I want to alert people to a problem they may encounter with O'Connell's. I called and asked Glen if I should order small or medium of their "new old stock" flannel shirts. I'm a size 38. Glen said small was the right size. I asked if he was sure, since it said on the site that they do shrink. He said he was sure, so I purchased five of them at over $450 with tax. After I washed them the first time they had shrunk significantly and I could barely button them; the sleeves were also much too short. I called Glen and he said to give him a day to look into it. I called back and he said he couldn't take them back, since they had been washed. I reminded him that he said I should order the small. He said that I should have washed them by hand and line dried them. I said I had never heard of that for a flannel shirt. And besides, the tag said "washable." He didn't answer so I said thanks. I had to throw the shirts out without ever wearing them. I had spent over $1,800 on other O'Connell's clothes in the previous two months and was preparing to buy a suit or two, some sport coats, and a couple of winter coats over the next few months. Needless to say, I've taken my business elsewhere.
Trouble with O'Connell's
MarkG
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I want to alert people to a problem they may encounter with O'Connell's. I called and asked Glen if I should order small or medium of their "new old stock" flannel shirts. I'm a size 38. Glen said small was the right size. I asked if he was sure, since it said on the site that they do shrink. He said he was sure, so I purchased five of them at over $450 with tax. After I washed them the first time they had shrunk significantly and I could barely button them; the sleeves were also much too short. I called Glen and he said to give him a day to look into it. I called back and he said he couldn't take them back, since they had been washed. I reminded him that he said I should order the small. He said that I should have washed them by hand and line dried them. I said I had never heard of that for a flannel shirt. And besides, the tag said "washable." He didn't answer so I said thanks. I had to throw the shirts out without ever wearing them. I had spent over $1,800 on other O'Connell's clothes in the previous two months and was preparing to buy a suit or two, some sport coats, and a couple of winter coats over the next few months. Needless to say, I've taken my business elsewhere.
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Welcome to the forum. Its unfortunate that you had such an experience. As so few places remain that sell stock similar to O'Connell's, may I ask, where did you take your business?
I'd be pissed off too; more than once I've had sales reps provide phone info that ultimately proved wrong due to them being distracted, disinterested, or for other reasons. In this case it sounds like the care tag or website info was inaccurate also. If they won't attempt to make it right, you can always dispute the charge if you paid by credit card - that will often get a merchant's attention.
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I would try to see if you can reach one of the owners, Bernhard, John, or Ethan Huber and get a satisfactory resolution. I really hope you didn't actually throw them away. Not only would that ensure you can never take them back, it means failing that you wouldn't be able to sell them somewhere else and recoup at least some of your money.
Agreed. Those shirts are probably worth something to someone even if they didn't fit him.
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3,380 Posts
I agree. First post complaining about O'Connell's? Sounds like there's something afoul. This would be the first negative thing I've heard about them.
Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. I'm afraid I did throw them in the trash. I'm not an eBay kind of guy; Goodwill would have been a better option, I agree. I was upset and wasn't thinking of others as I should have been. I love the O'Connell's clothes that I had already bought and would have liked nothing more than to continue dealing with them. But I switched to Cable Car.
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4,725 Posts
too bad; shirts should be sized to fit after they've shrunk in; failing that, the salesman should know that they shrink significantly, and told you to size up. Granted, if you tried them on before washing, you should have known they were likely to shrink, and at most washed and dried just one. But you didn't, and the fault lies with them, I think, for not knowing their merchandise. When Glen said "no," I wish you would have persisted, and asked to talk to the next level up, which would presumably have been Ethan, an owner. Based on past experience he is very fair, and concerned with his company's reputation, and I think it's likely you would have gotten satisfaction, since you are in the right here.
Reply to Tiger
I'm not sure what's seemingly irrational about not wanting to go through the trouble of dealing with eBay my friend. I don't mean this to sound crass, but with a busy career, the last thing I want to do is maybe get, at most, a couple of hundred dollars back but add more work for myself in trying to understand eBay, which I don't use. It's just not worth the effort to me. I do agree something is amiss, however, namely the way O'Connell's advised me. And I'm not sure what a first post signifies other than that someone told me about this place a couple of weeks ago, I checked it out, enjoyed it, and after I had my problem with O'Connell's, wanted to alert others to a problem that I had with incorrect information. I meant to reply to Jimmy as well in my earlier post. My Polo and BB shirts are indeed mediums. But I wear smalls from Filson and Bill's Khakis; that's why I asked Glen at O'Connell's whether I should order small or medium, since I had not orderd shirts from them before.
I'm not sure what's seemingly irrational about not wanting to go through the trouble of dealing with eBay my friend. I don't mean this to sound crass, but with a busy career, the last thing I want to do is maybe get, at most, a couple of hundred dollars back but add more work for myself in trying to understand eBay, which I don't use. It's just not worth the effort to me. I do agree something is amiss, however, namely the way O'Connell's advised me. And I'm not sure what a first post signifies other than that someone told me about this place a couple of weeks ago, I checked it out, enjoyed it, and after I had my problem with O'Connell's, wanted to alert others to a problem that I had with incorrect information. I meant to reply to Jimmy as well in my earlier post. My Polo and BB shirts are indeed mediums. But I wear smalls from Filson and Bill's Khakis; that's why I asked Glen at O'Connell's whether I should order small or medium, since I had not orderd shirts from them before.
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I am a new guy here, so I tend to keep my ears open and my mouth shut. However,
the specifics of your business transaction aside, it is, IMO, bad karma to throw away good clothes when they might have made someone's day, especially if that someone were in real need.
the specifics of your business transaction aside, it is, IMO, bad karma to throw away good clothes when they might have made someone's day, especially if that someone were in real need.
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Perhaps, but you can read this forum without being a registered member. We shouldn't read too much into this -- on either side -- nor should we allow any personal affinity for O'Connell's to get in the way of any constructive criticisms by other customers.
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This post will probably be deleted, but I think it needs to be said. Anyone who buys five shirts, doesn't try any of them on to check the size, washes all of them (did you dry them in a dryer?), and then suddenly realizes none of them fit is a fool. I have no sympathy for the original poster.
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3,496 Posts
I don't use eBay, either, for the reasons you mentioned (and more). What I thought was irrational was to throw $500 worth of shirts in the garbage! Why not simply give them to charity? Hard to believe you were so outraged that you lost all sense of reasoning. Also, as many have already said, why not speak to management/ownership at O'Connell's - either to rectify the problem, or to at least let them know what occurred.
An employee at O'Connell's provided poor advice, but you exacerbated the problem by washing all five shirts rather than just one, even though you seemed to recognize that a size "small" may indeed be too small, especially with the website proviso you cite.
Not sure what business you're in, but I think the vast majority of business owners would like the attempt to right any wrongs - real or perceived. You didn't give O'Connell's the chance to do so (but I'm sure you would want that courtesy extended to yourself), and then bashed them to an audience that has had remarkably good experiences with that very same retailer.
That's why I thought something was amiss, MarkG.
Doctor Damage,
Thanks for the kind words; glad you're not my doctor! Of course I tried them all on first. (I thought some things didn't need to be stated since they were so obvious; evidently not.) They fit fine. Then I washed them in a washer and dried them in a dryer and saw that they had shrunk significantly. I think that covers all bases. Please let me know if you need more information before writing in again.
Thanks for the kind words; glad you're not my doctor! Of course I tried them all on first. (I thought some things didn't need to be stated since they were so obvious; evidently not.) They fit fine. Then I washed them in a washer and dried them in a dryer and saw that they had shrunk significantly. I think that covers all bases. Please let me know if you need more information before writing in again.
Thanks for the reply. You're right; I should have given them to charity. I said so in an earlier post. Shame on me for not thinking of others. Why not just wash one shirt? I live in the wonderful city of New York. My building, like most others, has a laundry in the basement; we have no individual washers and dryers in our apartments. Believe me, the thought of washing and drying one item in the busy communal laundry room of a 17-story building with over two thousand residents after working 12 hours never occurred to me, especially since I was specifically told the shirts would fit after they were washed. But that's why it's called 20/20 hindsight, isn't it? That's why we rely on others, in this case the sales person at O'Connell's. RE speaking to mgmt: Glen asked me for a day to get back to him. I took that to mean he checked with the right person. Should I have persisted? In hindsight, again, of course. My purpose was not to bash O'Connell's; although I am pretty peeved at them. As I said, I wanted to warn others about the size problems.
Gentlemen
I have seen so much in my life as a soldier and a an MD.
A few here commented on this gentleman, throwing stuff away.
I have no idea what happened with Oconnells.
We all know, things do happen in retail. We have seen it everywhere.
Regarding him throwing stuff away.
I recommend you all close your eyes for a moment.
And think about despair, and being pissed off, or agitated.
Long story short my friends. I have thrown crap away myself from my favorite place. Brooks Brothers.
In a fit of rage, whatever. I have received crap as well as a customer.
We have no idea what this man is going through, so let him be.
On the other hand, have given a great deal of stuff to the poor, since I can not practice any more.
I, again, before you judge this young man. Go to the russell hodge forum, and take a look at what 2 people got from a custom shirtmaker. That was a bull shi tter
We all are fans of Oconnels, they have been cool with me.
But, s h i t happens my friend. Let him sort it out.
My one bit of advice, dont judge a person that spent hard earned money, and saw it go out the door.
Put yourself in his shoes for a moment.
Actually close your eyes, and rip up 400 bucks!
And you tell me how you feel.
Now, am out of here.
The tourney today!
Later
Jimmy
I have seen so much in my life as a soldier and a an MD.
A few here commented on this gentleman, throwing stuff away.
I have no idea what happened with Oconnells.
We all know, things do happen in retail. We have seen it everywhere.
Regarding him throwing stuff away.
I recommend you all close your eyes for a moment.
And think about despair, and being pissed off, or agitated.
Long story short my friends. I have thrown crap away myself from my favorite place. Brooks Brothers.
In a fit of rage, whatever. I have received crap as well as a customer.
We have no idea what this man is going through, so let him be.
On the other hand, have given a great deal of stuff to the poor, since I can not practice any more.
I, again, before you judge this young man. Go to the russell hodge forum, and take a look at what 2 people got from a custom shirtmaker. That was a bull shi tter
We all are fans of Oconnels, they have been cool with me.
But, s h i t happens my friend. Let him sort it out.
My one bit of advice, dont judge a person that spent hard earned money, and saw it go out the door.
Put yourself in his shoes for a moment.
Actually close your eyes, and rip up 400 bucks!
And you tell me how you feel.
Now, am out of here.
The tourney today!
Later
Jimmy
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