My Himel Experience (v2)

[Mark R]

if someone is very confident that this situation is only happening once every hale-bopp passing the earth then they shouldn't be worried to cover these extra tax and fee since in theory it only happens 1 or 2 time in thousands of jackets that ever reach the client in such condition, it practically never happens... but if this anomaly happens a bit more often.. then tough, that's why don't even send them out in the first place, don't even finish the jacket before fixing/ replacing the problem panels.

maybe giving a roll of ribbon with the sewer name printed on it, and make them sew their name on the finished product could trigger more personal pride of their workmanship, since their name too is forever tagged on the jacket.

Something that does happen already on some high quality clothing and shoes.

 

[Mark R]

I read this and think back many, many years. I left school at 15 and a few months later when I hit 16 started an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker ( 5 year apprenticeship) just the owner and two workers making mainly furniture for the home in solid oak. Very expensive but we made each piece from start to finish and giving an example a Welsh dresser would take me two to three weeks to complete. This was furniture that did not just last a lifetime, it was passed on to future generations and my old boss always made the promise that if you wanted to sell it at any time in the future he would buy it back at the price the customer paid. If any part of my work was unacceptable to ME I would remove that part of the item and do it again. I still remember making a carving of an Eagle and just as I was finishing the head a piece broke off due to a flaw in the wood that had not been apparent, straight away my boss said throw it away and start from scratch, that cost him a good amount of money. I guess my point is I was the quality control and would never have accepted anything I would be unhappy with as a customer, they were paying top dollar and when I carved a small eagle on the side of that item that was me saying this is what we stand for.

 

[Carlos840]

And in my opinion in this case you both did the right thing, well done you in wanting to still pay the full price, many would have taken the discount regardless.

Cheers.
I didn't post that to try to come out as more noble than i am, i just don't want people to think i am refusing to pay customs on a Himel remake because i am a cheap stingy ba***rd.
I was also apparently Greg's (Field Leathers) first and only customer who insisted on paying for the "free" mockup...

To me the Himel tax thing is a question of principle, it's not about the money.

 

[navetsea]

above certain price range I think these accidental replacement panels material or extra time to re do panels are already covered by the premium price you pay, just either more or less profit made if something is not done right the first time.

I even believe those named laser straight line by other brands probably is also not always be done right first try every time, since they are too done by human being, and here and there things happen line get crooked, needle breaks, but I believe then they would simply throw away that mistake and start over, so it never seen in the finished product, because the price is already well covering these.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Simply goes like this...your mistakes...do a complete redo...or complete refund. Not my fault.

 

[Riu]

Simply goes like this...your mistakes...do a complete redo...or complete refund. Not my fault.

Precisely

 

[Jayread]

I was just about to buy a Himel jacket, good thing I read this....might look at other options

 

[himelator]

Well said! Thank you!

I was just about to buy a Himel jacket, good thing I read this....might look at other options

If you are concerned you can contact us anytime and we can connect you with multiples of real customers who are happy with their jackets or have had their problems resolved satisfactorily. I have reached out to Jonathan in email to get him a replacement. These 3 examples are not indicative of the thousands of customer experiences we have produced. It was a blip at a time when we were on-boarding a new team member and I was unavailable to do qc due to unforeseen circumstances and travel. Accept that at my word we stand behind our customers.

 

[himelator]

I read this and think back many, many years. I left school at 15 and a few months later when I hit 16 started an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker ( 5 year apprenticeship) just the owner and two workers making mainly furniture for the home in solid oak. Very expensive but we made each piece from start to finish and giving an example a Welsh dresser would take me two to three weeks to complete. This was furniture that did not just last a lifetime, it was passed on to future generations and my old boss always made the promise that if you wanted to sell it at any time in the future he would buy it back at the price the customer paid. If any part of my work was unacceptable to ME I would remove that part of the item and do it again. I still remember making a carving of an Eagle and just as I was finishing the head a piece broke off due to a flaw in the wood that had not been apparent, straight away my boss said throw it away and start from scratch, that cost him a good amount of money. I guess my point is I was the quality control and would never have accepted anything I would be unhappy with as a customer, they were paying top dollar and when I carved a small eagle on the side of that item that was me saying this is what we stand for.

 

[himelator]

I appreciate that we certainly achieve that standard 99.9 percent of the time, clearly like all good plane crashes we had a blip on quality during the production of these jackets...We obviously have made our offers of replacement, and I can only reiterate if their are any other unknown jackets from this onboarding transition period that are unsatisfied they are welcome to contact us for resolution. My email in box is currently empty however should someone appear we will deal with their issues respectfully, promptly and to their satisfaction.

 

[himelator]

Dave I appreciate you coming on here to address this, but I didn't go online to "resolve my issues", I went to you. I did drop you an email, I did contact you first, I did reach out instead of going online to complain.

I showed you the chest pocket flaw, which IMO was the worst flaw. Technically the worst stitching flaw was the facing stitching but no one sees that. The worst overall flaw maybe the collar, but I didn't discover that until later.

I showed you the chest pocket flaw and this was your response to me:

"I talked it over with the team, unfortunately there is nothing we can do to make that stitch work look neater on that pocket because of the pocket placement. According to my main sewer, the problem was the leather is a bit slippery on that hide and the tape on the zipper caused some uneveness of the walking foot....I am really sorry about that...it wont happen again obviously. We are going to be much more focused on stitchwork especially using contrast thread"

 

[himelator]

I have reached out to you in email to get you a new jacket....I would happily continue this conversation in private. I attempted to dig out the emails from our conversation and try to remember if we spoke on the phone and asked parker to do the same. If you are interested in getting the jacket replaced just pop me a line, whatever state of mind I was in at the time the jacket was unacceptable, the team let you down, I let you down. Personally I would ask you to take the conversation offline so we can get a resolution, litigating old emails is next to impossible as I cannot remember the entirety of what happened this far back and why, I can assure you the jacket is an embarrassment and needs to be replaced. I wont address it online farther, the offer was made. I await your response in my email.

 

[himelator]

No. Six jackets purchased, four still owned, and no similar problems.

Had I received a jacket similar to that received by Jeo, my head would have exploded. That said, I am more confrontational than Jeo and I respect Jeo's more amicable approach (I am trying mightily to be more amicable and less confrontational in my daily interactions). Unfortunately, in most instances, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. On the other hand, a gentle, polite word often goes much further than manifest outrage. Here, Jeo's kind word should have been enough to start a respectful dialogue, as opposed to a flat denial.

I appreciate the support Craig, as you know from personal experience we have certainly worked with you to achieve your needs regarding jackets. You are one of the most discerning customers I have. I appreciate you sharing your experiences with our jackets, conversations with me and the like.

 

[Marc mndt]

I was just about to buy a Himel jacket, good thing I read this....might look at other options

I think we can do without these comments. These do not add to the discussion.

 

[dannyk]

I think we can do without these comments. These do not add to the discussion.

agreed. I’m glad you read this forum and it’s given you insight. But you will see many times myself included said that most of Dave’s @himelator
work is top notch. He has unique patterns, great fits, awesome leather, clsssy hardware. A few people feel let down by the customer service. I completely get them and they should have every right to feel that way. But 99% of the work is good to great. I wouldn’t be afraid to buy one. I won’t cause they are out of my price range by about a grand haha. But don’t antagonize or blow up this thread. If that’s how you really feel also completely justified but no need to announce on this thread when there’s been a good back and forth and there’s a chance for fences to be mended.

 

[himelator]

View attachment 314892 View attachment 314893 View attachment 314894

Despite all these flaws, I still love my Frobisher. It is my best fitting jacket and the leather is amazing.

When I met Dave at Inspriation LA he assured me that the Imperial he was going to make me will be perfect. This was my dream jacket so I went ahead and plunged a significant amount of money for him to make it for me. My Imperial came out much better than my Frobisher.

As I mentioned in other threads, I never brought this up until now since I saw no reason to, but after Himel's post about standing behind his products, I felt I needed to tell people about my specific experience and am writing this thread with the purpose of informing the great people of TFL community as well as prospective buyers.

I hope this thread will serve well in that purpose.

For the rest of the people including Jonathan in this thread. I dont really spend much time on forums anymore, mostly because I am busy not just trying to make the best jackets we can, but because in order to refill the tank during Covid and keep my project going it takes up 1000 percent more psychological energy than when I was able to see customers, suppliers, and future suppliers. 2018 was a challenging year for me and thus my brand and my team. Unbelievable amounts of travel, personal challenges, and hiring parker to take my place in a lot of roles clearly led to these exceptional experiences, I came here to address them because firstly I owe these people a good experience. I certainly don't like mistakes aired, I dont like mistakes at all. I offered replacements, there is not much else to be said. To any future customers, we do something special and unique making bespoke jackets. I am pretty sure there are few other places where anybody would take on such a challenge. It is costly complex and full of difficult daily work. We love our work, and will continue to make amazing bespoke jackets, I am reachable by phone, email, fb, signal, and almost any other form other than skype i hate skype. the fact I am here is a testimonial to how much I care about my service, my brand and my customers, and that includes the difficult annoying customers as much as the wonderful lovely ones. We get all kinds. If anybody reading this thread doubts the brand, my commitment or anything else there is not much more I can do for you. We face our mistakes head on because we care, for those who seek pleasure or opportunity to take joy in these mistakes, please consider your own less then perfect experiences and responses to them. We stand behind what we do, I am going to go back to work and stay off the lounge for a while, hopefully I wont get more texts from my lovely perfect and happy customers concerned because a 4th or 5th or 6th thread starts with carlos, jonathan or jeo, they too can pick up the phone and call me, parker or email. Parker will be dealing with any further questions relating to this thread. I wish you all good days, get through the covid we are still locked down here after 1 year, and if there are any future or potential customers that want to call me to address any possible concern before they purchase, my cell phone number is readily available from my team.

 

[TG3]

Mobilizing

agreed. I’m glad you read this forum and it’s given you insight. But you will see many times myself included said that most Dave’s @himelator
work is top notch. He has unique patterns, great fits, awesome leather, clsssy hardware. A few people feel let down by the customer service. I completely get them and they should have every right to feel that way. But 99% of the work is good to great. I wouldn’t be afraid to buy one. I won’t cause they are out of my price range by about a grand haha. But don’t antagonize or blow up this thread. If that’s how you really feel also completely justified but no need to announce on this thread when there’s been a good back and forth and there’s a chance for fences to be mended.

Well said.

 

[jeo]

I have reached out to Jonathan in email to get him a replacement.

I have reached out to you in email to get you a new jacket....I would happily continue this conversation in private. I wont address it online farther, the offer was made. I await your response in my email.

I will gladly continue this conversation in private but I have not received an email from you.

 

[Marc mndt]

the fact I am here is a testimonial to how much I care about my service, my brand and my customers, and that includes the difficult annoying customers

I'm not sure what a customer has to do in order be dismissed as difficult and annoying but I do hope those customers will receive a jacket that they think is worth their hard earned money.

 

[dlite90]

I appreciate Dave taking the time to address so many posts in this thread. The curse of forums/internet/social media is that the more he engages, the more he opens himself up to additional criticism from anyone looking to antagonize him.