Saturday, August 31, 2013

Upper West Side Brooks Brothers

I don't know why, I was surprised to see a Brooks Brothers store on Broadway...

Let us see how Yelpers rate it--well, what do you know, too new to have any ratings!

Well, they still consider the Brooks Brothers further down Broadway to be the Upper West Side too, so I will give you that one

Pretty mixed reviews--I mean, really, "It's the best!" and then "It's the worst!"-- for the store lower down on Broadway...I wonder if Brooks Brothers changes the management of its branch stores a lot

Brooks Brothers

3.0 star rating
12 reviews Rating Details
Category: Shopping  [Edit]
1934 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
Neighborhood: Upper West Side
(212) 362-2374
Nearest Transit Station:
66 St. - Lincoln Center (1, 2)
59 St. - Columbus Circle (1, 2, A, B, C, D)
72 St. (A, B, C)
Price Range:
$$$
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes
3.1 Miles from Brooks Brothers
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12 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 9 friends
    • 50 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    1/21/2013
    Everyone pretty much knows the Brooks Brothers look: solid, preppy American classics (some might say boring)- so this review is for the service at this location.  The store is fairly big with a wide selection.  I walked in looking for a wool overcoat.  I browsed a bit, tried on a few coats, picked the one I liked best, and then walked out.  This was a perfectly fine retail experience.  My only problem was, no one offered to help me find something or suggested an opinion on how the coats fit.  I know this isn't Saks, but I expect (and have gotten at other locations) a higher level of service than that if I am going to spend the money on an expensive coat.

    No one on the staff was actively rude or unpleasant, but no one helped me either.  Not bad, not great, simply "A-OK".
  • Review from

    • 58 friends
    • 176 reviews
    Boston, MA
    12/15/2011
    About half my wardrobe is Brooks Brothers, so the one star has nothing to do with the quality of their clothes. It's all about the disastrous customer service -- the reason I do all my BB binges online now.

    I came in to this store because I had lost of the silk knot cufflinks from my BB shirt and needed a replacement pronto as I was on my way to a meeting.

    Scene: First floor. One associate is folding sweaters in the front of the store. Another is on the phone at the desk in the back. I walk in and approach the sweater-folder. He puts up a hand in my face and says he's busy and can I wait? He keeps folding sweaters. I go up to the desk where I can hear that the ongoing phone conversation is of a personal nature. The associate puts his hand over the receiver and mimes "Just one minute!', then continues on for much longer than one minute.

    There is a jar full of cufflinks on the desk. I just want to grab one.

    I go back to the sweater folder and just tell him my problem. He interrupts me and says, "This is the men's floor. I don't do women's clothes. You need to go upstairs".

    Guess what's upstairs? NO ONE. Not a single salesperson to be found.

    Return to Mr. Sweaters and tell him the new problem. Deep, exaggerated sigh. Instead of just giving/selling me a cufflink from the jar upfront, he calls upstairs to summon the female sales person. "She'll be down in just a minute". I know what that means, and finish War and Peace.

    Finally I have someone in front of me who wants to hear what's going on. She tells me all she can do is sell me a set of silk knot cufflinks for $20. Are you kidding? I only need one, they cost a nickel to make, and I KNOW you have a bajillion spares in the back.

    I was dressed in suit and shirt that were recent and recognizable BB purchases, so they should have clued into the fact that I'm a loyal customer and cut me some slack. Nope. No budging. I gave in and bought the most overpriced, unnecessary set of cufflinks ever.

    This transaction/frustration took 45 minutes. NEVER AGAIN.
  • Review from

    • 28 friends
    • 90 reviews
    San Francisco, CA
    2/24/2011
    There is something scintillating about a man who dresses well, and Brooks Brothers certainly contributes to that allure. That being said, I've shopped at BB for years, and am constantly perusing their online inventory as well as visiting physical locations to stock up for Hubs, who would rather spend his time doing other (ahem) productive things.

    While this particular location seems to have a problem with customer service (as seen by other reviewers), I want to state that I've never experienced anything below excellent service. I'm not some posh wannabe Anna Wintour either. Standing on your feet folding clothes all day would test anyone's patience, and the last thing a salesperson probably needs is a customer coming in and expecting them to bow down and be their b**ch. For that kind of service there are tons of other shops around the city.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 4 reviews
    Queens, NY
    10/22/2010
    I've come here three times within a one year span.  And each time, I've never been given good service.  More specifically, the staff seems to try to avoid me at all costs.

    I thought it was in my head, so last week I decided to make sure I wasn't being ridiculous.  I spotted a salesperson hanging around a table near the top of the escalator, so I went to examine a pair of gloves that were on that table; I was standing next to him.  I expressed my interest quite visually and even said, "Hmm!"  as if I wished to purchase it.  The saleman quite handily moved away, rounding a corner so that he was out of sight.

    I repeated the same experiment in the suit section.  Same old story.

    Now, there must be a good reason for this.  Maybe I was dressed shoddily, in ratty baggy jeans and a T-shirt proclaiming my allegiance to hip-hop.

    But no.  I was dressed in a three-piece bespoke suit, a suit that exceeds the quality (and price, not that price is an immediate indicator of a suit's merits) of a Brooks Brothers suit.  Well groomed and well dressed, I was there to spend some money, so I was irritated at how nobody seemed willing to help me part with my cash.

    The staff are helpful (enough) and polite if I actually go up to them, but they will try their best to avoid acknowledging my existence by turning away and walking around corners.  I'm not greeted at the door.  For crying out loud, even Best Buy and Blockbuster greets their customers at the door.

    The odd thing is that they seem quite happy to help other customers who have no indication that they are well-monied.  Rather, I always see them happily helping fellows who appear to be less financially fortunate: the shaggy haired tourist who wears a shoddy leather jacket, the working class man who wears jeans and a denim jacket.

    Don't get me wrong: I'm not judging people on how much they have in their bank accounts (I only *look* like I have lots).  But it just seems odd that they would prefer to help a man who looks like he lives paycheck to paycheck rather than someone who looks to be well off.  Regardless of how I look, I should be given the same level of service as every other person who comes into the store.

    On the whole, the service has much to be desired.  Perhaps it is not the status quo, but they aren't very knowledgable about online merchandise; I wished to purchase the one piece stick umbrella in person so that I could save on shipping, but they had no clue what I was talking about.

    I am not sure if my experience is unique to me, so by all means, please visit this Brooks Brothers location.  But please do report back about the service, because this is rather befuddling to me: everywhere else I go (particularly on Fifth Avenue), I am treated rather well, with people calling me sir and tending to my needs with great courtesy and respect.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 1 review
    Oklahoma City, OK
    11/9/2011
    I've worn Brooks since they dressed me in short pants many years ago. I just experienced first-hand some of the many disappointing reviews that I've been reading for a few years. In NYC for a few days of shopping, I was looking for a Harris tweed jacket. The Broadway store tried to fit me one size too large (I'm short in the torso) so lots of work would be required - too much, in fact - and on my dime. I declined. I then walked to the Madison location. Although they didn't try to fit me in something on-hand, they weren't very helpful. Headed back to the hotel, I passed Paul Stuart which I'd heard of but never experienced. Great tweedy window. I walked in, and up to the third floor. The jacket I tried on for size - a 39S - was almost perfect, but $1,994 (!), about 3x what I had budgeted. Based upon the quality of cashmere & silk and the service, I bought.

    Sorry, Brooks Brothers, but your standards have fallen too far. I hope for a turnaround.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 5 reviews
    New York, NY
    2/21/2013
    This is really a review of Brooks Brothers in general. Don't ever buy online from them. When you return, they don't refund your credit card. Instead they send a gift card!  Then, you have to go through the hassle of calling them and getting some boob on the phone who has to call you back hours later so she can see whether they can deactivate the card and credit your account!  Mind you, this was a gift so now the recipient knows the price.  Terrible customer service.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    New York, NY
    10/29/2010
    The staff here is rude.  The staff has an attitude and feels that you are essentially just inconveniencing them.  I walked in this week and came in to discover an empty store.  I appeared to be the only one there on the ground level.  I asked questions like "do you have this pattern in my size?".  The lady immediately gave me an impression that I was inconveniencing her somehow.  Any question was answered in such a way to project that she was very busy and that she was doing me a favor by agreeing to help me.

    Brooks Brothers, that's not the way sales is done.  Some may be turned on by this, maybe they will be fooled into thinking that Brooks is some sort of incredible elite because they can act so arrogantly.  But of course, that's not the case for most.

    People go there to buy, the sales people should be friendly, positive and helpful.  That's all that's really needed to sell and sell well.

    Brooks brothers staff, get over yourself.

    Two stars because actually, the shirts are nice.  The service isn't.
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 10 reviews
    New York, NY
    11/6/2011
    I don't know what the other reviewers here are talking about. This store is hands down the best Brooks Brothers store in NYC and frankly, the best Brooks Brothers store that I have ever had the pleasure of shopping at including D.C. and California stores.

    I always work with Sal... he is a king and always goes well out of his way to make sure you get what you want. Even if you don't buy it from him, I've personally seen him spend 20 minutes on the phone with the warehouses and other stores to find me what I want.

    Also, the tailor here, I think his name is "Fahdi" is absolutely wonderful. I've only ever once in my life experienced a store tailor at his level and it was at a Neiman Marcus in Socal.

    The manager of this store even went so far as to replace a blazer for me that I bought from the D.C. store a whole year later that suffered from a botched tailoring job by the D.C. store. He even went so far as to not charge me for the alterations on the replacement blazer.

    If that's not good customer service, I don't know what is.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 9 reviews
    New York, NY
    11/25/2010
    I have been getting my clothes from Brooks Brothers since I was, oh, I don't know, 5 years old, when I got my first navy blazer in kindergarten.  I have shopped at Brooks Brothers all over the country and even the shop in Paris.  Brooks Brothers service can be hit-and-miss, but man oh man, this store has THE WORST SERVICE hands down.

    The last time I was there, I've given it several chances, I asked a 1st floor sales lady a basic question about some item and she literally just stared at me wide-eyed, shook her head no (it wasn't a yes/no question) and just stood there with her mouth open and eyes wide.  So I followed up with, "No?  No response?...You don't know or...what?"  And she just stood there staring in some sort of trance-like state and shook her head no again.  Do your drugs off the sales floor lady.

    Everyone else in the store is rude as well. I had a huge pile of clothing that I was ready to purchase, but wanted to make sure the fit was right and asked a sales person who was just hanging around for a fitting room.  He huffed and puffed, made no response and walked away.  I went up to another sales person and asked for a fitting room, without saying anything, he charged over to the first guy I asked and they got into a tiff over who was going to let me in the fitting room.  The first guy walked abruptly toward the fitting rooms without saying anything or even looking at me, so I followed and he opened the door and then states, "Be sure to clean out the room when you're done" and walked off.  Everything fit so I headed over to the register and the sales people were either standing around or fluffing sweaters and no one would ring up my sale.  So, with pile in hand, I  started walking over to the guy who let me in the fitting room, he literally walked away on me.  I turned toward some other sales people and said, "Does anyone want a sale?" and they either continued their conversations or kept fluffing away.  I walked back in the dressing room, threw down the clothes and left.

    I am done with this location.
  • Review from

    • 46 friends
    • 86 reviews
    New York, NY
    2/17/2010 First to Review
    This is definitely one of the best Brooks Brothers I've been to, mostly because the tailor there is fantastic. I've been coming here for about two years now, since around the time the store on Fifth Avenue closed. If you need to have your Brooks Brothers suits or pants altered, this is the place to go to.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 8 reviews
    Napa, CA
    11/19/2011
    Having shopped in this BB three times, I have to believe that the complaints about customer service here are out of date, at best. I found the service wonderful, especially when delivered by Sandy. She knows fabrics, she knows nuanced differences among the BB offerings, she listens, and she is patient. When I was at the register with a shirt, she noticed a small spot that I could barely see when she pointed it out to me. She arranged for a substitute to be sent to me at BB expense. Sal (mentioned in another review) was once very helpful to me in tracking down an out-of-stock item at the Madison Avenue BB. I think this Brooks Brothers has excellent service.

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