De Oost Bespoke Tailoring BV — Local services in Amsterdam

I have tried to work out why I have been so very, very upset with my dealings with JP, the owner, and have concluded its because I literally cannot work out how or where or why our dealings turned on a sixpence and he became very unexpectedly aggressive, abusive and unkind by telephone. I have never been spoken to like that by anyone.

I went to De Oost to get clothes made for my wedding day on recommendation of a friend, I hadn't read any of the reviews in advance. We measured up, we did have some discussion about length of jacket and I was advised shorter when my preference was longer. I choose materials and I waited 6 weeks for delivery.

A genuine misunderstanding occurred when I went for the first appointment for the fitting. I apparently didn't have an appointment but did try on the suit. The trousers didn't fit round the calves, so tight that I couldn't sit down, I was told this could be fixed with tailoring which is fine. The jacket was too short as I had feared and I told the lady who served me. I then went home and wrote an email explaining what I've written above and asked that at the next appointment the following day that we discuss options for lengthening the jacket or order another one. I also explained I was anxious as it is getting closer to my wedding day and I want to have everything done well in advance so I have plenty of time to look for options B or C if necessary.

I went to the appointment the following day and had the same conversation with a different lady. She said she needed to speak with JP about what to do. I explained I had already emailed JP about this. I was a bit disappointed we weren't able to discuss options - it seems JP had not passed my email on to the lady and so we were still at square one. I understand during Ramadan that JP works reduced hours so perhaps this is the reason for the communication breakdown that he hadn't seen the mail.

Later that afternoon I received a phone call from JP who began the conversation with 'I've got camera footage of you, I've been looking at it. I record everything'. Still to this day I shake my head and wonder what on earth he was implying or trying to express. The phone conversation deteriorated from that moment of course. JP said I didn't have an appointment the previous day which I said was probably a language issue - which he then jumped on and said he speaks English well and how dare I say that - when it was literally a use of language misunderstanding. I actually still cannot believe the call. It was awful. We're days on from it and I am still very, very upset about it.

I wrote to JP to express there were clearly misunderstandings and apologising. The return email from JP was back to business about tailoring. No apology, no recognition of the fact he came at me very aggressively by phone. No half way to meet at.

The taste in my mouth was so sour from this experience that I paid my bill in full, left the suit for JP to throw in the bin and I wish him well. When you plan a wedding things should be a joy and a delight, not hard work like this.

I just wish I had read the reviews before visiting as they are very polarised. It seems you can get the 5 star or the 1 star JP, I was unfortunate to experience the 1 star. I have a similar experience to below which is that relations changed without indication or reason. I was also threatened by JP with camera and voice recordings. Which I add - under the old EU Data Protection Directive 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation of 2018 it is illegal to record someone's voice without their expressed consent. This is why at the start of any phone call being recorded that they inform you of it so you can choose to be recorded or not. In a shop it is illegal as there is no consent given.

This is an even and fair account of my dealings at this establishment. I only share because there was no hint of recognition or apology that would have gone a long way after the dreadful phone call threatening me and accusing me of I don't know quite what. It was...

Personally I've had a rather odd experience with owner(?) JP after he adjusted a pair of trousers for me. After having told him they were a bit too tight he immediately started asking "what my problem was exactly" on a strange directive and agitated tone. For me it would have been a simple change but apparently he did not like the fact that I commented on an adjustment they did. After having been listening to his inappropriate way of communicating for a bit, I've decided to leave the shop and look for a tailor elsewhere.

I can't judge if they are capable suit-makers. What I do know is that their seemingly 'gentleman treatment' is not that gentleman at all. I take it as a rather positive experience since I did not commit to spending a few hundred euro's on a suit already.

EDIT: I would suggest you take a crash course on how you treat customers in a professional business. Hopefully this prevents you from becoming aggressive with another customer in the near future as it does not seem like an incident considering the reviews below. All the best for you and...

A few days ago, I pulled out a suit jacket that I planned to wear to a close friend's wedding in a few days. As I was putting it on, I noticed that some of the lining stitching had come undone and threads were hanging loose. Usually this is a small repair, but with just one (business) day before I had to leave, I was worried about finding someone to do it in time. I walked into De Oost, which I'd never been to before, but knew of since I live close by. Despite the fact that I didn't have an appointment, they were extremely courteous and helpful. They understood my timelines and were happy to help out quickly, even for such a small repair. Though I only used them for something small, their customer service was excellent and I'm sure to be back whenever I need anything...