I have thought long and hard about writing this review as I do not usually leave negative reviews…read more Yet, in this circumstance, I feel I must.
Upon the death of my long-standing Tailor, I reached out to Monk's to ask if they could button a suit that my Tailor did not finish before he passed. It was agreed via telephone with Joel that the cost would be £30.00. I took the suit to the shop, and a lovely lady took it in and told me that Mr Monk would call me with a price. The next day, Mr Monk called me and said the cost would be £40.00 and that he preferred cash. I agreed, even though the original price was £30.00.
Upon picking the suit up, the buttonholes had been put in, but the buttons I provided. At this stage, I asked Joel if he could give the suit a press. He said he would give it a 'quick steam' and that the price would be £45.00, including the steam. I gave Joel £50.00 because he had helped me out and agreed to pick up the button jacket on the Saturday. When I arrived, the suit was ready to take.
I was just about to make an appointment with Mr Monk to discuss having a jacket made, as I need a Tailor, when Mr Monk arrived at the shop. I introduced myself, and Mr Monk informed me that he would have to charge me another £50.00 for buttoning the jacket. I was taken aback, as I had already paid £50.00! I did not protest, as I find conversations about money vulgar. In my mind, I had given the business a small gratuity as a gesture of thanks for helping me out at a challenging time. I simply asked for a receipt outlining the whole nature of the works for £100.
Mr Monk went on to criticise the cloth my suit was made out of! Why, one can only guess? Yet, I informed him that the fabric was a 2ply Mohair from Bateman & Ogden.
At no point, from being told that the charge was £40.00 by Mr Monk until I was charged £100.00, was I contacted to say that the work required would incur an additional charge; my phone number was available, as Mr Monk had already called me. I find this abysmal service.
Yet, when I tried to wear the suit two days after collecting it, I found that the buttons were out of line with the buttonholes--creating a bubbling effect on the jacket's front. Thus, I took the coat to a Tailor in Leeds who has corrected it! At the cost of £60.00! In their words, "The buttons were misaligned". I had to travel to Leeds as there are no genuine Bespoke Tailors left in Liverpool.
My gut reaction was to take the jacket back to Monks and demand that they put it right. Yet, I was not about to enter into any further dealings with a company who treat its customers in such a way. If the job was worth £100.00, it should have been communicated to me rather than thrust upon me. As if I had left the shop two minutes earlier, the cost would have been £50.00, as Joel was happy with this price.
The outcome of this experience is that the buttoning of my jacket has cost me over £200, including travel to Leeds.
I am saddened as I hoped I could make Monk's my Tailors, yet I will not be using them to make for me.
I would not recommend Monk's for bespoke work, given the work carried out on my jacket.
