Alton Lane Reviews

The entire premise of Alton Lane was difficult for me to embrace working in a client facing role. The whole operation borders on deceptive practice. They want you to leverage a body scanner, which plays no role in the construction of the garments, as cutting edge and special. The reality is that clients are getting their garments made by adjusting the pattern of the sample garment size that they try on via hand measurements. While the results can be good when executed properly, the expectation is that you “play the part” and talk up a technology that has no bearing on the process. It’s very slimy. There are endless manufacturing issues due to inconsistencies in sample patterns. Training is rushed and poor. The factory, possibly the largest suiting factory in the world, has noted that Alton Lane adjusts sample patterns more than any other company they work with. This is not a badge of honor. The company has been around for 10 years yet remains virtually invisible in the marketplace while competitors are growing leaps and bounds around them. Too much of the focus of has been placed on the bourbon and body scanner. While it’s “cool” for the client the first time around, the novelty wears off quickly. This is evident in their struggle to retain customers and their consistently declining year-over-year comp sales. Compensation wise, you will be lowballed at every turn and the benefits are below average but will cost you a fortune. You should not put all of your eggs in their basket. The hire and fire people constantly and blame company failures on the the showroom staff instead of the process and leadership. You will be put through endless, mindless conference calls, ted talks and podcasts with a management team that wants so desperately to be seen as progressive and forward thinking. None of it moves the needle or has any relevance to selling a guy a suit.

Upper management made this job a nightmare. I lost many nights of sleep due to stress caused by an incompetent company. First off, the product is pretty low in quality. The suiting and shirting is made with great fabric, but construction is very poor. Factory inconsistencies, as well as mistakes from the Operations team, led to many customers being underwhelmed at many stages of the process after the initial appointment. Many orders were incredibly delayed, and when the customer finally had the garment, the look of disappointment on their faces was clear. Bad situations usually became worse as the company often refuses refunds. Showroom employees are left to take the brunt of the customers' displeasure. Upper management was also very disorganized. In a little more than a year, there was a lot of turnover with the executive team (5 executive-level employees left during my time with the company). This led to inept employees being promoted into positions they could not handle, which of course, adds more stress on everyone. Finally, finances seem to be incredibly mismanaged at Alton Lane. With numerous showrooms opening in a short amount of time, it seems the company was stretched very thin. Often times, vendors, tailors and freelance stylists were not paid in a timely manner. Sometimes, checks to them would also bounce, causing the showroom teams to have to cover for the company in an embarrassing situation. My final paycheck took nearly two months to be paid out after leaving the company... it was like pulling teeth to get what was owed to me.