What are some things you should consider when choosing a tuxedo shop?
For most people, choosing a tuxedo shop to rent or buy your tuxedo or suit can be confusing because it isn’t something you shop for often and every store offers something different. Your needs and wants will drive where you choose, but there are certain basic things to consider before walking into a store or searching online.
1 – Read the Online Reviews
One of the most helpful ways to help choose your tuxedo shop is what the online reviews say! The opinions and details from past and current customers can be very helpful. They provide a feel for the courtesy and professionalism of the staff, how the owners run the company, and what level of services you will receive. Of course, anyone who works directly with customers understands that you can’t satisfy everyone. Legitimate businesses that serve enough customers will always have bad reviews. If they don’t, then that alone is a red flag about the legitimacy of the store’s reviews. Our suggestion is to read the reviews and “read between the lines.” Are the customer comments reasonable, and are the issues being discussed important to you. Also, is what the customer saying completely true? Remember good and bad reviews can be exaggerated, not just bad reviews.
That brings us to the next related topic: the store’s review response. Read some of the responses to understand how the store and owners are. Are they compassionate, diplomatic or argumentative? Let’s face it, we are all human and mistakes happen. How did the store handle the customer in the review response when the customer perceived that something went wrong?
2 – Number of Tuxedos and Suits Available
Preferences in styles and tastes for suits and tuxedos can be very vast. Satisfying those tastes require a decent selection of tuxedos and suits. It also requires adequate inventory of long ties, bow ties, vests, shirts, pocket squares and shoes. A lot goes into dressing up in a tuxedo or suit and you want to make sure you have the choices that can fit your vision.
In the last couple of years, a few of the big box stores that provide tuxedo and suit rentals and sales have filed for bankruptcy. While they are still currently in business, the bankruptcies have limited their ability to finance adequate inventories and to purchase different styles. Many of Darianna® Bridal & Tuxedo’s customers shop to see what some of these big box stores have to offer and tell us they have four to seven different tuxedo and suit style choices. Our store has 70 different styles with about a thousand different accessories!
Make sure the store has what you are looking for in terms of style and color.
3 – Responsiveness of the Store
Find out how helpful and responsive the store is. You can get an idea by reading online reviews, review responses and talking to the store directly, either in person or by some other means. Do they make it easy and fast to communicate with them? Do they offer an online chat? Can you text the store’s telephone number or message them via Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp?
With technology, there are many ways to communicate with a business. In our blog, Communicating With Your Bridal Store, we go over the many ways you should be able to contact your bridal or tuxedo shop.
Also, when communicating with you either in person, by text, by phone or messaging, how did the store make you feel? Were the employees kind, patient and accommodating? Were they fun or witty? You are getting married and this should be a fun process! You can tell a lot about how a business will treat you based on how they speak with or communicate with you.
Most importantly, how quickly is the tuxedo shop responding to you when you make an inquiry. Your wedding is a very important day, you have a million things to do and you want a response that is timely, polite and easy.
4 – Recommendations from Past Brides and Grooms
Every bride and groom who has been through the process of dressing the groom, groomsmen, ring bearers and fathers for their wedding may be able to give you insight into formal wear stores that they visited. Ask your trusted friends who they suggest. Remember, opinions from others are like online reviews: some are accurate, others may not be, so again, read between the lines.
5 – What Other Services Does the Store Provide?
There are many things to consider when dressing everyone for an entire wedding party. Everyone is busy and you need a store that will provide processes, procedures and systems to facilitate everyone’s order. We rent and sell thousands of tuxedos and suits every year and we can honestly say that not all wedding attendees are as responsive to their wedding duties! Some are late in getting measured, others are late in making their deposit or payment and some wait until the last minute to pick up their rental.
You need a store that will follow up when some of your guys are not responsive to getting measured, paying or picking up. For instance, our store calls the bride or groom when we are having a challenging time getting a hold of one of your groomsmen but this takes time and not all stores will accommodate that need.
FAQs
Also, what if you have out of town guests? How does the store handle that? There are special considerations when helping out-of-town wedding guests. At Darianna® Bridal & Tuxedo, we will find a place for the person to get measured anywhere in the country for free, and the groomsman can submit his measurements to us online!
Does the store allow anyone in your wedding party to text, chat or communicate with the store in a seamless and easy manner? This is very important when trying to coordinate 7 – 10 people in your wedding party.
How easy is it to pay for the tuxedo or suit rental? Darianna® Bridal & Tuxedo offers online paying, Apple Pay, Google Pay and electronic invoices that can be delivered by email and text messaging. Make sure your formal wear store choice can make this easy for your busy groomsmen and fathers.
Final Thoughts
As with any type of rental, most formal wear stores have a rental agreement. Can this be signed electronically? A groomsman out of state would certainly appreciate the ability to electronically sign his agreement, something Darianna® Bridal & Tuxedo offers to everyone.
Finally, does the tuxedo shop ship suit and tuxedo rentals? This can be vital for guys who live out-of-state and may not have provided the most perfect measurements! Shipping to the groomsman allows him to try on in advance of the wedding and allows your formal wear store to make any needed corrections, especially when the customers were not measured in the store where the tuxedo is coming from.
We hope this help you decide on the best tuxedo shop for your wedding. For the brides, it’s your big day, too. Read this blog to find the best bridal shop! If you have any further questions, text us at 215-491-8500, start an online chat with us or message us on WhatsApp.