To be completely fair, let me say first that this review is mostly colored by the very negative experience I had interacting with Roberto, as well as the expectations that had been set by the person referring me to him and his advertising on his business card.
I had a suit stolen two days before my interview in the city and needed a quick replacement. I ended up buying one from the nearby Jos A Bank (not the best, I understand, but it happened to be on a massive sale day -- 70% off -- and I just needed something ASAP). The manager of the store referred me to Roberto's Tailor, saying that he could have the minor alterations that I needed done "whenever" and as quick as "done in 2 hours." This sounded like just what i needed, and looking at the Yelp reviews (4.5 star average) I was sold and went with it.
I brought my suit to Roberto at 11am on a Tuesday and was not greeted when I entered the store. After standing awkwardly for a few minutes, one of the nearby workers got up and asked if I was picking up, despite me holding a giant suit bag in my arms. She asked me to get changed in broken english and immediately sat back down to her other work. After I was in my dress shirt and slacks, she hesitantly came back to me and asked what I wanted. I told her I was sent here by Jos A Bank and didn't have enough experience to tell her exactly what I wanted. She didn't really understand what I was saying and got Roberto.
Ah Roberto. I'm sorry, but this guy is a dick. He didn't introduce himself when I did, didn't shake hands, and looked visibly annoyed that he had bee interrupted to see what I wanted. I told him I was sent from the store and didn't exactly know what I needed to look best in the suit -- I knew I needed the pants hemmed, and the jacket sleeves shortened (these were glaringly obvious), but on top of that, deferred to his expertise. He gruffly said that he doesn't make recommendations, and again impatiently asked what I wanted. I simply told him I didn't know, and apologized for my inexperience. Only then did he have me step up to the mirror, and asked a few basic questions -- "This?" "How's this?" and immediately chalked me when I started to nod. After spending literally 3 minutes with me, he asked if I wanted anything else, and when I said I don't know, he walked away. One of his workers then asked when I needed the suit by. I had already explained that my suit was stolen and I needed this replacement ready as soon as possible, and that the main reason I came to him was that the suit retailer and his business card said he could have it done in a couple of hours. I asked if I could have it ready by 3, or 3:30pm and was laughed at. Out loud. And then told it would be 6pm. Why even ask if you know the constraints I'm working under and that's the earliest you can make it? I had to inconvenience a friend to pick it up.
The end price ended up being $100, twice what I was quoted by the retailer that supposedly works closely with them --- and they only take cash, which I think is strange for an 'established' business, in a downtown SF high rise.
Now, purely in terms of the end results, I can say that my pants were hemmed and my jacket sleves were shortened to the correct length. The jacket sides were brought in, and it looks okay. I'd give him 2 or 3 stars based simply on he did what he said he would (although it twice as much as I was quoted at the retailer). Worth mentioning here is that my jacket also came back with a very noticeable new stain on the left sleeve (I was able to get it off)
Overall, the entire visit felt extremely uncomfortable, as if I was inconveniencing him by asking his advice or simply bringing him my business. It was surreal. Had I not been under extreme time constraints (interview was early the next morning) I would have left within 5 minutes of entering his office space and found one of the cities many other tailors. It's very odd to me that he has such a high star rating on yelp, but many of those reviews are also over a year old. Hope a new updated review helps. read more
