Stetson 100 to Optimo

[Matt Deckard]

This thread is about the Stetson 100 that came back. This isn't a place to cloud with happy go lucky stories. I want to see how that Stetson turns out.

He had a bad experience. Let's see if it turns out okay.

For now I'm moving most of the stories to a new thread and putting this back on topic.

http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=45696

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I have a personal disdain for uncivility but from a newbie's perspective is the proper decorum to only post positive experiences here? I am not suggesting by any stretch to bash this or any other firm but the sharing of concern about poor quality or poor results is one of the things I look to the forum for direction on. If that is not allowed, I will seek my information via other sources.

I am in no way the arbiter of what is allowed here or not. Sorry if I came off in such a smug way.

Also, to the original poster, I'm not accusing you of wrongdoing and am interested in the outcome. The entire story on this Stetson 100 will be informative to everyone - exactly what this site is about. I think it's possible that you jumped the gun by sharing the bad before Optimo had a chance to make good but that is my opinion, and certainly not something I even have the right or reason to be cross about. In any event, the details you shared should be here on the TFL.

Last, I have no reason to doubt Fedora's story but when other hatters start piling on each other in these forums, it sort of seems a little much - to me, personally.

 

[rlk]

I've had varying degrees of work done on many(pushing 50)hats from general cleaning to full make-up and have had to bring back just three for some rework, 2 of which were from the same period discussed here in this thread. This was a period during which Graham and Tiffany were out of town introducing the new season of colors(not a valid excuse--only for some delay in service and apparently resulted in some oversights). I am a walk-in so have an advantage and they were corrected. Sometimes there were stains/marks which were not removable by standard cleaning methods and the standard sweatband issues. They don't take overly rigorous special measures for stain removal(might be a money loser and potential liability problem) but that does require explanation. By the way they are NOT DOING ANY HAT RENOVATION IN DECEMBER. Some employees are taking some Holiday time off.
One Optimo warning is to be as explicit as possible as when in doubt they will occasionally take initiatives which may not be your preference. Particularly sweatband and ribbon issues. Never a problem correcting any issues but best that they don't happen in the first place.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

I haven't commented, so far, yet I had a "100" (look at my photo) redone by Optimo. "Redone" means: up two sizes, clean and remove musty odors, I believe I asked them to return the hat to me unbashed (don't recall...). Up two sizes means the sweat and the ribbon(s) had to be replaced. All in all, I was very happy with the beautiful, wide, supple sweat, that was well-fitted, the resize (fits perfectly now), the excellent crown and brim ribbons, and the black "Optimo" hatbox as a bonus. The cleaning was also very good, if not absolutely 1000%perfect: one or two pinhole size spots remain visible. I've cleaned some hats myself, and my experience is that it is mighty difficult to turn an "old" hat into a "new" one. The odor was gone, whilst exactly that had not been guaranteed to me during the pre-job email traffic. I'm very happy with the job they did. Period, and thanks.

As to the hat of "felt and straw"
well, I can't understand such badly bashed hat ever got back to our forum member. As such, there can be no excuse other than and unequivocal "sorry, send it back to us, we'll pay postage and correct it" + correspondance or explanation re the imperfect cleaning and the reasons for same.

Business is a risky enterprise; I'm sure many know this. The most important element is for respect to be established, maintained and excercised.

A late happy Thanksgiving to our American brothers and sisters.

 

[Fedora]

So, just to set the record straight, I don't think Optimo sucks. They did a good job on the other two vintage hats I sent them (as I noted above).

I don't either generally speaking. Love the workmanship on the 3 hats I bought from them. And, I never called them up to complain on getting rabbit for beaver, or the shoddy sweatband work on the Akubras. I am not that type of guy. I gave em two shots, and they failed me both times. So, I move on. And, I understand my own experience does not represent what you generally get from them. It was just my luck of the draw. But, I am not a gambler, so I never drew from the same deck again. In hindsight, it was a learning experience, HOW not to be, if you are making hats. But I know too, employees can ruin your rep. And, I am sure this is what happened with my own experience. I doubt Graham would just rip a sweatband out with his hands. But, someone did. Perhaps the guy who sold me pure rabbit for pure beaver, and who I know, is no longer there.

 

[Justdog]

25

Not to be Devils advocate but I sent a 25 in for new sweat and cleaning, off season. I got a call and discussed the process. There were no promises. In fact it looked like I might loose the original sweat. The sweat was almost detached when sent in. It came back in reasonable time , across the border.
The hat was clean well balanced., original sweat expertly sewn back in and the hat was well boxed. It is the only one I have sent but the job was great and I had no other way to get that hat fixed.

 

[Felt and Straw]

Talked with Mr. Thompson this morning and he said to send the hat to him and he would call me. It went priority in todays mail.

We had a long talk and he said many things I found helpful/interesting. Among them he noted that if you want a tag left on a hat, take it off before sending it to them. He said that the tags don't do well in the blocking process because of the need to stretch the hat over the block. This makes perfect sense, I just figured that the tag (and perhaps bow) was removed if a block was part of the work being done. I just assumed, for that exact reason, that it wasn't tacked back in until after the block. Now I know.

He also commented on the general difficulty in reattaching vintage sweatbands because of their age and condition. As we talked about this it made sense to me, but upon reflection I want to follow up with him when we talk again because I had assumed that the sweatband was removed when they did an immersion cleaning, but now I'm confused.

Another tidbit I gleaned: He said that hats are logged in on Tuesdays and if they arrive after that they aren't logged in until the next Tuesday. I didn't ask if this was current practice during what I assume is a busy holiday season, or SOP.

In any event I look forward to talking to him next week.

Cheers all.

 

[High Pockets]

Sounds great!

 

[Maguire]

Just a quick question- how much do they charge for the cleaning and can you just send them any hat or will they only service their own hats?

 

[m000m000]

They'll service any hat, and the prices are viewable on their homepage.

 

[Felt and Straw]

Update

The 100 made it there on Monday and Mr. Thompson called me earlier today the bottom line of which was that he told me that the hat should not have been sent back the way it is.
We had another long talk and discussed the hat and how he would make it better. I told him that I appreciated his candor about the work that was done and he gave his assurance that the hat would come back much better. He said it would go into next weeks cleaning process.
Although he really wanted to swap out the sweat on principal, we agreed that they would clean up the hat and only replace it if it was absolutely necessary, and then only after someone called me to discuss it.
More to follow....

 

[Justdog]

100

Thats great news. Every business has an issue once in a while. Just glad my 100 does not have to be sent anywhere, Id have no finger nails left

 

[GallatinHatMan]

I'm eagerly awaiting the outcome of your problems with Optimo. I, too, based on what I have read here sent my gray Royal Stetson St. Regis Homburg for a good cleaning and to replace a badly faded edge ribbon with a new black one to match the main ribbon. It just went last week. Frankly, I never thought about the holidays as an issue or I would have waited. I received a call shortly after it was received and was told it should be returned with two weeks. This was the first time I have used Optimo and am interested in seeing how they resolve the original posters complaints and, of course, how I get my St. Regis returned.

 

[gtdean48]

I have sent in 2 Open Roads for renovation, both needing new liners & sweatbands = complete overhaul. I've always gotten a call that the hats were received & a quick evaluation of what was going to be done & the price. Both came back to my satisfaction. On 1, they did not have the right color ribbon & we discussed what to use instead. They wanted to go a lighter shade but I had seen some Buckaroo style hats with a darker ribbon & edge binding. It is a Royal Deluxe that I got as a beater & now it is a very stylish beater to me. I look sharp driving the tractor with the manure spreader across the field...

 

[memphislawyer]

I know mistakes happen, even in my field, and what impresses me is when you point it out, and the business corrects it. I had a cleaners that messed up and just plain out lost my shirt. They asked my indulgence to wait a month to find it and could not even then. Since it was an expensive Zegna shirt I got at half price, even then it was $150 and tax and the cleaners usually does not see that price shirt, so they went aback. However, they ponied up the replacement funds without complaint and I use them today. My thought is that you want to see what a business will do when they mess up, or when the chips line up against them. This one stepped up. Sounds like Optimo does too, and so if I have issues with my new hat, this is one place I will look to in addressing repairs or cleaning. May not be the cheapest place, but a few extra dollars is worth piece of mind to me.

 

[Felt and Straw]

Well, the 100 came back Christmas eve.

I'll post pictures, hopefully tomorrow, but here is a quick round-up.

Since sending the hat back to Optimo I had two conversations with Mr. Thompson, the one noted above, and a second one about half way between then and now. During the second conversation he explained to me what they had done up to that point and what he was thinking about. He told me that they had cleaned the hat twice and were planning one last bath. He also said that he thought he might like to turn it inside out, but he wasn't sure. A couple of days later Tiffanie called and said that he had turned it inside out and because of the difference in felt color around the sweat and lining he wanted to replace the original ribbon with a 19 ligne ribbon in a traditional bow.

As I explained to Mr. Thompson during our second conversation, I think his effort clearly went well beyond what he needed to. The hat shouldn't have come back the way it did the first time, but he also didn't need to spend as much time and effort with it as he and his staff clearly had. I told him that I didn't think I was unreasonable to be upset over the condition the first time, and that I didn't want to be unreasonable in what I expected him to do now. I wanted him to fix the bash, the bow and the stitching in back, and if the signs of wear couldn't be removed, they couldn't be removed and he should just tell me. When I told him that I didn't expect him to work miracles, just give it a good effort and then send it back, come what may, he advised that he wanted to keep working on it because he felt he could get it better.

As it is I think the hat looks very good. The bash is even and aligned true. Anyone that knows hats could look at the (now) underside of the brim and see the white lines that look like water marks that were so visible in the original pictures I posted, but to a normal look they are almost invisible. The real point to me, however, is that I know they did the best they could, and that is all I ask. In fact in this case they went far beyond what I think they should have.

All-in-all a happy ending since I know they gave it their best. It is clear to me based upon what Mr. Thompson told me over the phone that they spent a disproportionate amount of time and effort on it, and that is very much appreciated. It sounds like they basically did the full refurb several times.

Hats off to the effort and desire to please a customer. :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Thanks for the follow up. You earned a happy ending with your patience, and Graham lived up to what most folks think of him, even after allowing an inferior example of Optimo work to slip past him the first time. Congrats to both of you! :eusa_clap

 

[Lefty]

Thanks for the follow up. You earned a happy ending with your patience, and Graham lived up to what most folks think of him, even after allowing an inferior example of Optimo work to slip past him the first time. Congrats to both of you! :eusa_clap

+1. Glad to hear it worked out.

 

[Felt and Straw]

Pics

Ok, here are the pics.

Please take a look at the ribbon and bow, although the color no longer matches the brim binding, I think the contrast with the hat color looks good. Also I think the workmanship on the bow and the nearly invisible tacks holding the ribbon in place is beautiful.

I included a photo of one of the places that had/has the white "water" mark because I think if I didn't someone would ask. Mr. Thompson made a comment during our last conversation about how dense the felt is on this hat. It is clear to me that the watermarking still shows a little because the felt is so dense, and as a result it is just really hard to work the mark out. As I posted before, I have no complaints, in fact just the opposite, given the level of effort I know they went to in working to get those marks out.

Bottom line:
When I first called, Mr. Thompson seemed skeptical, but told me to sent the hat back to his personal attention and he would look at it.
During his first call to me after reviewing the returned hat he candidly admitted it shouldn't have left his shop the way it was.
During his second call to me he left me speechless after telling me the lengths his people were doing to to fix things.

As to the length of time, I chalk some of it up to the fact that we reside in opposite sides of the country and when you factor in the 2-3 days it took each time I sent it to him and the week it took each time he sent it back, that's basically three weeks right there. Add in drying time, the fact that he has a business to run that consists of more than working on this hat, and the fact that this one clearly turned into a money looser for him, and I think the turnaround was very fast indeed.

Properly aligned bash:

[/IMG]

Right side:

[/IMG]

Left side:

[/IMG]

Great job on watermark:

[/IMG]

Bow:

[/IMG]

 

[M_Jones]

Nice hat! Optimo does fine work.

Enjoy it!