Cru Jones Society

Dear Men’s Wearhouse,

I have been dressing in business casual clothing for nearly a decade now and despite having a couple of friends who once worked at a Men’s Wearhouse, I never visited your establishment until I was made best man for a wedding. The grunt work was done and all I had to do was go in to be fitted and eventually pick up my rental. That is when things got ugly.

My first visit to a Men’s Wearhouse started off like any other trip to a clothing store, though this was the first time the staff was dressed so nicely. I was lucky enough to get the new hire, and got to be one of his first fittings. He was quickly aided by one of the veterans as it became clear he had not measured for a tux yet. The two gentlemen then proceeded to rush me through the fitting and spent twice as much time trying to sell me on other products and sales happening at your lovely store at the moment. I wish this gentleman was more attuned to the words I was saying because I clearly was not interested in shopping here. He then ran through the terms of the rental agreement as fast as he could. I felt as though the Micro Machine Guy was reading this thing to me. Granted he probably has to go through these several times a day, but this was my first time, and I wanted him to be gentle. I needed to know what kind of trouble I would be in if I tore my pants while dancing, perhaps with a vacuum. I left and put your store out of my mind for another month.

Then I returned to pick up my tux. I was greeted by a short lady with an accent who apparently lacked the muscle required to smile. She did have a very charming way of making me as though I was the largest inconvenience she had had all day, and considering this was approximately 30 minutes after the store opened, I am inclined to believe I was by far the worst customer. She found my tux, and since Micro Machine Guy, that’s what I will call him since he, like most everyone else working at your store, didn’t tell me his name, treated me like a 12 year old and told me a number of times to make sure and try it on before I left, I did just that. I told her the pants were a little large and she informed me the next smaller size was three sizes smaller. This seems perfectly ideal for a business that specializes in rentals. I guess it is not important to take into consideration the fact that people are made differently.

But the pants would be the least of my problems as I would come to experience. My vest did not fit either. I was told this wouldn’t be a problem and there would be a new one the next day by the time they opened at 9:30. The little foreign lady, again I was not given a name, gave me a receipt saying I needed my vest and rung me up. At this point I was feeling ok about my experience in your store. I was put off a little by the up-selling, lack of names, and missing smiles, but overall I felt confident I would one day shop at the Men’s Wearhouse on my own accord.

Then the next day happened. Our state was blanketed with a light layer of snow. I showed up at the time little foreign lady said and once again I was greeted with no smiles. I said why I was there and what I needed and it proceeded to take no less than three of the associates to figure out that my vest was not around because UPS has not shown up. Now I can hardly hold the Men’s Wearhouse responsible for what UPS does, or does not do, but the fact UPS was the best option to replace a vest in a 24 hour span hardly seems the best route. But this became the moment I actually saw a smile and got a name in your store. Melissa took my name and number and the reins of the vest situation and told me she would call as soon as UPS arrived. I left and eagerly awaited the call as I attempted to handle some other business. By the time I received Melissa’s call I was a good 20 minutes away. I made my way back to the store to try on the vest.

Upon entering this time, I was not greeted by Melissa, but rather an older African-American man, who followed protocol and didn’t smile or give me a name. Despite this, he was still more helpful than anyone else, save for Melissa. He located my vest and once again the thing did not fit. I was smart enough to bring in the receipt little foreign lady gave me and older African-American man was able to determined that she ordered the exact same size for my vest. Now I didn’t attend Men’s Wearhouse school for ordering new sizes, but I am pretty sure that ordering the same size for something you need a different size of will not yield the desired results. And maybe before hiring someone to work in a clothing store you make sure they understand the sizing system.

Older African-American man understands customer service and took the situation into his own hands. He asked me for 30 minutes to an hour so that he could alter the vest for me. I really didn’t have any other options so I agreed. But this meant I would have to make another trip to you store. I have already doubled the trips the other groomsmen have made, with the exception of one who had his tux sent to the wrong store. So what would one more be?

I made what I hoped and what did turn out to be the last trip. Older African-American man came through with his promise and altered the vest. It now fit perfectly and the wedding could proceed without a hitch, assuming the pants would stay up. All of these problems could have been easily avoided if your associates put more time into the fitting process and perhaps less time into the up-selling and frowning.

Men’s Wearhouse I think you need to have a serious talk with your associates at the Belmar store in Lakewood. I have worked retail, I understand customers are a pain in the ass, but I also understand that is where the money comes from. You just have to put up a front for 8 hours then go next door, have a strong shot and a tall beer and it will all work out. Melissa and older African-American man made an effort to help this customer, but everyone else in the store made me feel like I was an asshole for spending money at Men’s Wearhouse. If that is the case I will be content to take my money elsewhere.

You may guarantee I will love the way I look, but I guess you won’t guarantee the service I will get.

Sincerely,

Lee S. Hart (the S is for “shopping somewhere else”)

lee.s.hart@crujonessociety.com