Boyds Philadelphia — Local services in Philadelphia

Okay, I've bought dozens of suits from Boyds since 1987 and the that most part have been very happy with their clothes. As I have lived in CA for the last 20 years, I would bypass other clothiers/men's fine clothing stores to when I would visit family in Delaware at which time I would make special trips to Boyds.

One of the key selling points and why I always kept coming back was that as long as you bought your garments from Boyds, I would get free altering for life. I thought, I love how they stand behind their products and what great service. If anything, it got me back in the store, and I would buy more, which happened many times. I was always amazed by this great policy until today when I asked them to adjust a tuxedo I bought from them 20 years ago for my wedding. They said their policy is just one year, which I realized I had not bought anything back for sometime... The salesperson simply said just come in and maybe you'll find something in the racks you like... I shared with him my 37 year history with Boyds and this policy I always understood. Instead he referred me to a tailor down the street, which I declined.

Wow, the wind out of my sail for Boyds was just compromised! This salesperson was nothing like the guy I knew there (Richie) who would have first empathized with me on why that suit meant so much to me, covered my alterations no matter how long afterwards, and I would always end up buying thousands of clothes while there as I did so many times in the past. Well Boyds, I'm sure it's just a policy change, but you just lost another...

This place has an old school department store vibe, which is great, but that also comes with old school aggressive sales staff who only care about their commissions.

I have two suits from Boyds. The first one came out great, so I recently went back to get a new tux. They were low on tux inventory in my size, but they assured me their tailor could tailor a larger size for me. I made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions that the only thing I cared about was the fit of the tux, and I expressed doubt about their ability to appropriately tailor a larger size. They assured me that "anything was possible" and that I could go through multiple fittings and rounds of tailoring before the time I needed the tux for an event. I should have known better.

I bought the tux and returned a week later for a fitting after Boyds had taken the tux in. The fit was still quite large, and I asked for the jacket to be taken in in several places. I was told that they didn't recommend making those alterations. When I pushed further they revealed that they were busy and wouldn't have time to make the alterations I wanted. They thought the tux looked great as is and pushed me to take it. So, I was left with a tux that looked laughably terrible right before an event. I was lucky that I had a backup outfit for the event.

Trust your gut when it comes to tailoring from Boyds. They will tell you anything to...

Pretty bad experience. Boyds takes a co-branded marketing promotion with AMEX and totally screws the pooch. AMEX sends me a Boyds $250 gift card to be used in-store or on-line. I live in Camp Hill (almost 100 miles away), not planning a Philly visit soon, and won't buy clothes or shoes on-line, so I look for "accessories". They have only two men's items on-line, both absurd. A $1295 computer bag and a $600 Bottega Veneta green belt. So, I call the store and ask if they can let me get something from the store and ship it in order to use the gift card. At first, the lovely manager says yes, and has a sales associate help with a leather belt and a pair of socks. Then I get a return phone call from the same manager saying it won't work. I must come into the store or buy something listed on-line in order to use the gift card. I again explain that I live in Camp Hill, the on-line offerings are non-existent and the gift card promotion expires Nov 16. They won't even let me enter an item from their store unless it's specifically listed on-line. So, sorry but no deal. Really????? How absurd is that??? At their prices, this is the customer service they provide? I guess it's better to find out this way rather than during my next visit to Philly. I cannot even imagine this happening at one of the boutique stores at Tysons Corner which we frequent on trips to DC. Best of...