Experience with Norton & Sons

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

oxford
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Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:07 pm

Does anybody here have any (positive) experience with ordering from Norton & Sons ? Unfortunately, I was utterly disappointed with the kind of customer care and service provided there and take the liberty of posting a report with my recent order from this tailoring house. I would hope that this proves to be the odd case of bad luck rather than a general problem, so please tell me that you were happy with your N & S suits !!!

After several attempts at MTM suits that never really fit me well, I recently decided to upgrade to bespoke suits. For my first attempt, I decided to go with Norton & Sons. I had previously visited several tailors on Savile Row (and a couple off the Row), and chose Norton & Sons, because I immediately liked their house style and enjoyed the initial conversation with Patrick Grant.

However, as soon as I booked the appointment for the initial consultation and measuring, it got unpleasant for me. I had called beforehand to confirm that I could be measured by Mr. Ward, but when I came in, there was only an apprentice cutter on site, who had some difficulty leading me through the choice of cloth and lacked any form of guidance that I had hoped for (considering it was my first bespoke suit). Telling me that all those details were up to my personal taste was not entirely helpful for me. I told the cutter that I was planning to wear that suit at a certain occasion approximately 3 1/2 months after the first appointment, and I was assured that this would not pose any problem. After choosing the cloth (navy fresco from Smith's) and cut (single-breasted two button suit), I was then measured by the same cutter, and he told me my first fitting could be scheduled about 4 weeks later. Nevertheless, I went home doubting my choice of N & S a little.

Eight weeks after the order, I still had not heard anything about my first fitting, so I called to ask about the status of my suit (with less than 6 weeks left to the big day). I was told that the suit had been cut and somehow somebody in the process got ill and could not work on my suit - it sounded a bit odd, but I finally got an appointment about 10 days later. The first fitting was handled by the apprentice cutter again, and after he had worked on the suit a little, Mr. Ward joined us and started changing a lot of the markings and pins, telling me that my cutter was still an apprentice in his third year and had to be supervised. In the end, I again voiced my concerns about the deadline and was assured again that it would not be a problem and that a second fitting could be arranged within about 10 days.

Three weeks later, there were still no news about my suit, so I again decided to call in to ask about an update. Apparently again, somebody had gotten ill and it would take another week to prepare the second fitting. After I finally got the call, I drove to the Row again and was fitted by the apprentice again, this time with no sign of Mr. Ward or any other form of supervision present (although I cannot rule out the presence of hidden CCTV cameras in the fitting room). Obviously, I was both worried and disappointed about the level of service I got from such a well-respected tailoring house. However, the worst was still to come: After the fitting, I was told that the coat maker assigned to me would go on holidays and would not be back until 6 weeks later, so that a third fitting would not be possible before another 8 weeks or so (almost two months after the initial deadline). I told the cutter that this was not acceptable, and with neither Mr. Ward nor Mr. Grant present, there was nothing I could do about it.

Therefore, the only way of communicating my disappointment was to write an email to Mr. Grant about all the problems I had encountered with N & S so far. Of course, he apologised half-heartedly and promised to have a "preliminary" suit ready for me to wear on the big day, but it would lack some features that I had ordered (e.g. side adjusters on the trousers). I would have to relinquish a third fitting for my first suit and would have to bring in the suit afterwards for final adjustments. So, I picked up the suit with no side adjusters, sleeves that were too long and slightly to long trouser legs.

Obviously, I have not at all been happy about my experience with N & S (as you may have guessed from the length of this post and the detailed report), and I was wondering if this was just bad luck or a serious problem with the management of this venerable tailoring house. The latter may be suggested by the fact that after the departure of John Kent, David Ward has in the meantime also left N & S for Huntsman.

Although I really like the house style of N & S, I do not feel like ordering any more garments there and will use Welsh & Jefferies for my next order which I will place within the next couple of weeks (hopefully more pleasant this time).
pur_sang
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Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:01 pm

I don't know the full background of Mr. Patrick Grant, I have met him once, he seemed polite but at the same time, somewhat cold. Anyway, I believe he bought this 'venerable tailoring house' and that he did not work there before in any capacity. So really, is this still a tailoring house with all that history that they happily include in their marketing campaigns?

My point is that, given all that has gone on, Norton & Sons to me is just a name that happened to have been around a long time, as oppose to a long time name that is trusted by people time and time again.
whnay.
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Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:50 pm

That is unfortunate oxford, I'm sorry you've had such a lukewarm experience. Best of luck at W&J.

I met Mr. Grant about a year ago and found him to be a nice fellow but he seemed distracted by his other endeavors, in particular, the launch of his RTW line, E. Tautz. While my interest and the purpose of my visit was bespoke he rambled on for quite a while about the line and its heritage. I wonder out loud if this had anything to do with the departures mentioned. The shop did not lack activity at the time of my visit, the phone was ringing off the hook and according to Mr. Grant he had several appointments stacked up for the afternoon.
couch
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Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:02 pm

I'm very sorry to hear of your experience. I think most longtime SR customers will have a few tales of occasional mysterious illnesses, things gone awry, and so on, but this sounds like more than the usual sum of random frustrations. I have not used Norton (though my first SR garment was cut by John Kent in the '80s) so I can't comment on the state of play at the firm.

I must say, and partly in response to pur_sang, that I do hope this is not typical for Norton and that they sort out the problems soon. As Michael has said so often, recruiting new blood to the bespoke trade is an increasing challenge. The same should be noted about owners. It is to Patrick Grant's credit that he, as a young independent businessman, was willing to mortgage his house to purchase a SR firm and work to build it up. This is a very different model than the conglomerates or syndicates (like USL Holdings at Gieves) that typically replace family ownerships, and tend to dilute the bespoke business with diffusion brands or licensing concessions. Grant has been a public ambassador for the Row and traditional British clothing trades, and has been generous in crediting John Kent for mentoring his young guv'nor in the technical side of the craft. Presumably Grant, as a business school graduate and devotee of the bespoke arts, understands the importance of good customer service and word of mouth in the success of the business, so I can only hope that he succeeds in stabilizing the staff and improving the situation.

I believe when Grant bought the firm there was little if any continuity of personnel left, so it may be challenging to develop the momentum and culture needed to anchor the firm going forward. Grant has been active in developing liaisons with the fashion and design fields, with an eye to keeping the attractions of bespoke before the eye of a new generation of clients. And I believe he's reviving the Tautz label as a RTW line. One hopes these efforts have not distracted him from day-to-day bespoke operations.

Oxford, have you eventually (after the unconscionable delay and numerous early errors) received a suit that satisfies you? I hope so. Not that I would advise you to return to Norton, since you'll never get the taste of that first experience out of your mouth, but it would be reassuring to know that in the end the house is capable of delivering a well-cut, well-fitting suit.

I have no idea how good a cutter Mr. Ward may be; I assume he's skilled or he would not be working at the top houses. However, I must say that his performance representing Poole in China in the 2008 BBC Savile Row documentary suggests that he might not be the easiest person to work with. Three firms in three years . . . . It is conceivable that the personnel turnover at Norton may not be entirely attributable to Mr. Grant's leadership. Whether or no, it would undoubtedly impede the smooth development and delivery of orders.

Better luck at Welsh and Jefferies!
oxford
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Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:14 pm

I do understand that businesses such as Norton & Sons have to earn money, and that just doing bespoke clothes may not be sufficient to keep the business alive (why else do most of the more famous Savile Row houses have a MTM and/or RTW line as well).

I can also imagine that, being a new customer that may or may not become one of their established clients, it is not worth for Norton & Sons to put too much effort into keeping me happy, especially considering that they seem to be quite busy anyway.

Of course, I do not intend to criticise Mr. Grant's leadership skills, and I am well aware of his activities to keep up the Savile Row tradition and to promote bespoke tailoring. That was in fact one of the reasons why I decided to order my first bespoke suit from Norton & Sons.

However, as a customer paying a considerable amount of money not only for the suit but also for the "experience", I would have expected at least a certain amount of "customer service" and I am especially disappointed in their complete lack of communication and disinterest in my concerns (especially with timing and deadlines). In the meantime, almost half a year into the process, my suit is still not completed, and I am currently waiting for their coatmaker to return from his 6 week holiday (after his various illnesses) to get my final alterations done. Trouser legs and sleeves are still too long despite me asking for shortening during the second fitting, and the trousers still lack side adjusters. There is a considerable amount of drape in the back that may be worth removing (my coat was taken in considerably during my first fitting and let out considerably during my second), but even if it is not the "perfect suit", it is certainly better-fitting than what I expected after that experience...
tteplitzmd

Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:39 pm

While I feel your pain, I must admit to my vicarious enjoyment of your story, oxford. I met Mr. Grant initially while trying to discuss some shirting matters with Stephen Lachter. I found Mr. Grant intrusive and unpleasant, notwithstanding my awareness that he had no sartorial experience whatsoever. I would say his business degree was more evident. I do think you have touched upon a subtle but keen observation: that as a new customer your business was (apparently) not valued. That is to say, Norton & Sons may show greater attention to their high value clients, e.g. see their travel itinerary. Most of us like to think we are important, but the fact is, very few of us are in this context.

I have posted previously that the aggressive pricing at Norton & Sons (r.i.p.) would make a Neapolitan impressario blush. In short, you were "sold" as we say. Reliance upon offshore royal warrants and the like holds no currency in my view. I would presume that Norton & Sons exists in name only as a business, and it is a skeleton of its former self. It is all well and good to be a young and photogenic advocate for your business endeavor, but providing the kind of customer service you describe suggests that Mr. Grant did not take his marketing course in business school seriously.

As a customer of Mr. Lachter's I think I can state that he and Mr. Kent were subletting out of Norton maintaining their own clients. You can draw your own conclusion about their taking their own space recently.

I think this story is another example of how little price correlates with quality and outcome. There is too much to go wrong in this Norton model.
couch
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Wed Sep 08, 2010 5:15 am

Well, Terry, you may be right. Presumably if the artisans' names are on the door, they have a more direct incentive to see that customers are treated well. And Marx would approve of workers owning the means of production. However, hanging out your own shingle (in that neighborhood especially) means finding startup and working capital and taking on a certain amount of administrative responsibilities (if no more than hiring and supervising staff/professional services). Not every brilliant cutter or shirtmaker is, or ought to have to be, interested in doing those things. Thus I had hoped that Grant might represent the first of a new generation of businesspersons with both the dedication to the bespoke tradition and the skills to build firms where the artisans could concentrate on what they do best. We'll see how it plays out--maybe not.

I certainly did not mean to excuse the shoddy treatment you received, oxford. Just to note that the cause for the missed deadlines and fit errors seemed to be the lack of availability of the appropriately skilled people at the right times--and there could be many reasons for that. Maybe Grant is insufferable to work for and he was scrambling to keep a team together. Maybe as Terry suggests your project was given a low priority behind big orders from more "important" clients. Maybe Norton uses outworkers for some parts of the process and they were not prioritizing Norton work for one of several reasons. Maybe Grant could not offer ambitious cutters like Ward the attractions of a Hunstman and was scrambling to keep a team together for reasons unrelated to Grant's own qualities. Maybe some of the illness stories were even true--my in-house coatmaker at Poole, Roger Duxbury, was out for a while for a knee replacement and my cutter, Philip Parker, did not want to switch coatmakers after working with Roger to refine the fit on my jackets, so there was a delay.

But even supposing that the shortfalls were not of Grant's making (an open question), it is still deplorable that he did not acknowledge the degree of injury to you caused by the missed deadlines and the fit and finish problems, and make some attempt, at least verbally, to apologize sincerely and try to make amends. That is not at all handsome. And I too was unpleasantly surprised, Terrry, that the new kid on the block would pick the price point he did (although that may have been done to allow him to try to attract the kind of cutting talent that could re-establish the firm's reputation).

Nevertheless I want to hope that both Norton and Kent Haste and Lachter both survive and, chastened where appropriate, prosper as solid examples of the best of SR tailoring. I'd rather applaud sound growth than experience schadenfreude at their failings, in the interest of the Row's future.
Costi
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Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:02 am

Beyond your unfortunate experience (and not to shift the blame from where it clearly belongs), one thing I also learned the hard way is how unwise it can prove to rely on tailors' punctuality when a fixed date event is involved. Time is not of the essence for them and, with all respect, most of them can't be bothered with deadlines. Because of this mindset, when faced with the imminence of an insufficiently prepared delivery, they tend to rush things in the last minute and may make irreparable mistakes. Fortunate exceptions prove the rule.
A.Hacking
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Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:50 am

Dear Oxford,
I'm afraid my experience at Norton's reflects your own.
I chose them for my first bespoke commission having had a very pleasant meeting with Mr Grant and placed an order in early February 2010 for a 2 piece suit, the coat to have peak lapels, single button and slanting pockets. David Ward supervised the assistant cutter who took the measurements
The basted fitting, with Mr. Ward, came promptly and went reasonably well but a long period of silence ensued. At the next fitting, with Mr Ward, which I had to chase hard to get, the trousers were sorted out to my satisfaction but I noted a problem with the coat. I was hushed up and items were tightened up somewhat before I was allowed to voice my concerns. The coat presented to me had two buttons, notch lapels and horizontal pockets. After much running around it was agreed that a new coat would be cut for me. I stressed that I wanted the suit for mid-June and was told that would be no problem. The following day I rang to say that if the adjustments were made to the coat they had cut I would consider taking it at cost. The assistant cutter agreed in principle but could not say what Cost was.

Having heard nothing two days before the agreed deadline I rang and arranged to go in to collect the trousers and original coat. On my way in I passed Mr Grant and Mr Ward individually On Savile Row going the other way and was left to the care of the assistant cutter again.
I was told, as you were, of the illness of the coat cutter as explanation for the non-appearance of the new coat and having accepted the made coat and trousers was asked to pay the balance which I declined to do.
I returned the following day for a baste fitting on the second coat which had magically appeared.
At the end of August I dropped in again and was told that the cutter was now on holiday and the coat would be in the shop on 10th September - a mere seven months after order. As it is a 10oz Harrisons it will no doubt not now be brought into use until May 2011 which will be 15 months from order.
The first I learned of the departure of David Ward was last night seeing photos of him at Huntsman working on a suit for Simon Crompton of the Permanent Style blog.

So seven months for trousers and a wrong coat, constantly dealing with the assistant cutter (who I must stress has behaved exceptionally in what must be very trying circumstances), no communication from the House, no sign of Mr Grant apart from on magazine covers and articles about Tautz RTW, no idea what to expect to be charged for the wrong coat at cost, and no faith that the correct coat will be ready next week.

However, since the suit I do have is magnificent (despite not being the style I wanted) I am tempted to let it fester there until someone bothers to ring me.

I'm afraid I will not be recommending them.
Had the communication been in place, problems openly discussed and an introduction to the new head cutter been effected it could have been so different.
AH
oxford
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Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:12 pm

I was surprised to hear that you basically had the same experience which at least proves that I was not just unlucky.

As it seems, Norton & Sons must be a pathogenic work place with all those tailors in ill health... At least the assistant cutter appeared to be young and robust enough to withstand the pathogens as he was running the front of the house almost on his own. However, how was I as a client supposed to trust someone that is undermined by his own head cutter in front of me on one occasion and then left to deal with me alone for all other fittings ? Nevertheless, I am fairly happy with his work, and he is the last person to blame during my whole experience with Norton & Sons.
Scot
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Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:22 pm

Oxford, I think I can assure you of a better experience at W&J. There are two cutters, Malcolm Plews and James Cotterel. I use Malcolm; he is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet and is often described as one of the finest cutters of his generation. Personally I have had no issues with the time taken but I think Costi is right; the way to avoid disappointment is to be relatively relaxed about the timescale (within reason). W&J strikes me as a pretty tight ship. They are a small firm with an established clientele - mostly UK based so they see little need to travel. I suspect that most of their clients like the low key, rather old-fashioned, discreet service. They see no need to publicise themsleves or join organisations like Savile Row Bespoke. They have no truck with "outfitters" on the row - the only clothing they supply is made for individual clients. However, I found them to be exceptionally welcoming towards me as a new customer (now a year or two ago). Making is done off the premises but I have found it to be of a very high standard. I think you will find W&J an enjoyable and authentic bespoke experience.
Simon A

Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:26 pm

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Last edited by Simon A on Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
oxford
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Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:26 am

I just found this video about the young apprentice cutter that seems to "run" Norton & Sons' bespoke operations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsB1gf-b5b0

Although he was not nearly as leading with my suit order as you may guess from this video, he at least did his best to rescue my dreadful Norton & Sons experience.
andreyb
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Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:56 pm

Norton's web-site says that current head cutter is Stephen Allen, who "began his career on Savile Row at Wells of Mayfair in 1984". Not Alexander Lewis from the video.

Andrey
tteplitzmd

Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:04 pm

What I recall most about Mr. Lewis was his distinctly North American accent.
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