It was time to replace an old straw hat this summer and I elected to try the services of Brent Black's The Panama Hat Company, the Hawaii-based firm with perhaps the largest share of the Montecristi hat market.
Mr. Black's hat was impeccable and quickly delivered but his service had a few things that could stand improvement. For one, I live in a building with a door person, but I was forced to go to the post office to pick up my hat since a third-party signature was not acceptable. This despite the fact that everyone else in the world seems happy to ship packages containing much more expensive items without that inconvenience.
Then, the hat was delivered in a specially constructed shipping box instead of a hat box that could be used for storage, which meant I had to beg a box from another hatmaker. Most makers ship a hatbox inside a standard box.
Least pleasant of all, when I suggested to Mr. Black that his competitors do things a bit more conveniently, I received a rather defensive response offering to take the hat back if I didn't like it.
A great hat but a less than great experience.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sources: The Panama Hat Company
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6 comments:
Will, I was thinking of getting a hat from them. What was the wait once you ordered your hat? Did it fit the way you wanted it to, and did it look just like you expected it to look?
I had a similar experience with a custom hatmaker. The first hat he made for me arrived in a proper hatbox encased in a shipping box. The second commission omitted the hatbox. At that point I decided I owned enough custom hats.
People who can accept well-intentioned criticism gracefully are very rare indeed. The all too common response is to "handle" the profferer.
Your experience reminds me yet again that "no good deed goes unpunished."
Tony, he has a good process for determining fit, and the wait was less than a month. Hard to say about my expectations for the look.
Hey Will,
More of a general comment. The pictures are no longer showing up in my RSS feed. Did something change?
It's pretty ridiculous that at BB's prices you don't get a hat box. A little customer service can go a long way. I've never heard anything bad about his hats, however. Any pics of your hat?
This may be a rather old post, but I too have had a less than perfect transaction with Brent. I've bought my later hats from Panama Bob ( http://www.panamas.biz/ ) - it's a very low-budget old website, but the prices, speed and the friendliness from Bob are fantastic. I'd seriously recommend him over anything else, nowadays.
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