Uniform replacement

[Cruise]

I am looking for options to replace my uniform pants (maybe the jacket too). We use M and H uniforms where I'm at and I have had nothing but bad experiences with them. The seams (stiching...sp?) don't hold up well and the material starts to fall apart. Also, the customer service is attrocious.....I was told by the owner (Mr. Murphy--the "M" in M&H) that it was basically "too bad" his uniform didn't withstand normal use after only a couple months. He claimed it must have been something I did to the material to cause it too fail. I've only ever dry-cleaned per the manufacturers instructions. Also, I'm not the only one who's had problems w/ this junk. I WILL NOT PURCHASE ANOTHER PAIR OF $75 PANTS TO HAVE THEM LAST ONLY A COUPLE MONTHS BEFORE THEY START TO WEAR OUT. I contacted the HR personel at my company and they said they'd look into it and I've never heard anything from them either. Thanks very little

Guess all pathetically paid airline employees should be required to replace their OVERPRICED #####ty uniforms and it's just too bad....suck it up. That must be what they pay us for. What was I thinking. Here's to looking professional.

I've done some searching online for other uniform manufacturers but haven't had much luck. I actually contacted a company in Miami called Tally Ho and requested they send a color swatch to see if it matches (at least close) my company issued uniform from M&H. They said "no problem," took my address and weeks later....nothing. I called them and asked what happened and they said they didn't know but would send it out tomorrow.........well, another couple weeks has passed and guess what.....still nothing. Are there no respectable uniform companies out there? I've heard bad things about Cintas too. Apparently we (the company) used Cintas prior to going w/ M&H and didn't have very good luck w/ the Cintas cust. service.

So, my question is: Have any of you salty dogs out there replaced your uniforms? If so, I'm looking for suggestions on who to contact. I'm getting desperate to replace this junk before it falls off me.

Thanks in advance!



Tip: Avoid M&H Uniforms at all costs!!!!!

[Seggy]

Nice seeing you today Matt!

I went to my local Men's store and bought a few pairs of pants. Free lifetime repairs so if you pop a seam they take care of it. Might want to try that.

[Toonces]

jump on a plane and go to Beijing. Go to a place called the Silk Market. You can get custom made uniforms for around $100 a piece. Or just take it in the a$$ at a clothing store in the US.

[pilot602]

I'm not that impressed with M&H either ...


I'm honestly thinking of finding a tailor and having my pants custom made. After the $60 (per pair) I paid for the pants (which I had to buy four waist sizes too big to fit my legs properly) and the $30 in alterations (per pair), new pants from sctratch don't seem that outlandish ...

[BobDDuck]

Cruise you are in the Airways system right?

If so Cintas has stuff. I hate to recommend them as they suck, but they are cheap ($30 for pants) and their stuff seems to hold up pretty well. I've got through over a year with rotating 4 pairs of uniform pants.

[NJA_Capt]

What are you doing to your pants???? I finally retired some of my M&H pants after 7 Years. Our company tried a "different" vendor for the last few years and we are finally switching back to M&H. Their customer service has been nothing but good to me, very helpful and prompt.

Our company pays for all uniform items (except socks and shoes/belt).

[MQAAord]

Take Seggy's advice and go to a men's store and get a couple pairs there. Or, some guys have even been known to find pants (yes, in matching color/fabric) at Sears or JcPenney.

I was a very bad girl and used to wash my uniforms in my washing machine. I couldn't afford to dry clean everything. I washed on cold, and hung everything to dry. To this day the only uniform piece I ever destroyed was my POS TravelPro rollerboard.

[Cruise]

Thanks for the suggestions folks, I will DEFINITELY be checking out some of these options!

--Yes Mark, it was awesome running into you in BOS......I managed to get on the earlier flight out of there or I would've come back down to chat some more.
Do your men's store pants match the jacket pretty well?

--Yep Bob.....Airways system, not sure about Cintas though. I haven't heard much about them except negative stuff. Always an option though.

--NJA.....That's my whole point. I'm NOT DOING ANYTHING ABNORMAL to my uniform. In fact, I've been wasting money drycleaning them.....stupid, 'cause I could've just washed them for how long (or should I say short) they've lasted. You must've gotten lucky w/ your stuff. Perhaps the quality is going downhill? Besides, I am sooooo unimpressed w/ the customer service. The owner was downright rude to me. They should be kissing my a$$ for all the $$$$$$ we are required to spend on that junk when we get hired.

--Amber.....Do you know who the manufacturer of your uniforms were? I'd be happy to wash cold and hang dry if the stuff lasts.

[kellwolf]

I haven't had all that great experience with M&H customer service, either. I clicked on the PCL link to order uniforms, and the link was broken. So, I called the 1800 number, and they acted like I was an idiot for not knowing that that had been taken down. If it's been taken down, take the link off! Even if it stays up, don't treat the person on the other end of the phone like they're dirt b/c they're not psychic.

I had Cintas uniforms at SWA, and the shorts/pants would normally last about a year before they were useless. Fortunately, SWA paid for a full set of uniforms on a yearly basis. I still have stacks of t-shirts and shorts from there...

As for dry cleaning, I use the Drytel stuff instead of taking it to the dry cleaners.

[killbilly]

I'm not sure about the fabrics in the uniforms you guys wear, but maybe this advice from biz road-warrior will help.

Over-dry-cleaning will kill a good suit. Usually a lint roller and hanging it up help, especially if it's a tropical wool blend. If you need it freshened up, 15-20 minutes on low heat in a dryer with a fabric softener sheet does wonders.

Eagle Creek shirt/pants packers really, really help with wrinkles and stuff. If you're careful about how you pack them, you won't even be able to tell your stuff was in a bag.

I've got a buddy who had 4 custom suits made in Bangkok for $300 US. They're Armani knockoffs, but you can't tell. He told me that they will make anything you want, perfectly custom fit, with any details you want, and the stuff is high quality. Maybe you could get them to do uniforms.

[FlyChicaga]

We use Cintas here at XJT, and although they aren't perfect by any means (not to mention expensive) I can't complain all that much. I had uniform pants from there for two years before there was some tearing at the seams. I just recently replaced my old Cintas pants with new, plain-front tropical blend ones. I do what killbilly said above... I will dry clean them once a month at most, and in the time between throw them in the dryer with no heat and a dryer sheet to freshen them up. I could have probably made my old pants last another two years, but I had ironed them to the point it made them "shiny" in places, and that just bothered me too much.

I am very anal about my uniform, so I'll only go with the "official" pants from the uniform supplier to match my blazer. I tried some pants from Target, and they lasted a month, if that. As for shirts, I get all mine from www.pilotshirts.com. They have some great tapered shirts for thin guys like myself.

If I can offer any advice on pants care, I'd say just hang them up on the hangers in the hotel and at home all the time. Never fold them up and put them in a drawer. Also, use the dryer sheet trick to freshen them up to keep from excessive dry cleaning. Reduces costs as well.

I just wanted to add how funny Cintas is about their shipping. I ordered epaulets from them since the ones in the Stop Over Store were just ridiculous looking. The box came via UPS, and when delivered it was big enough to hold a blazer and two pairs of pants! I guess they ran out of the small boxes that week.

[EDUC8-or]

I think Cintas pants are very uncomfortable. Plus, they will make you sweat in the summer and they're breezy and cold in the winter.

I had to go to a rehearsal dinner and wedding in September and pulled out my suit and some dress pants for the rehearsal dinner. When I put on the other pants it honestly felt like I wasn't wearing any! It was fairly hot that weekend, but the pants which are mostly wool were very cool.

I ended up grabbing my blazer and heading to the mall. I found some decent pants at Penny's, but I found some very nice Kenneth Cole pants at Belk's department store. They match perfectly, and are so comfortable and the Kenneth Cole pants that I purchased about 5 years ago held up very well. I found them on sale for 30 bucks.

[killbilly]

I'm not sure what the specs are for y'alls pants, but Nordstrom's has a house brand of flat-front slacks which are, simply put, 100% awesome. They resist wrinkling, are very comfortable, and have not faded (mine are black) at all after about 30 washings. Greatest. Pants. Ever.

[surreal1221]

*sigh*

I just turned in a suit jacket to get tailored. . . $98 bones at Jos A Bank.

eek!!

[wheelsup]

The only issue I've had with M&H is where my knees are in the pants, there is a white-ish coloring to it. Not sure why (no jokes please). Everytime I get it dry cleaned it goes away and then slowly works its way back. I usually wear the M&H pants about a month per pant then get them dry cleaned. No extra washing. As long as you don't get anything on them they seem to hold up. I'm going into the 1 year mark now, no issues with them falling apart (except that knee thing). I'm looking forward to cashing in my uniform bank though.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by wheelsup

The only issue I've had with M&H is where my knees are in the pants, there is a white-ish coloring to it. Not sure why (no jokes please). Everytime I get it dry cleaned it goes away and then slowly works its way back. I usually wear the M&H pants about a month per pant then get them dry cleaned. No extra washing. As long as you don't get anything on them they seem to hold up. I'm going into the 1 year mark now, no issues with them falling apart (except that knee thing). I'm looking forward to cashing in my uniform bank though.

Uniform bank.....now what's that?



WOW, it would be awesome to receive money for uniform upkeep. We don't get a penny....ever. Not initially, not for upkeep. NOTHING!

[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by Cruise

Uniform bank.....now what's that?



WOW, it would be awesome to receive money for uniform upkeep. We don't get a penny....ever. Not initially, not for upkeep. NOTHING!

It's something airlines that have an upgrade of >1 year have . It's called a "tradeoff" .

Also, we have an allowance in our contract that if our uniform gets torn/damaged etc. while on duty the company will replace it or repair it, at their cost.

[Cruise]

Originally Posted by wheelsup

It's something airlines that have an upgrade of >1 year have . It's called a "tradeoff" .

Also, we have an allowance in our contract that if our uniform gets torn/damaged etc. while on duty the company will replace it or repair it, at their cost.

Yah yah.....fyi, our upgrades are moving much closer to two years now.

On a side note, people are really not happy w/ the second year pay here since the upgrade is taking much longer than when we were hired. It's not even close to being on par w/ most regionals out there. Not good. But that's a story for a different thread.

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by Cruise

Uniform bank.....now what's that?



WOW, it would be awesome to receive money for uniform upkeep. We don't get a penny....ever. Not initially, not for upkeep. NOTHING!

PCL gives us $20 on our second pay check for exactly that.