Avoid Barnacle Bill's

I agree.

I am new here and have no idea who BB is and don't care. From the facts, BB should have explained that a tailor's measurements are not to be used, also the above fact that a 42 inch vs a 47 inch is a big mismatch. The note looks to me like a "I am now done" note, phone call or not, that letter sums it up.

When I do custom stuff, I make a point to advise of ALL things that can go wrong or maybe hidden stuff and if I feel I can't do it properly, I will turn the work away. Sure you can't get it all but looks like BB could have explained it a bit more. So he came on here to talk, so fucking what? BB had washed his hands with the whole deal. I also don't give a shit if all you guys had great service, does that mean he/you can't ever make a mistake? god knows were all 100% perfect in our jobs.

Flame on.

 

Thanks for your post Jack Smith. As someone who has spent countless nights searching forums for all manner of various feedback (on a myraid of topics) it is nice to get the bad with the good. I appreciated your thought-out response and ability to withstand being sucked into the vortex of bashing.

FWIW my suit has had two trips to Bill (based on feedback on this board). Both times work as done 'as a gift' to me so I had no direct contact with BB.

1 time things went fabulous. Workmanship, communication, whole package.
2nd time, not so much. (wasn't anything outrageous, so no big stink was raised and *shrug* you move on)

Next time 'we'll' probably try somewhere else. Which is our right as a consumer. Might be back. Might not.



Regardless the 'mindless cheerleading' is a bit tired. If you LOVE business XYZ and Joe Public comes along and offers a well-written counterpoint, how about backing up your love with some real responses like "Wow, surprised to hear that, XYZ has always treated me very well. You should try calling up XYZ and working this out, I'm sure XYZ would like to make good" ETC ETC

This board becomes a real turn off when the Mob Rule effect comes into play.

 

mmmm, love that pie.

I read the first couple of pages with people pretty much calling a dissatisfied customer a liar and stuff and then skipped to the end. I have an observation that I have always wanted to make. It's not an attack, but more of a 'thank you' to BB, whom I have never patronized, BUT for the entertainment value of his suits. I'll explain below and try not to take it too personally, BB and BB customers. I'm a nobody and a never-will-be so my opinion is exactly that, mine. and rubbish

BB suits are well made generally and tough as nails. His repair work looks good also. They ought to be tough, considering their unreal weight. Overkill comes to mind, but hey, someone might be shooting at you from a nearby treestand and you'll need a BB suit to stop that bullet. Pick one up after someone gets off their endurance ride, for instance. Any sweat soaked suit is heavy, but uhhhm ... moving on.

One more thing: Every single one of you who owns one looks hillarious in it. Yes, you look hillarious in your custom BB suit and about 50 lbs heavier (which is probably accurate ) You should save money in the future by going with some less popular colors and no intricate graphics since every single one of you in a BB suit looks like Ralphie in that rabbit suit his Aunt made for him in A Christmas Story, minus the ears.

BB supports the sport. :up: Making guys and girls with otherwise normal bodies look like they're wearing someone else's leathers lets us all enjoy BB

Safety first, people. I can't recall ever seeing a BB suit being held together with duct tape and every suit I've ever owned has been taped in some place just to squeak thru tech. BB makes some really really really really safe leathers. Two of my former sponsors wore them for trackdays and I never ridiculed them. Oh, how I regret missed opportunities. They looked .. um... SHARP!

Bring it, bitches

 

Spyderchick made a substantial post, but not knowing much about sewing I found it difficult to follow. Papa and a few of you made interesting observations about the thread itself.

But those are only about 2% of the posts.

The rest are mindless anecdotes and silly attacks. It's all about voting and “truthiness.”

Rather than gathering nuts, picture a horde of blind squirrels trying to swarm and pile on.

 

You know, this was actually one of the most civilized "bashings" I can remember. The "basher" made his point very clearly and without unnecessary bloviating and the "bashiees" mainly stuck to the facts at hand. This thread actually made me proud of what the BBS has become.

I think everyone is in a good mood because racing is on this weekend starting the beginning of the 2008 season!! Even though they've races out west and at Tally already, but they don't count

 

Or squirrels swarming a jellyfish.

 

This makes me want to buy a suit from Bill... and I don't even have a bike right now!

 

For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of this BBS. And not just because Barnacle Bill has done well, but because I think people are hungry for great racing leathers!

 

BAN HIM!

 

This isn't my attempt to stand behind bill or this customer, but I do very much agree with this post. If you can;t go to a leather maker, who ever it is. Then the builder of the suit must explain to a customer ( who most likely is going to use a tailor) the differences.
Yes everyone, we get it, Bill has done great work for you and I myself got a quote from him to build me one this year based on the great stories I have heard, but ended up doing an off the rack and having Alexa do a bad ass job on it., but that also does not mean that this particular customer's suit wasn't done well.
Just based on the picture, whether your wearing a vest under it or not, the jacket hang waaaaay too far below the zipper, so how is someone supposed to safely attach it without a huge bulge in it (even in a riding position) also how can this be safely attached when the zippers are different sizes?
I understand dealing with pain in the ass customers, been there, done that, and yes this guy gave a very well thought out complaint, and yes he may have overkilled it by hitting other boards, but he was understandably upset, spending $1300 on a suit that is unusable for him.
Some people fear confrontation, should he have called bill, yes, but on the same token, I would read that note and thought to myself, that no matter how many times i called, he is done with my suit.
As far as the guy jumping his ass for calling the sick child his grandson, I thought the exact same thing in reading the post, I didnt know it was someone he reached out to in the community to help. I do love this board, and laugh when some people get flamed, and I'll probably get flamed for not going with the General consensus.
Would I buy a suit from Bill, or have alterations or a cleaning done....? Most Definitely. But do I also believe that boards are a great place to go to if you have a problem and want others to know about it?....mot definately. and as I said earlier, this seemed like Bill was done with this suit based on the note, so why call? On one hand he should have just to see what could be done, on the other hand, if your a non confrontational person, as I am myself, why am I going to get into an argument with someone when it seems their mind is made up?

 

This guy isn't "bashing" anyone. He described a real life personal account of a transaction gone wrong. He paid for and expected a quality product and ended up with a suit that looks poo and doesn't fit. Then the person he paid basically said "piss off, I'm done with you. Don't like it? Tough." I know I'd be a whole lot less pleasant than this guy if I paid $1300 for something I couldn't use. Mosy of you on here think Bill is great and therefore this other guy, despite evidence to the contrary, must be a (fill in with your favorite personal insult). So why is the guy posting here? Is it to drag a good name through the mud? Maybe, but maybe he thinks he's doing a service by letting people know so they don't make the same mistake. So what have I learned from this thread? Bill makes good racing leathers, but crappy 2-piece street gear if you want a heated vest to go under it. He also gives great service to racers and not so great service to street riders. I have also re-learned to never underestimate the ability of smart people to say stupid things when in mob mentality.

 

Well said, Tortuga.

I have known Bill for a long time. Some may say that I paid for his childrens' education and bought him a nice yacht. I can't account for what he has done for others but I can testify as to what he's done for me. I have had off the shelf leathers that never fit properly, due to my Popeye dimensions. On the rare occasion that i did go down and shredded my leathers, Bill provided prompt and quality service. When I could finally afford a custom made set of leathers, I commissioned Bill. Bill asked me to try them on and, if I had any issues with fitment, to send them back. They fit perfectly from the start. After tumbling down the hill in turn 12 at Road A at speed, I am quite convinced that I had made the right choice.

While I can only attest to my experiences with Bill, I can assure you with the utmost of sincerity that, if anyone has a problem with Bill or his workmanship, Bill would make damn sure that the problems were rectified. No one here was misled or had anything stolen from them. To post on a forum such as this and title it "Avoid Barnacle Bill's" only demonstrates that there is a lack of communication on someones part, not to mention a degree of malice involved here.

My 2p worth.

 

Custom work is just that custom...............

The only thing BB is guilty of is believing that he can make every customer happy. He probably should have warned the customer that given the nature of the work that there would be no gaurantee's of perfect work. On the other side the customer may have a had an unrealistic expectation of what is possible based on the overwhelming feedback on this board, that bill is a genius with leather.
I sent bill a suit that I got on Ebay that did not fit, I measured it myself, a no no and sent it off. Bill fixed and shipped it out in one day.(major rework.)
The suit fits like it was made for me, and bill is a great guy to talk to as well.
That is all..........

 

I have had Bill do several repairs and lettering on my suits and have a great deal of respect for the man as the work was top notch and the prices were always fair.

I figured this board is the 1st place he posted his complaint as he also posted the same message on esportbike.com and I'm guessing other sportbike sites too...

 

See, this is what inspired my previous posts. Just as with the BBS, reading a letter or an e-mail, it's hard to fully understand what someone is saying with 100% certainty unless you actually know that person. Sarcasm, humor, sincerity, etc. can be hard to convey in a few short lines of text. All the smiley's in the world can never replace actually talking to a person on the phone or face to face.

Bill has set a president to do whatever is necessary to make the customer happy. He has customers from over a decade ago that will and have attested to this. I think it's time for the BBS to take a step back and let this guy figure this out for himself by calling Bill to work things out. He already said he was gong to, so lets stop bashing each other.

 

Weighed, measured, and found wanting...your experience that is, not Bill's work or reputation...

 

Uh, that's "precedent", Cannoli. point made, nonetheless...

 

thank you, I'm drinking