Raleigh Denim Workshop + Curatory — Local services in Raleigh

For those of you that know me well, you know that I like to wear jeans most of the time. I also like the jeans I buy to fit well and be of high quality. About 2 years ago my friend told me that I should check out Raleigh Denim Workshop. They are a local denim workshop and retail store that is described as “Classic with a bit of grit”. I stopped in on a Saturday and received no greeting or even an acknowledgement of my presence. I asked an employee about the jeans and if there was anything I should know about fit or the materials. I was pointed in the direction of the men’s jeans and told that the sizes could be found inside. There was no order or explanation of fit, so I selected a few pair and asked to try them on. I was pointed in the direction of the changing room. I liked the styles I had chosen but the fit wasn’t quite right. I was then more frustrated that I couldn’t get any help, so I left dissatisfied. A little over two weeks ago, my same friend and I were talking about Raleigh Denim again and he convinced me that it was just a fluke and I should give them another try. He admitted that he received very little help when he was there and that he had heard that other people felt the pretentious attitude while shopping there. I try to shop local when I can so my wife and I went to Raleigh Denim Workshop on Saturday, November 25th to see what we could find. We were greeted when we came in, but were given very little introduction to how the store was set up or any information about the product. We asked about the fit and were given a quick summary of what the names of the style meant. We proceeded to find all of the sizes we needed by searching through unorganized stacks of jeans. After about an hour of trying on several styles and sizes, my wife narrowed her selection down and I narrowed mine to six. My wife checked out and I asked the girl about a possible discount for purchasing seven pairs of jeans. She quickly told me that they don’t normally do that, but that she could not make that decision. I asked who could and was told that only the owners could make that choice. She told me that she could hold the jeans for me and she would have the owners call me the next week. I agreed and left my contact info. After several days, I stopped by on my way through downtown and asked the same girl who I had spoken with on Saturday if the owner was available. After 15 minutes, she came from the back to tell me that they were too busy to talk to me and she promised to have them call the first of the week. I was a little put off, but left believing her and giving them the benefit of the doubt. After another week went by, we went back in today (December 9th) to just go ahead a buy the jeans. Even after being ignored time and time again, I still liked the jeans and was prepared to pay full price. We walked in the store and I went to look at a couple more pairs that caught my eye while my wife went to ask someone to bring up our jeans that were on hold. The girl came back and informed us that they “had to be put back on the floor because they were on hold too long”. At this point I was in complete shock that this lack of customer service had reached the next level. I explained that my contact info was attached but no one ever contacted me. She said she was sorry. I asked her if they frequently ignore their customers with $2000 worth of jeans holding for a response. She said she was sorry. Needless to say I bought nothing at this store and will never buy anything at this store. I will also let everyone know what an awful experience I had every chance I get. I got better service in Beverly Hills while I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt at than at Raleigh Denim Workshop. So much for local hospitality. It felt more like pretentious...

I spent $1100 plus the package protection option, I am still out $550 dollars, returned both pair and received only a $550 credit card adjustment. Yes one pair was washed but the pattern cut on this Cone Mills run was 1 to 1 1/2 inches shorter thsn they normally do. Customer service is at best a joke here.

Horrible, Cone Mills Alexander cut 1 1/2 inches shorter. Did not realize until you wash and then you have pants that are to short. Stand on them and pull was the response Syd supplied. Really with a $550 pair of jeans. At first I let this slide, but the more I thought about it the madder I get. When they cut these pants for some reason they are 1 1/2 inches shorter than Nihon Menpu Alexander. You can see the new Cone Mills are the same as the washed Nihon Menpu, and the top pair washed cone mills are 1 1/2 inches shorter than washed Nihon Menpu and new Cone Mills.

The response from Raliegh was they resolved the issue, yes with one pair they did refund. Second pair they did not. I washed the other pair before realizing the length difference. I sent this pair, actually both pair back on my nickel. At $550 a pair, give me a break.

The Cone Mills has been a mess.

This place is the worst in my opinion, don’t waste your time with customer service, which honestly doesn’t exist. The made in the good ole USA slogan isn’t enough to warrant the frustration.

The Cone Mills run at $550 per pair was 1 to 1/12 inches shorter than their standard Alexander Nihon Menpu, but stated they were the same length.

Now lets get into quality of this product, really. Check out the second picture. I’ll post their email response. They finally took them back and said it was a defect. The material was puffed out and looked awful. I can see all the layers, but my other ones did not have this issue. Customer service is a joke at this denim shop. You decide for yourself, look at my pictures. For this kind of money.

If you can get a decent pair from Raliegh the jeans are nice. But consistrncy is just not there, along with poor customer service. It is not worth the frustration dealing with customer service. They are super slow to respond.

Hi Roger,

We understand your concern, but we want to assure you that this isn't an error. Both the presser foot and needle on this outer/middle seam have to go through 6 layers of tightly folded already-felled seams. You will notice that the felled seams on either side of the middle seam line up, and the top seam sometimes just can't remain 100% straight when running through the machine. This slight curve is present in a number of our jeans, and it is simply the human hand as these were not constructed using automated techniques. You may also notice this effect less in modern jeans as they are a lighter weight, usually not 100% cotton, and can therefore slip under the needle very easily.

I hope this information...

I have not been so disappointed in a large investment, experience, or purchase like this in years maybe ever. After years of thinking there's no way these jeans could be worth it and multiple visits to the store to look at them and getting the sales pitch. I thought you know I should support local, made in America things after all they have a first class guarantee. Also, they must pay their employees very well and provide healthcare. I bought the most expensive, well built white oak cone denim because it's an investment. I was so proud of them, I told everyone I knew how great they were, how well they fit, and they had a great warranty. Then after about a year they split. Unlike many many other brands I've owned. I tried calling. Their phone number is not easy to find and when you do find it it goes to voicemail. I tried calling multiple times during business hours over several days. So, I'd had enough and I drove the hour one way to the store to find out that there is no warranty or guarantee and I was given a piece of extra material and a recommendation for a seamstress in north Raleigh several miles away. Because they don't repair their own products anymore.

So, if you're looking for customer service here, it's in the sales department. If you're looking for American made quality and durability from a company that stands behind their products and the customer experience this isn't the place I was led to...