Sofyano — Local services in Columbus

BEWARE!!! I read the reviews and visited Sofyano expecting to receive a great custom suit tailored to my body for myself and groomsmen. That was sadly not the case. It all started out fine because I brought Sam (13) guys who needed suits for our wedding and he said it would be no problem. Brought him around $6000 in business... boy did the tides turn after that first fitting. Sam had 2.5 years to make 13 suits... he promised us the suits would be ready by end of April/early May for our June wedding. He waited until the last minute to make these suits and almost every guy had issues with their suit and had to make 4-5 trips downtown to his store. There was several times my groomsmen came down because he told us the suits were ready and when they got there the suits fit terribly and needed alterations but Sam wasn't even at the store. One time my groomsmen went down and they couldn't even find his suit so he wasted hours of his day traveling for nothing. I personally made 7 trips down to see him because my suit was so off it was unbelievable. The first time I tried my suit on one of the legs was longer than the other and it looked like I had a diaper on because of all the extra fabric in the butt/leg area. He told me it looked like that because one of legs is longer than the other. I then had him take in the legs because they were so baggy (which he did in about 2min) and now one of the legs was tighter than the other. His reasoning this time was because one of my calves was bigger than the other. Sam had an excuse for everything and it was never his fault even though he was the one making the suit. He is very rude and also a liar. He told my groomsmen he called them to pick up their suit but they never came and that was the reason everything was delayed... but my groomsmen called him out and asked to see their phone number dialed in his phone and he couldn't show them because he never called because the suits were not done. Lied right to our faces about why items were delayed. He bad mouthed me to my own groomsmen and I have text messages contradicting things he told us. He is incredibly unorganized and his measurement system is a joke. He takes 2 measurements and then eye balls the rest. He refused to do any more work on my suit because he had messed it up multiple times already and was tired of "fixing" it. Wouldn't have needed fixed if he had taking better measurements and taking notes to ensure it was done right the first time. He takes no notes and says he'll remember everything and then forgets and makes up excuses or blamed it on us when we didnt get for what we asked for. I had to take my suit to another tailor and spend additional $350 to fix it. The tailors words not mine... "a toddler with a sewing machine could have done a better job." My fiance went to pick up the ties, suspenders, and pocket squares because of coarse they werent ready for my groomsmen when they picked up their suits and when she got there none of it was ready or bagged up. Had to search for ties, the suspenders were laying loosely every where and weren't even boxed or individually bagged, and the pocket squares were a joke. They were all different sizes, dirty and it looked like they were jut cut out of unfinished left over material. Another example of how unorganized Sam is... some one my groomsmen white dress shirt had pockets on the chest and some didn't. 2.5 years wasn't enough time I guess and since everything was done so last minute by Sam we didn't have time to change anything and were stuck with whatever he provided at the time. Just additional note, Sam has friends in his shop just hanging out and he tends to pay more attention to them then he does to you the customer. It looks like some people had good experiences with Sofyano and that is fine but Sam is so unorganized and I absolutely do not recommend using Sofyano for your wedding. I am all for supporting local businesses and I wish we had a better experience but we did not so I just want people to be aware of...

Sofyano was everything I was looking for in buying a quality suit in Columbus. I had always wanted to have a "suit guy", a good tailor that I could get to know and trust in their advice without wondering if they were trying squeeze extra money out of me. Sam (the owner) is that guy.

Over the last week I've made trips to Macy's, Nordstrom's, Men's Wearhouse, Jos. A Banks, and a new startup called Pursuit, and never really felt good enough about any of the selections to pull the trigger. My price range was $200-$350 for one suit. At these other stores, I tried on dozens of lackluster suits under $300, and some others more expensive that just didn't seem worth the extra money.

At SOFYANO, however, the second I put on a $300 Italian suit I could tell the difference between it and all the others. I ended up going for a $350 suit because it just felt - that - good. I'm a 6' 2" 175 lb male, athletic build, and I went for a long, slim, trim dark navy Italian suit that was exactly what I was looking for. I also needed a new pair of brown shoes and Sami picked out some very sharp Italian shoes for $120 that went perfectly with the suit, and will go well with the suit I already have. I ended up spending a little more than I had anticipated when I started shopping but I think it's worth every extra penny, and not something that I feel I'll need to upgrade in 3-4 years when I make more money.

Sam is not a businessman. It's not his goal to run a highly profitable business or woo you with huge savings and blockbuster deals. I could tell he just wants make a solid living and do something he's very passionate about. In shopping at the previous places I got annoyed with the constant "60% off a $700 suit" or the famous "buy one (at $650) get one free" deals. I just wanted to know what the damn things should cost in the first place and chose a price range based on how the suit felt and fit. Sofyano just prices everything reasonably at what it takes to stay in business and might cut you a small deal out of his margin if you get several things on a visit.

He will tailor your suit for free with your purchase and he even cut a leather belt down a few inches for me before I walked out the door (I didn't even know you could do that). If I made more money or was going to be in Columbus for several more years, I would be going back the Sofyano for a very long time. I might actually start saving more just for the purpose of getting another suit or two there before I graduate.

Also, I swear this is not a "planted" review. I literally just had such a good experience today and saw there were no reviews yet that I thought he deserved all of this information on here.

UPDATE: 3 yrs later I now have two suits, three belts and a tie from Sofyano, and wear them for every wedding and professional function. I've gotten tons of compliments and plan to wear these for many...

It's official: I now have a "suit guy".

Sam came highly recommended by a dear friend after he got sat up with a dapper suit upgrade. But as many know, the customer experience is often worth just as much as the product itself in my book. I sent a message through Facebook about making an appointment and heard back almost immediately, penciling me in for just two days later. I arrived on an early afternoon, welcomed upon arrival by name even though we hadn't formally met. Within a minute, I was walked to the back mirror with a handful of options. I asked if he needed my sizes or wanted to measure me (I admit, I'm an awkward shape). He shook his head in disapproval, claiming, "These are Italian sizes - you're current size won't matter. I think I know your size." At first glance, I was skeptical. But as I put on the first jacket, much to my amazement he nailed my size exactly. We chatted about life, business, and politics, all while he was sizing me up and figuring out in his head how he was going to alter the suit to my body. When I found the perfect color and style, he showed me what he could do with a few pins on one side to note the differences it made (and he was so right). I thought we'd spend another hour or so trying to pin up both sides but he led me back to the dressing room and said he was all set.

Just three days later I came back in to try on the suit, in complete amazement by 1. his speed 2. his ability to get it all right with just a few pins as reference and 3. his continued conversation and personality. I wore the suit to a holiday party the next day and was swarmed with compliments...because isn't that the whole reason why we wear suits?

With Sam, I was able to get both the service and the product quality that I desired, leaving the small, downtown Columbus shop feeling confident, comfortable, and classy. There's an old proverb that states "You've gotta spend money to make money." And while I'm no economist, I've learned that feeling like a million bucks doesn't mean you've got to spend it. A visit to Sofyano will...