The cost of buying from Scotland: new Argyle outfit arrives

[Nick Fiddes]

Hi northernsky, I've just read your comments and I'm obviously very upset to hear that you're unhappy with your experience. I'd have to take issue with some of your comments, as for example I just don't believe that you could get two well made kilts etc in the fabric you chose locally for the same price. But I'm more concerned about your general feeling of dissatisfaction with the service. And I'd just like to say that if there's anything I can do to help you (or anyone!) sort out particular issues then do please message me personally.

I'm writing on a Sunday morning from home so I can't check into the specifics of your complaints. I'd second Matt's comment about the clan crest buckle - this is how every manufacturer does it, as any other way would be prohibitively uneconomic. As for not getting replies to messages, this is something we generally take great pride in, but we have had a series of technical bugs of late which for a period meant many messages not getting through which we never even knew about. Pretty bad stuff. But if it's just that the team member didn't give you a full reply, I can only apologise and ask for details - we run a very comprehensive issue-tracking and analysis programme for service failures of any sort, and I'd always like to know about specifics.

The jacket measurement problem I can't really say much about now. It's something we have very few problems with on the whole. It's a widely known issue in the industry that different manufacturers/vendors quote/ask for measurements in different ways - e.g. whether the arm length is taken inside or outside the arm! (Very different!!). Are you certain you followed our measurement guides carefully? Certainly if we provided goods that didn't match the lengths you specified, or if our measurement guides were misleading, we would expect to cover your return postage costs.

The order tracking part of the site we've actually just improved with a couple more feedback stages, where that's within our in-house systems. But regretably it's hard to explain why it takes a long time for the goods themselves to be made by a kiltmaker etc., and at what stage the sewing etc. is!

And as for packaging, again it's something we actually have few complaints about, and it does sound as if you've been unlucky. But if an item arrived damaged, please just email us a digital pic of it and we'll be happy to replace it for you.

Anything I've missed, please just message me!

Nick

PS - send my love to Vancouver! One of my favourite cities... I have family there on both paternal and material sides, oddly enough.

[Phil]

I have to agree. It just doesn't make any sense for you guys in the states to buy abroad the way the dollar has gone down in value, but if you want a genuine Scottish made article you have to pay the price. I suppose some of the locally made stuff will still be imported though and that will have gone up in price too as a result. I'm sorry about your experience and hope it will be a lesson to others here in future.

[merlintree]

My kilt arrived from the Kilt Store yesterday and it is absolutely gorgeous; just beautiful.

It seemed large when I tried it on last evening so I called the Kilt Store for wearing suggestions today.

Turns out that when I ordered the M-R casual luxury 5-yard kilt I provided the measurements specified in the 'how to measre section'. These are NOT the measurements needed for the casual kilt although I was specific about were I took the measurements.


Navel waist was 40" but should have been 36" for trouser waist. Length then would have been 2" shorter to accom. Current kilt needs to worn high and then is too large to stay up even with straps at full cinch.

Now a little research into how to make it fit.