written by on 23/05/2016
My nightmare began when I decided to have a suit made at Austin Reed After waiting about four weeks the suit was ready to collect.and did it fit, No,so they altered it. After waiting a week it was ready did it fit, no so they made a new Jacket. After four weeks I collected the suit and I was not happy . I wasted £495 Will never shop there again didn't even get any compensation I received a £20 voucher. was told you can't use it ?? They say in a couple of weeks I will get a phone call ? I wish I had read the reviews before I went shopping.1
written by on 23/04/2016
I had to go twice to the shop to pick up an internet order. They claimed they did not have the ítem.
written by jehova on 22/02/2016
I ordered a shirt on line, but on receipt it was badly marked. i reported this over the phone and sent the shirt back and asking for a replacement, this was done before Christmas 2015. i did not get the replacement and went on holiday for two weeks. I had an email saying they had delivered the shirt on 6/1/2016. I could not find it. Then wrote again, and guess what? They would sort the issue out within 2-3days another message sent and they now could not find my details but again "would sort it out and get back to me, this dated end of January. found the shirt package in some bushes by my drive. The shirt was creased and wet So if you can put up with this sort of nonsense then use Austin Reed; otherwise steer well clear
written by izzyarkwright on 17/09/2015
My friend went to your store yesterday and received terrible customer service. She went with her partner and the lady who was serving her partner deliberately ignored her completely and flirted with him. She also let her have no say in the clothes or what he looked like. It is very poor to have a worker who is not 100% professional. I think it is appauling and needs to be fixed right away. I would not go there again and would not recommend it to anyone else. I suggest you change
written by postapal on 09/09/2015
How can a company that is supposed to represent quality provide such poor customer service. In this day and age I can order goods one day and have them in my hand the next. Austin Reed can't even manage to get the goods to their own stores within 10 days. They even promised to send them to my house (instead of to my local store) because of the delay but then still sent them to the store. I have spoken to customer services twice and had different reasons for the delay both times. I would suggest you only place an order if you know you have weeks in hand. I will vote with my feet and never buy from them again.
written by Suitsforwomen on 31/03/2015
I recently tried to online stores to buy suits. Austin Reed and another competitor. I was astonished that it took Austin Reed 12 days to process and deliver my order whilst I had the other suit within 3 days. I like the Austin Reed suit and staff were very polite when I telephoned however it took the same time for the next order. Should I give up or will it be third time lucky and Austin Reed will learn about postage in the online world! Please try as I won't shop again if you continue to be so slow......
written by Adams1988 on 13/02/2015
IMO. DO NOT buy from here. IMO. Details sold to flagrant Phishers. Bad form IMO.
written by NikhilGoodwin on 31/01/2015
The coat I bought is great, unfortunately it has to go back as it is too small cut. However I found the customer service really appalling, starting from the beginning. I asked for a click & collect store collection, so I expected to pick up my coat after 24 hours or at least after 48 hours, as you can expect from other retailers. The website delivery information is not clear and confusing, you assume that the 5 working days delivery time interval refers to only home deliveries. I wrote about this to customer services where I was told, that my item has been already despatched via Royal Mail, but they were not able to track it. I wrote back again asking, how can they be so careless sending out an almost £400 worth coat via an untracked delivery service. This time I received a reply from a supervisor, saying actually they were not sending it out via Royal Mail, but using TNT services. Reading between lines I assumed that they only deliver once a week to stores (this was not admitted) and that is why they give you the up to 5-10 working days as delivery time limit. Well after several moans to the customer services (to be fair I almost received replies straight away), finally after 10 days of the order date and a week after the despatch date I got a call from the store that my coat was ready for collection. I went to pick up my coat at the Guildford Store, where I had the most utterly disgusting retail experience. I felt intimidated and like I should not be belong to there. The shop assistant asked whether I received a call from them today saying that my order has arrived. After I confirmed it, she brought me my coat and asked if I would have liked to try it on. However I felt awkward as I was not offered the privacy of a fitting room, just I had to try it on in the middle of the shop. The shop looked messy and there was nowhere I could park my bags and my other coat in order to try the coat on. Although there was a big comfy chair, which unfortunately was occupied with a large card box and was not removed in order to help me out. I felt intimidated and I was no longer in the mood to try the coat on, as I was worried about my other stuff, which I had to put on the store floor as they could not be asked to remove the card box from the chair. The shop assistant saw me to struggle and helped me to put the coat on, which was appreciated. However I only had a chance to have a quick glance at it, so I did not really realised that it was far too small for the purpose I would have bought it for. Then it was chucked into a bag so quickly, that I did not have a chance to think about it. I have to admit I could not wait to leave the store. Well after reading the following bad reviews on review centre website I am not looking forward to this return process either, not to mention that according to AR's terms and conditions I only have 28 days to send it back from the despatch date, but in reality it is really 21 days now, as it took them 7 days to deliver it from the despatch. What a deception! To sum it all up clearly AR is not geared up fully for online retail. They have lovely products, but their staffs are snob and they look down on their customers and they make them feel intimidated. Anyway I hope my review helps others and hopefully makes AR to think how they can improve their customer relations!!! I also submitted this review at AR's website, so hoping it gets published, as looking at AR's website it seems only positive feedbacks are published!!!
written by JeanLucPicard on 13/01/2015
Utterly ridiculously naff service. I had a perfectly reasonable suit I had managed to get from House Fraser during the sales - but I was not 100% happy with the fit. I then kept getting these Secret Suit emails from Austin Reed - so I tried a same fit suit in store (different colour) and then went ahead and ordered a suit from Austin Reed and was advised it would take 5 working days to deliver. In the meantime, I returned the HOF suit, as I only needed 1 new suit. One week later I get an email from Austin Reed - yes 1 week later - advising that my suit was no longer in stock. So, now I don't have new suit and will have to pay full price for one. It certainly wont be an Austin Reed one. Side note: Why does it take AR 5 working days to despatch a suit, when most others can delivery in 48hrs? Pathetic. Cant believe these guys are still in business.
Written on: 30/01/2015
I forgot to add another example of AR incompetence in relation this order:
As mentioned in my updated comments, the helpful CS lady had arranged for me to collect a suit from the local AR store.
She rang me around lunchtime to confirm that she had spoken to the local store and asked them to reserve the jacket and trousers for me. I just had to pop into the store as they would be expecting me.
I was busy at work so could not visit the store around 5pm. When I got there I discovered they had NOT reserved the suit for me and although they managed to locate the trousers on the display rack, they could not find the jacket!
They then spent five minutes checking the stockroom and other parts of the store until they managed to locate it mixed in with the Sale items!
So, despite being reassured that the suit had been reserved at the store, no such thing had been done! If someone had popped in the meantime and purchased the store I would have been further disappointed. Or perhaps they would have done me a favour - might not have hat to wait another 2 weeks for the other pair of trousers!!
written by milamber on 23/10/2014
Just a word of warning when ordering from these clowns. I read a whole pile of negative reviews on here after ordering a suit the other day, but put them down to a few disgruntled customers. Mostly the reviews were about items ordered not being in stock and only parts of orders being despatched. Exactly the same has happened to me. I ordered a suit with a spare pair of trousers, one in a 28W and another in a 30" as I wasn't sure which waist would be correct, depending on the cut. They have despatched the jacket, but can't fulfill either of the trousers. So they have sent half a suit.........What a waste of space and now I have to go to the trouble of returning it for a refund. Trousers are still showing as in stock.
Written on: 25/10/2014
Just an update on this. Having had an email saying the jacket had been despatched, I had a phone call from them yesterday to say it was out of stock, but they were still looking to see if they could find one of the pairs of trousers.........Needless to say I told them to cancel the entire order. Don't waste your time.
written by 1979McCain on 26/09/2014
I ordered a suit from austin reed online and they dispatched the order however just the suit jacket since the other items are out of stock (although noted as available online). When ordering a suit I would expect a full suit and not just a single jacket. I had called customer service the day before and was not notified regarding this. I will not order from them again and would not recommend ordering from austin reed.
written by on 05/09/2014
Ordered a few polo shirts 2 and a half weeks before going away thinking that should be more than enough time. It took over a week for them to dispatch. (Also took them 2-3 days to reply to each email I sent). I called them 3 days after it was supposedly dispatched (2 weeks after placing the order) and asked them to call the carrier to check on this and they confirmed the carrier had not even collected it yet! I cancelled the order at that point and have placed an order elsewhere. Will not be using Austin Reed again.
written by on 15/08/2014
After buying one of the stores more expensive suits (500 pounds) I was dismayed to find that it did not stand up to dry cleaning in any way (at a dry cleaners I have used often for other suits). I was further disappointed by the customer service at the store, from the area manager and from the central customer relations. So 500 quid for one days wear of a suit. Not great. At all.
written by happyhal on 29/07/2014
I ordered some ties from the website. they claim 5 working days . However in busy periods 10 working days. Be aware of that fact. I sent an email to CS but never replied to it. I called them on 9th day asking them why they didn't send me an update and ignored my email. I had to repeat my self to get an answer. they said: "we are sorry" . I told them that am not going to use Austin Reed. The CS did not offer me any reason why they behaved with me in such a way. They don't care about their customers . do you really think you like to use them. NOOOOOOOOOO. Keep way. Hal
written by Nickhit on 19/07/2014
Can't praise the service I received more highly. Bought a suit online, arrived ahead of time, fine quality but trousers were a tad too small. I went to the Guildford store to change them but they didn't have the bigger size in stock. Russell in the shop tried other stores but I wouldn't have been able to get to those stores in time for when I needed them (24 working hours later). He offered to get them couriered but that wasn't guaranteed to reach me in time either (I was an awkward customer)! Determined that I would not be disappointed, I was quickly measured and Russell ran to their tailor down the road, coming back after about 5 minutes to tell me they would be altered and ready just in time. I returned in the morning and waited a few anxious minutes while Russell ran to the tailor again and brought them back. Great to see such genuine superb service these days. It cost me nothing and on the face of it made AR nothing either. Except that they will, from now on, be my first port of call whenever I go looking for clothes.
written by 462Gonzales on 16/07/2014
The flagship store on Regent Street is very badly managed. The staff seem to lose items that have allegedly been placed aside awaiting collection. You then have to wait whilst they run around trying to find a replacement. You get a sense of absence of control and management - shocking for a brand that is proud of its Heritage
written by Tristan55 on 25/05/2014
Living in Australia I have bought work shirts on-line for the past 5 years. Recently Charles Tyrwhitt and other well known UK shirt retailers have opened up on line stores in Australia. Great idea... except we Australians are paying on average 20-30% more than our UK counterparts for the same shirts! What a rip off! I try to buy from the CT UK store but of course I keep getting re directed to their Aus web site. Read some negative reviews about Austin Reed, not sure whether impartial but as far as I am concerned I got what I ordered in 10 days straight and also they gave me a cash refund on a shirt (due to my own mistake) so I have no complaints at all. Very responsive. Also shirts appear to be better quality than CT. Nice not to feel worked over by greedy retailers.....Austin Reed don't follow CT's trend. Australians are on to the rort.
written by lawlady on 02/05/2014
Over the past ten years I have spent thousands in Austin Reed on work clothes and to be fair to them, their service up until now and the quality of their clothing has been quite good. However, on returning to work after maternity leave, I found that the work clothes I had were not a good fit and I needed to buy some new suits. I walked into their store in casual clothes, with my baby asleep in a buggy and was completely ignored by their staff. I started to browse and when I needed help, the sales assistant, once I had her attention was offhand and unhelpful. I was incensed and walked out without spending anything. I will never shop there again.
written by 1989Milne on 24/03/2014
After having read the litany of negative reviews regarding Austin Reeds appalling on-line service, writing another will not I fear, either perturb or improve the atrocious service this company provide, Cavaet emptor
written by 179Pierce on 13/03/2014
For a more prestigious High Street company they are not set up as a modern online retailer. Having placed an order costing over £200 it is now 4 weeks and still no sign of it. Any other company would have had it dispatched the next day and delivered within 2-3 days. Comparing the experience ordering online with other High Street names and it appears obvious that they think their customers are willing to put up with long waits for their items to be delivered. Austin Reed should not be naive about the online experience of it's customers and correct their failings.
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Jeanlucpicard's Response to JeanLucPicard's Review
Written on: 29/01/2015
Update:
A very nice lady from Austin Reed CS got in touch to offer an alternative suit (similar to mine) from the current (overly priced) range at the sale price.
After trying on the alternative in a local AR store and double checking they had the items in stock I cautiously agreed to take them up on the offer.
To give credit to CS lady, she seemed very competent and tried very hard to help me. She even arranged for me to collect the suit 1 Jacket + 1 Trousers from the local store at the sale price - even though it was on full price at the store.
However, my original order had been for 1 jacket and 2 trousers - as I find suit trousers wear out quicker than the jacket. It was confirmed that they had an additional pair of trousers in stock elsewhere and these would be sent out to me separately. Seems nice and straightforward I thought....
Should have know better! It then took 2 weeks and umpteen emails to finally get the 2nd pair of trousers. Every few days helpful CS lady apologised and promised a new delivery date. Each deadline came and went.
Finally, just when I had decided I wanted a refund and would purchase from elsewhere, the 2nd pair turned up - almost 2 weeks after the initial promised date.
As I remarked to the CS lady - who did seem to be very competent, but constantly let down by the rest of AR - I don't think the majority of AR staff could organize the proverbial in a brewery.
Oh, almost forgot, despite several assurance, the AR billing department double charged my credit card - once for the reduced sale price that we had agreed on and once for the full price. It was not a pleasant sight seeing an unexpected £600 charge on my credit card bill!!