uswings: Bird Brained Buying Experience

[johnnyjohnny]

sorry to say, after repeatedly extolling the virtues of uswings.com's prices and their milspec jackets, that my latest buying experience was a mini-nightmare:

trying to cash in on the sale of 10 percent off through the end of december 2007, i purchased a milspec a-2 on dec 29...
my first clue at funny business was a few days later learning the sale had been extended through the end of feb 2008...

ok, fool me once...

next, i called wings about a week after receiving my order confirmation to find out what was going on...my credit card hadn't been charged and no email confirmation of shipment had come...
even though the website gave a saturday customer service number, i called to find out that there was no customer service on saturdays, or weekends...so i waited until monday to call back

fool me twice...

on monday i called and was told that the size i wanted was all out, and that the factory was being contacted and i'd receive an email at home letting me know when the factory would have built a number of a-2s in my size and be sending them to the warehouse for shipment to me and other customers...the email never came

fool me thrice...

next day i called and was informed that the newly built a-2s would be done in about 4-7 days and then sent to the warehouse for shipment to me and other eager customers...however, i received an email two days later letting me know my order had shipped...which of course made me very happy...UNTiL i received the jacket today...it was not the uswings 'signature' series milspec a-2 that i had ordered, but a cockpitusa a-2...
being an owner of several a-2s, i already had the model cockpitusa a-2 they sent and certainly did not need another one, especially when i hadn't purchased one...further, the cockpitusa a-2 (even if i had been willing to accept it) was a different cut and dimensions than the uswings signature series (for the same size) that i had ordered, and hence did not fit...
further, just to season things with salt in the wounds, the receipt with the jacket stated wrongly that it was a 'signature' a-2 rather than the cockpitusa a-2 i had received

fool me four times...

i called uswings minutes after receiving the wrong jacket...the customer service rep told me flat out that uswings hadn't had any of my size in stock in the model i ordered, so they were sending out the cockpitusa models instead, without contacting the customers first...just doing it...
again, the rep promised that the factory had just built the size i ordered and if i sent the wrongly-sent jacket back, the correct model would be sent out right away...she said she would email me a shipping label that i would receive by this evening when i got home so i could drop the jacket off at a ups store over the weekend (since i work all week during business hours and wouldn't be able to get the jacket sent anytime this upcoming week)
when i got home a few hours ago i found no label in my email, and since there is no uswings customer service over the weekend, i will not be able to ask for the label again until next week, and thus will not be able to ship the jacket until next weekend because i work all week...making the receipt of my jacket from time of purchase approximately 30 days

fool me five times and i let people know what a crummy experience i have had shopping at uswings.com

this experience might lead one to believe that purchasing from uswings.com is, 1. likely to be based on information on their website that is misleading, such as the sale ends this month and our prices will rise, and then finding out the sale will be extended another month and......you get the picture
2. once you do order an item you may not get what you ordered at all, especially if the item is temporarily out of stock, even if you talk with customer representatives who will promise you more of your desired item is on the way...instead they might send you something else they decide to
3. once you receive the wrong item, after waiting about 10 days to receive it and being charged $20 shipping fees, when you wish to send it back for the right item, the rep will promise to expedite a return shipping label to you to get things under way...but won't...forcing you to again wade through the mire of a customer service system which got you to this point in the first place
4. you will likely find yourself waiting days before being able to contact uswings again to further attempt to rectify this matter because they have a banker's hours customer service dept that actually is in operation less hours than any bank you may have ever heard of...and that means no customer service dept on weekends, though their website says they do
5. you will be frustrated enough to blog a pathetic journal of your dispiriting experience with uswings...a really really pathetic blog entry, like the one you are reading right now

johnnyjohnny

 

[jamespibworth@n]

Johnny,

If that happened to me I would cancel my order pronto. I am sure there are many happy uswing customers and I guess no company can get it right all the time. But sending another model of jacket without consultation??

Good luck, hope you sort it soon

James.

 

[RockBottom]

I don't think this bad experience is the norm. I think most people who have bought from them (myself included) got what they ordered at the correct price fairly quickly.

 

[James Miller]

Not the normal

I have ordered three jackets from US Wing and one time they sent me the wrong jacket but it was one that I didn't have so I kept it. I also purchased other items from them and had no problems.

Once just before customer service closed I called and spoke with Sargeant Hack and he was the coolest guy and said he would do eveything to make sure my order was takin care of. Well let me tell you this guy keeps his word.

Sometimes during the the busy season they hire extra help and thing git hectic. Sorry about your story Hope every thing works out. I wish they would of sent me a cockpit because I dont own one with the new label.

You cant go wrong with US Wings Signiture Series A-2 Jacket for the money there a good and strong jacket for every day wear.

 

[scotrace]

I may have had a bit of a wait, and a hoop or two to navigate, but in the end, they were super, and the jacket I got there was A-OK.

I'm sorry you've had a problem, but I'm sure they'll make it right. I'm not sure that their extending the length of the sale qualifies as a "fool me once" though.

 

[johnnyjohnny]

flying on Wounded Wings

thanks for all who responded...i certainly didn't want to trash uswings...i was upset enough to share my experiences because i like some of their products...quite a bit...i agree the milspec signature a-2 and their milspec g-1 are amazing values, and really excellent construction

and i've read the book sgt hack sends out with his orders, i'm sure he's quite a guy...

still, when you have mind numbing customer service experiences, delaying your order 3-4 weeks, and requiring sendbacks, it certainly is enough to vent about...

as for the cockpitusa jacket i got instead of the uswings version, it is an amazing jacket...however, it's so amazing i already had one and wasn't going to keep a second, especially since the size and cut was different than the uswings a-2 i ordered...uswings milspecs run at least a half-size larger than any other current milspec jacket...so the cockpitusa was too small anyway...think they wouldn't send replacement model jackets from other manufacturers out of a courtesy, and especially since the sizing is different...the 44 long in the uswings signature a-2 is about 3 1/2" longer than the cockpitusa 44 long for example (this is regarding the 1988 reissue milspec cockpitusa they had sent me)

anyway, i 'bloviated' and felt better...since the uswings purchase was actually a second size for me of the jacket (i already have their a-2 in 46 long and love it), i will cancel the order...this bad experience was just enough to sour a sale that was not a necessity...

if i see something on uswings i want, i'll definitely purchase again...but when it comes to something i 'could' buy but don't necessarily have to have, this is enough to keep me away...

it's a note for all companies, by good customer service, or at least not screwing up orders, people will increase their purchases...and enjoy a larger amount of uswings, or any other business's merchandise...

when things get this screwed up, even if the business has good merchandise and is run by a legitimate war hero, people will at best buy only what they need from that business, not willing to risk financial headaches on things they don't absolutely need...and, they'll let others know about the headaches

there, i feel sooooo much better

johnnyjohnny

 

[captaincaveman1]

Hey JJ, can you post pics of your Cockpit USA jacket. I'm thinking of getting one. In fact I'm going to their store on Saturday to try one on in person.

Which model did you get? As one of the more knowledgeable (and un-biased) loungers around here, any insight into the quality/fit would be appreciated.

Basically I'm looking for a trim fitting A-2 in goat or HH. The price of the Cockpit jackets are right in line w/ my budget and I've been offered a 10% in store discount after correspondence w/ their sales associate.

 

[BigHairyFinn]

I definitely *hate* when I get sent "something similar" instead of what I order.

Other pet peeve is UK/US sizing, be it hats, shoes or clothing sizes in letters they're all wrong... and then trying to figure out which standard your man on ebay uses. But its live & learn.

 

[Tommydean]

JJ i had problems just getting ahold of customer service when i was looking for my first A-2 and when i finally did i was told "no we dont do things like that" (im 6'8" and have to special order all my jackets) went to US/A and I am a happy camper!

 

[johnnyjohnny]

uswings thread

hi guys...wrote this thread originally late 2008...unless you personal message folks on the lounge here we don't get notified of responses to the thread, tho i'm going to try this thing that says 'email notification', which might do that.

anyway, capt cave...you've probably bought your cockpit usa jacket already, and they make different models, so it really depends which one you get...the current day is nice, but without the sharp fit of some more vintage styled models...you can find most of them online a flyingtigerssurplus.com for better prices than you can get instore even with a discount, however nothing beats trying these jackets on as the size in any military jacket/any maker is always different than the next, so unless you know armpit to armpit sizes and all that, it's best to go in and try it on, and more fun

all i know is the best cockpit jacket i ever got is there series of vintage ww2 horsehide, the most well-known being their flying tigers, but i think they have two others now that have the correct patches and built to ww2 specs with horsehide, tho they are not based on any specific manufacturer as are apparently john chapman's and eastman's...but the cut/styling is ultra authentic...fit is one full size small

tommy dean...yeah, for special orders the specialty makers are the place to go...you only hear good things here on u.s. authentic

 

[captaincaveman1]

Cool thanks JJ. The WW2 HH is precisely the model I'm looking at. Even with NYC's crazy sales tax, the price at the Cockpit store will only be 21 bucks more than flyingtigers'. Seems like a small price to pay for the added convenience of in-store shopping and it'll be easy to return should the need ever arise. Buying clothes on-line sight un-seen can be a crap-shoot, an expensive crap-shoot. lol

Hopefully by this time tomorrow night I'll be starting a new thread on the new A-2. Wonder why this one hasn't caught on w/ the jacket crowd here-abouts...[huh]

hi guys...wrote this thread originally late 2008...unless you personal message folks on the lounge here we don't get notified of responses to the thread, tho i'm going to try this thing that says 'email notification', which might do that.

anyway, capt cave...you've probably bought your cockpit usa jacket already, and they make different models, so it really depends which one you get...the current day is nice, but without the sharp fit of some more vintage styled models...you can find most of them online a flyingtigerssurplus.com for better prices than you can get instore even with a discount, however nothing beats trying these jackets on as the size in any military jacket/any maker is always different than the next, so unless you know armpit to armpit sizes and all that, it's best to go in and try it on, and more fun

all i know is the best cockpit jacket i ever got is there series of vintage ww2 horsehide, the most well-known being their flying tigers, but i think they have two others now that have the correct patches and built to ww2 specs with horsehide, tho they are not based on any specific manufacturer as are apparently john chapman's and eastman's...but the cut/styling is ultra authentic...fit is one full size small

tommy dean...yeah, for special orders the specialty makers are the place to go...you only hear good things here on u.s. authentic

 

[johnnyjohnny]

go capt!

way to go capt...i guarantee you will love this jacket! it does come an entire size smaller (like the ww2 mil sizing) than civilian sizes, and some so-called military sizing (uswings and gibson and barnes, both of which run like normal sizes, but nice styling)

as for why fedloungers don't respect this cockpit usa (the horse series of vintage styled a-2s with patches)...it's clear to me it's the hit avirex (the former cockpitusa) took when they had their jackets made in china with split middle back seams, with the audacity to pawn them off as legit mil styling

make a mistake like ruin your brand, and it can take a long time to bring it back, if you can

a lot of cockpitusa stuff is stylistically on a par with generic current military designs like uswings, but with better quality control...however, some of their stuff, like these ww2 repro horsehides w/patches are on a par with aero if you ask me, and i've seen both...they don't replicate precise models and manufacturers of the 40s (like eastman with a 'weber' a-2, etc), however, cockpit's style on their patch-replica horsehide series are spot on to construction and styles of that era a-2, no 2 ways about it

when you are a mid-range manufacturer...good stuff but not known for higher echelon material, it's hard to get taken seriously. i can say from owning one of these that the ww2 horsehide replica patch series (like my flying tigers) are top of the line, and right up there with aero on these jackets...only thing missing is perhaps a stitch per stitch replication of a specific manufacturer's model, like chapman and eastman make...other than that, these are amazing.

let us know!