Read Our Customers Shopping Experiences Below

Experience #1: Dino and Makayla

Hi Anthony,

It was nice to meet you last night. Dino and I want to thank you very much for all of your help with the tuxedo's for our upcoming wedding. We received great service from time we walked through the door to the time we left. It was a pleasure working with you. I wish we came to you first to save ourselves the aggrevation we experienced "shopping" around. Here's how it went...

We were at Colonie Center Monday night, so we decided to check out a couple of the tuxedo stores. We started at Christopher's. We walked in the store, and had to approach the salesperson for help - keep in mind we were the only ones in the store. We told him what we were looking for and he brought us to the corner of the store where the tux's were. The salesperson didn't ask us any questions...we had to pull teeth for information (how much time do you need, what comes with the rental, how much, what specials are going on). Dino saw one that he liked, and asked the salesperson what the next step was. He answered, "you know...just come in and get measured." He didn't take down any of our information. We had to ask him for a business card.

Then we went to Spector's (also in Colonie Center). The salesperson sat us down at a table with two catalogs and a pricing sheet and walked away - way overpriced (from what we could tell by the pricing sheet they left us with). Dino and I asked about any discounts offered for a large group - he said he didn't know and that we would need to call back the next day and speak to either Bob or Thom. He gave us a card with their names. On our way out of the store, we were approached by another salesperson asking how we made out...the smell of alcohol on him was overwhelming.

We noticed Men's Warehouse across the street on Wolf Road, so we decided to stop there. When we walked in we were greeted by someone who passed us over to another salesperson. He sat us down at a table to look at catalogs - he didn't walk away, but stood there watching us flip through the catalog. He didn't ask any questions. Again, Dino and I had to ask all the questions. When we asked to see a couple of the styles, we were told that they don't keep any of them in the store. So basically we wouldn't see what they looked like until we ordered them and they came in.

Dino and I were both in shock at the total lack of service every place we had went. Even though we saw a couple of tuxedo's we liked...we really weren't interested in ordering from any of them. I remembered seeing TuxEgo next to Angela's (where I got my dress), so we called to get the hours. Even though that store was no longer open, someone answered the phone and explained that we needed to visit the Latham store, and gave us the information we needed. We stoped in last night, and were blown away at the personal service and attention. The pricing was great. Even if it had been double that of the other places we went, it would have been worth it. You asked us questions about our wedding, the wedding party, the look we were going for, etc... and made us feel like you were really interested. You let us put different vests and ties together so that we could see what it would look like, and you gave us your expert opinion - which we appreciated. It was easy to see that you really care about helping your customers, and making them feel valued. You took your time and we never felt rushed. In fact, you stayed open a half our late to help us place the order and making sure we had all the information we need for the groomsmen and fathers.

I can't thank you enough! We have already told all the guys, and they should be in to get measured by the end of next week. Please feel free to refer people to us for a recommendation.

Experience #2: Callie Martin & Matt Gaspary
Hi Anthony! Here's some brief descriptions of our experiences. Thanks for your help today! Sorry that we took up so much of your time!

Men's Warehouse:
We were greeted while walking in and lead to the tuxedo section of the store and introduced to the two young men who were working that area. One of them sat down with us and gave us a catalog with prices right on the pages...we didn't like it, so we moved on.

Shapiro's:
There was one woman working in the store. She was very friendly and asked us what we were looking for. We pointed out a jacket from a catalog and she brought it out for us to look at. We said we liked it and she had us look at vests from the catalog. We chose one and she had us fill out an information form. She then came up with prices for us. She gave us two pricing options...

Christopher's:
We were looking at a catalog that was out at the entrance to the store and someone came out and asked us if we'd like to come in to look at one. We were then introduced to two young men who were working in the tux section of the store and left to look at the catalog for a few minutes. The prices were on the page which was nice. One of them came back to see if we had found anything that we liked ... We filled out some info incase we decided to use them and were on our way.

Tux Connection:
We went in twice, but the man who handles the tux rentals wasn't there. We were given his schedule, but we didn't go back.

Experience #3. Shannon N.
Confessions of a Potential Groom
As you may or may not know, the potential groom in any wedding has a few very important responsibilities. Those responsibilities vary depending on the bride-to-be, but the major responsibilities are still there. The major responsibilities are planning the honeymoon, making sure you both get your wedding bands (or, at the very least, that she gets her wedding band), and, of course, renting your tuxedo. Now, I had planned to buy a tuxedo at the very beginning of my search for a men’s formalwear establishment, and had thought that the prospect of spending between $600 and $1,200 on a tuxedo for my wedding would’ve grabbed the attention of any well-meaning salesperson. However, what I found out is that many men’s formalwear establishments in the Capital Region could careless whether you’re buying or renting a tuxedo from them.

Let me start my journey in one of my favorite men’s formalwear establishments, whom have or had some of the best customer service in the Capital Region. This establishment used to be located in Albany towards downtown, but has since moved to Colonie Center. The establishment I am speaking of is Spector’s.

I walked into Spector’s, whom I’ve bought two beautiful suits from before, to speak and discuss my ideas with one of their formal wear consultants. I wanted a Continental/European cut tuxedo with 3 buttons and a long tie. Upon initially entering I was greeted promptly, I happened to be wearing dress shoes, jeans, and a button down shirt, albeit I may have looked like a first-time tuxedo shopper. The gentleman I spoke with was courteous, but seemed preoccupied with another sale and the consultant making that sale behind him. I told the consultant what I wanted and asked for his assistance. The consultant immediately directed me to a catalogue full of tuxedos and began to walk away; before he could depart, I tried to grab the consultant’s attention again to see what tuxedos he had in the store. The consultant remained courteous and brought me to there selection of tuxedos. At that moment, the consultant smiled and left his potential sale, standing in the tuxedo aisle. I looked at my fiancé, who happened to be with me at the time and we both went to look at the catalogue. Spector’s may have been the first establishment to “push” the catalogue at my fiancé and me, but they weren’t the last. Let me take a moment and explain what I like to call the Catalogue Complex.

Many of men’s formalwear establishments love their catalogues of tuxedos because most of their business comes from high school and college students, who are renting tuxedos for proms and formals for the first time. The catalogue is an easy way to preoccupy those potential renters and few parents by throwing a myriad of choices at them, which are both nouveau fashionable and traditionally elegant. Unfortunately, what the catalogue does to an individual who has worn a tuxedo before and knows what they want, is uselessly waste their time with choices that they don’t want. Thus, the catalogue makes the customer choose their own tuxedo, with little help from a salesperson or consultant, and their business gets your money undeservingly; thus, the Catalogue Complex.

Now taking a moment to think, Spector’s is a great store to buy a suit and, as I mentioned, I have two beautiful suits from them, but I was really disappointed with their service in tuxedos. I have similar feelings about Schapiro’s and Christopher's; in fact, Christopher's wasn’t even able to contact a vendor through one of their catalogues to ask a question about a tuxedo. Nevertheless, you must be asking yourself – Did this guy ever get a tuxedo? The answer to your question is yes!

There were two places that I was completely enamored in their service and customer relations. Those two places were The Waldorf in Albany and TUXEGO in Niskayuna. Both of these formalwear establishments had consultants that were knowledgeable, courteous, and, overall, willing to talk at length about the tuxedo that I wanted and what they could do to help me get it. Neither store consultant showed me a catalogue or made me pick my choices from one. In fact, I discussed at length the tuxedo I wanted and Tony, the owner and formalwear consultant from TUXEGO, made sure that I got exactly what I wanted.

After all was said and done, I ended up renting, not buying, a tuxedo from TUXEGO. Tony had taken the time to ask me why I wanted to buy and not rent, and even though it took money away from his store, he recommended that I rent. Tony also gave me several excellent suggestions about the shirts, ties, and vests that my groomsmen and I would wear. Tony suggested muting my groomsmen in long black ties and vests, with ivory shirts, as to make them look elegant, in the Jame’s Bond sense of the word, yet background players against my ivory vest, tie, and shirt. Furthermore, Tony was upfront about the look he liked in a tuxedo and took the time to explain changing trends in tuxedo fashion, discussing the differences in nouveau fashionable and traditionally elegant.

When I started looking for a tuxedo, I had preconceptions in fashion and style, and the service I was going to get while shopping. I became disgruntled, in the beginning, from the lack of service I seemed to be getting, but what I found even more upsetting was the lack of consultant input from professionals in the field. Personally, I don’t know everything about tuxedos and only had an idea of the style I wanted to go in. Tony from TUXEGO is a meticulous professional, providing me with the input and service that I felt I should’ve received from other establishments, but, more importantly, he made my fiancé and me happy and comfortable with our choice of a tuxedo.