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Five Star Leather isn't perfect, but they're trying to do everything they can to be...

JimO

Well-Known Member
It's easy to enjoy a great reputation when things are going well. However, all companies are staffed by human beings who will inevitably & eventually make mistakes. It is how quickly, efficiently & thoroughly they react & resolve those mistakes to the satisfaction of their customer that demonstrates what kind of reputation they truly deserve. Everyone falls down, but how do they get up?

After all of the continuing praise & positive feedback on the VLJ forum, as well as the trouble-free purchase of a custom sized A-2 Doniger from @Shawn Ali at Five Star Leather, I decided to order another jacket, this time a totally custom A-2 Werber.

I started by generating a very detailed & specific list of features (materials, colors, sizing & measurements, etc.) that I wanted. Of course, Shawn was his usual VERY accommodating self, and assured me that Five Star could fulfill all of my needs & would make the jacket exactly as I had specified. The order was placed and the anticipation & wait began.

When the package arrived, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. Although the workmanship was flawless, the jacket was made with the wrong material (the thin standard, instead of the thicker premium goatskin.) This leather was just not the same level of quality, appearance or durability as that of my premium goatskin Doniger. Needless to say, I was both disappointed & concerned.

Shawn's timely reply to my email informing him of the discrepancy was pretty much what you would expect from him. Stemming from a clerical error at Five Star, he immediately admitted fault & took responsibility for their mistake. He committed to, at his cost, re-making the jacket to the correct specifications as well as paying for the shipping cost to return the wrong material jacket to Five Star in Pakistan.

This is the proper, fair and ethical response any customer would expect to receive from a company with reasonable & solid business practices. Without hesitation, Shawn & Five Star Leather took ownership & accountability for their actions and did what was necessary to resolve the issue, make things right and satisfy their customer.

For me, this is the real reason why they have a stellar reputation and why I will continue to be a loyal, repeat & vocal customer. They continue to EARN my business. If there is an issue with an order due to the fault of Five Star, you can rest assured that Shawn WILL both own and resolve it.

If there is an issue caused by the customer's doing, I have a pretty good feeling that Shawn will help the best he can to sort it out. You have the responsibility to do your homework, know what you want, double check and clearly & explicitly specify your sizing & material requirements BEFORE placing your order, because Five Star is going to make exactly what you ask for. Communication is the key to a smooth & successful transaction and getting the jacket you really want.

The replacement Werber was made & delivered in less than a week. It came out just as I had wanted and the details are in my post reviewing this jacket.

iso_werber.jpg
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Well done JimO..... Your praise and details of your experiences with Shawn at 5 Star are an example of good customer service = a happy customer . Kudos to Shawn as well for recognizing a screw up and taking responsibility for it. That one little fact is refreshing in and of itself in this day and age.
Cheers
 
I planned to ask Shawn to make a jacket for me. But I live very far. I live in Vietnam. Very far from Shawn. If I ask Shawn to make jacket, they will send them to my friend's address in CA. And it took me about 2 to 3 months to receive this jacket. I was afraid that the jacket was faulty, I could not return it because I live very far :(
 

mulceber

Moderator
Hi Dao, Shawn’s actually closer to you than to your friend - he’s in Pakistan. I don’t know the circumstances of shipping to your country, but it sounds like it should be quicker and easier to have him ship it directly.
 

JimO

Well-Known Member
I planned to ask Shawn to make a jacket for me. But I live very far. I live in Vietnam. Very far from Shawn. If I ask Shawn to make jacket, they will send them to my friend's address in CA. And it took me about 2 to 3 months to receive this jacket. I was afraid that the jacket was faulty, I could not return it because I live very far :(

Hi Dao!

Welcome to the VLJ forum!

I joined this forum a few months ago when I was researching the purchase of a new A-2 jacket. That search lead me to Five Star.

I live in CA and was concerned with ordering a jacket from Pakistan. It turns out that my two transactions with this company have been smoother & faster that buying off the shelf items from here in the USA.

As long as you have email access and DHL ships to your area, you should be good to go. To minimize any issues, I HIGHLY suggest you consider what I had suggested in my original post:

You have the responsibility to do your homework, know what you want, double check and clearly & explicitly specify your sizing & material requirements BEFORE placing your order, because Five Star is going to make exactly what you ask for. Communication is the key to a smooth & successful transaction and getting the jacket you really want.

If you contact @Shawn Ali and explain your concerns, he will tell you straight up if the thinks there will be any issues. Good luck!!
 
Thanks JimO and mulceber for giving me the information about shipping. From Pakistan to Vietnam will be closer than CA.
But I encountered the following problems:
----
The first, when using DHL express. Jacket will be held by customs. And I have to declare many details to them for receive this jacket.
I also have to pay additional fees from customs to receive this jacket. To fix this problem. I can ask a third party to buy it for me on the website. I can email FiveStar about this matter. But I still could not verify the quality of jacket. If the jacket error. I do not know how to send it to Five Star.
----
The second, FiveStar will ship jacket to my friend in CA. My friend in CA will check the quality before sending it to me. With this method, I lost the cost at 2 times of shipment. When the coat came to my hand. It would be a perfect jacket
----
The second way makes sense to me.
 

stanier

Well-Known Member
Blimey, that feels like a lot of aggravation! I know what you mean though, some peoples FS jackets look very nice, like JimO's example above, and others, well, honestly(?), less so, imho. And I have the perception that it seems to take a couple of jackets to get it right. Can't help feeling some of the issues are down to people's customisations though, so as long as they're happy then that's good. I hope Shawn's team are also a happy bunch of fellows and enjoy all the requests and jackets they're making for you keen eyed bargain jacket hunters! ;)
 
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Shawn Ali

Well-Known Member
I planned to ask Shawn to make a jacket for me. But I live very far. I live in Vietnam. Very far from Shawn. If I ask Shawn to make jacket, they will send them to my friend's address in CA. And it took me about 2 to 3 months to receive this jacket. I was afraid that the jacket was faulty, I could not return it because I live very far :(
Hi Dear @daohoangminhnhat

Thanks for your interests, but dont worry as we delivers dirctly to your destination without any Via Service, feel free to write us [email protected]

Best Regards

Shawn
 

Shawn Ali

Well-Known Member
It's easy to enjoy a great reputation when things are going well. However, all companies are staffed by human beings who will inevitably & eventually make mistakes. It is how quickly, efficiently & thoroughly they react & resolve those mistakes to the satisfaction of their customer that demonstrates what kind of reputation they truly deserve. Everyone falls down, but how do they get up?

After all of the continuing praise & positive feedback on the VLJ forum, as well as the trouble-free purchase of a custom sized A-2 Doniger from @Shawn Ali at Five Star Leather, I decided to order another jacket, this time a totally custom A-2 Werber.

I started by generating a very detailed & specific list of features (materials, colors, sizing & measurements, etc.) that I wanted. Of course, Shawn was his usual VERY accommodating self, and assured me that Five Star could fulfill all of my needs & would make the jacket exactly as I had specified. The order was placed and the anticipation & wait began.

When the package arrived, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. Although the workmanship was flawless, the jacket was made with the wrong material (the thin standard, instead of the thicker premium goatskin.) This leather was just not the same level of quality, appearance or durability as that of my premium goatskin Doniger. Needless to say, I was both disappointed & concerned.

Shawn's timely reply to my email informing him of the discrepancy was pretty much what you would expect from him. Stemming from a clerical error at Five Star, he immediately admitted fault & took responsibility for their mistake. He committed to, at his cost, re-making the jacket to the correct specifications as well as paying for the shipping cost to return the wrong material jacket to Five Star in Pakistan.

This is the proper, fair and ethical response any customer would expect to receive from a company with reasonable & solid business practices. Without hesitation, Shawn & Five Star Leather took ownership & accountability for their actions and did what was necessary to resolve the issue, make things right and satisfy their customer.

For me, this is the real reason why they have a stellar reputation and why I will continue to be a loyal, repeat & vocal customer. They continue to EARN my business. If there is an issue with an order due to the fault of Five Star, you can rest assured that Shawn WILL both own and resolve it.

If there is an issue caused by the customer's doing, I have a pretty good feeling that Shawn will help the best he can to sort it out. You have the responsibility to do your homework, know what you want, double check and clearly & explicitly specify your sizing & material requirements BEFORE placing your order, because Five Star is going to make exactly what you ask for. Communication is the key to a smooth & successful transaction and getting the jacket you really want.

The replacement Werber was made & delivered in less than a week. It came out just as I had wanted and the details are in my post reviewing this jacket.

View attachment 41119
Hi Dear Mr. Jim

Thanks for expressing your true experience, I always work to improve myself without thinking any penalty charges, I admit that was a computer generated code of leather which was mistakenly selected as we have huge rage of leather offerings, which resulted in different leather selection for your jacket all other details were exactly followed, But when we realize that is our fault than our first priority was to deliver you the right jacket with right materials.

I have two jacket orders from Mr. Jim after having more than 100 email's exchange, But I will always prefer to satisfy a customer with all the information they required before buying.

I am happy that finally you have a nice fit and nice jacket with you ;)

Just happy to see you happy, and thats my wealth.

Best Regards

Shawn
 

catthedog

Member
They are great! Not sure if anyone remembers me, I was asking tons of questions about their sizing for a Cossack/A1 look early fly boys type jacket. Well here it is, great fit, super thick steer hide but comfy, I had a chain of emails with Shawn, maybe 30?! Helping me with every step of sizing and every step of shipping. Considering my experience with some other bespoke tailors etc, hands down the best.
 

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Shawn Ali

Well-Known Member
They are great! Not sure if anyone remembers me, I was asking tons of questions about their sizing for a Cossack/A1 look early fly boys type jacket. Well here it is, great fit, super thick steer hide but comfy, I had a chain of emails with Shawn, maybe 30?! Helping me with every step of sizing and every step of shipping. Considering my experience with some other bespoke tailors etc, hands down the best.
Nice fit, Looks good on you.

Thanks for your trust. :)

Shawn
 

elfraty

Active Member
Anybody knows of anyone who bought a B3 russet or seal brown Jacket from this company and would like to share their detailed experience about colour in comparison to Eastman B3 shearling jackets, leather quality, stitching quality and sizing?

Much obliged in advance
 

mulceber

Moderator
Hi Elfraty, if you look at the Five Star B3 Thread, just a few threads down from this one in the Reproduction Manufacturers sub-forum, you’ll see a variety of opinions in the last few pages.
 
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