called to speak to The Country Gent so he could lay the groundwork for obtaining a decent fitting suit. Since he is a large man, and we’re living far away, we wanted to be sure about size and fit. Father drove up to the West Point, PA shop (about 2 1/2 hour drive) especially to get fitted at least one month or more before the wedding. That appointment went off without a hitch and we assumed all was well. You know what they say about assumption, right?
The groom picked up the suit on Thursday evening before the wedding (confirming by telephone with us the correct size). We arrived in town on Saturday afternoon for the Sunday wedding. Father of the Groom tried on his suit and the shirt was one size too big in the neck and sleeve length. The jacket was 2 sizes too big and the tie was the wrong color! Problem – the store closed on Saturday at 4PM and was closed on Sunday! No emergency service in place at all. It was too late to do anything about it and actually the guys never informed me until the morning of the wedding because they didn’t want me to be upset any longer than I had to be. But, truth be told, the father was the one upset. He felt ridiculous and embarrassed and hardly danced or enjoyed much of the wedding and, of course, that affected me, the mother of the groom, and my experience. Oh, I enjoyed myself all right, but whenever I looked at the ill-fitting suit, I felt awful for my man (and very annoyed at The Country Gent). But we tried to put it aside and enjoy the moments – what else could we do?
Normally I’d insert photos into my reviews and blog posts, but I certainly don’t want to add more embarrassment to this fiasco.
I was not prepared for the unapologetic attitude of the assistant manager, Will, when I called the next week. He was argumentative (even insisting that the suit didn’t come in this particular size- huh?? Really?? When did you figure this out??) and, frankly, didn’t seem to care. Why should he? The sale was made and we’re from out of town. “Who cares” was the attitude I was getting. I was directed to call the owner, Ed Burkholder, which I did that same day, but I had to leave a message because they weren’t sure when he would be in? Really? SIGH. I have yet to get a call back from that man, which added insult to injury. Believe me, I’d never write such a scathing review if they apologized and admitted their mistake. But they didn’t, and haven’t, and I’m going to have to dispute the charge on my credit card – $150! For a couple more bucks, the groom’s father could have gone to The Men’s Wearhouse and purchased a nice suit to wear that day and many days to come. What a shame…what a shame!
Moral of the story? Check, check and recheck the sizes of rented suits and clothing. Check the labels inside the clothing and arm lengths too. One of the groomsmen who was present to try on his suit discovered the jacket sleeve lengths were different. Yes, one arm was longer than the other!
Thankfully, this is the only bad review (for the entire wedding) I’m going to have to write!