A Suit That Doesn't Fit - Avoid, avoid, avoid!

AVOID this company at all costs! 1,5 years have passed (!) since I made my order – my money is gone and I have no wearable suit.

I’ve never in my life had such a poor service, NEVER! If you’re considering using ASTF, think twice and better go elsewhere, anywhere– a local tailor or off-the-peg suit store. Below is my story.

Suit

After 1,5 years since I made my order the suit is still unwearable. For over a year I’ve been trying to get the shoulders corrected (shoulders are an essential part of a suit, if they don’t fit, the whole suit looks rather ridiculous). And for all this time ASTF couldn’t get them right. I believe that I have normal human shoulders and this is why I think it’s the lack of competence and expertise to blame in the case of ASTF.

Concerning the quality of fabric, it’s fair to say that it’s not bad: it’s nice to the touch and stitching is good. But it’s of no use when the suit itself doesn’t fit.

Style advisors

'..don’t expect it [the suit] to fit…' - I was told this at one of my early appointments after I’d said that I wanted a perfectly fitting suit.

If you decide to use ASTF prepare to battle with their so called ‘style advisors’ every single time. They constantly wanted me to collect the unfinished suit. They are simply incompetent to spot and resolve issues or perhaps they are paid a commission for getting the customer to collect the suit at whatever state it is, even if it’s unfinished. Sometimes they failed to see obvious problems (like shoulder pads sticking out like batman’s wings): 'I think it’s alright' – was the comment of that ‘style advisor’. At my last appointment when I said that one shoulder was too tight which didn’t feel comfortable and created folds along the sleeve and shoulder, I was told 'Umm it’s a pressing issue, why don’t you go and steam-press it?' DO learn about the suits yourself (how they should fit etc) and DO NOT TRUST these ‘style advisors’!

Appointments

The first appointment at which the measurements were taken was a very nice one. The style advisor was polite and helpful throwing lots of promises at me about how ASTF will deliver everything in the best possible manner. I got to choose the elements of the suit, from fabric to shape of pockets, and by the end of it, I was pleased and looked forward to trying on my new suit.

However, once you’ve paid them, the money is theirs and legally they don’t have to refund you under any circumstances (because it’s a tailor-made product). This means once you’ve paid them, they stop caring. And this is exactly what happened to me. I’ve had 5 style advisors over these 1,5 months, and only one of them (Ilona is her name) actually tried to help. The rest of ‘style advisors’ were incompetent and rude: once one of these ‘style advisor’ even said to me how his day got spoilt (!) when I came to the appointment, after I raised a concern about the suit.

The appointments system is very inflexible – usually the nearest appointment slot is in 2-4 weeks and these slots are inconvenient either. So usually I ended up with two options – 8 00 or 13 00 in two-three weeks time.

Management

After expressing my disappointment about the service (again) to management and my wish to get a refund, I got a call from the managing director Daniel. 'I’m Managing Director and I’m calling you, this means we care' he said to me. He invited me to another appointment to review the suit with me, despite me saying that I didn’t believe anything would change and how sick and tired I was of coming to these frustrating appointments. He went on to accuse me, saying that it’s my fault that got an unfitting suit because I had missed some appointment a year ago (I clearly remember notifying ASTF in advance when I couldn’t make appointments, but hopefully you already have an idea of what this company is like). I was told that I shouldn’t hope to get my money back unless I continue coming to appointments.

In conclusion, I think ASTF is a horrible company that, frankly, shouldn’t even exist in the 21st century, all it wants is to take your money and then deliver sub-standard service at a cost of few pennies (and then, on top of that, accuse you of the bad outcome). My advice to you - DO NOT bring them your money!

Mark.