Am I mistaken?

I'm on your side. Google the manufacturer, you might find a wiki page on them, see if you can come up with a corporate address and send them a certified letter pointing out the sale ad and your local loyalty in paying full price. Be polite, but voice your disappointment, I did that once on some defective taillights for my truck restore and the company refunded all my money plus sent me a new improved pair.

You're not wrong. In my world the customer is always right. Don't matter which side of the counter you're on, either.

My bet is that jacket won't get returned to the manufacturer. It'll get a little windex and wind up back on the shelf.

Stick by your guns. Bad goods are just that. It doesn't matter if they're 3 bucks or 300.

What size do you wear? What size did you get?

N

I got a large Kilimanjaro, the jacket is an XL, but it really feels more like a 2XL. The sizing on Firstgears site is all jacked up. Oh yeah, the jacket is Hi-Viz!

You are NOT mistaken. I like to shop local also, but it is getting harder. Sad thing is that you could have bought the jacket on-line $30 cheaper and they would have taken it back with you just paying the shipping. On-line stores seem to care more about customer service, maybe because how quick a bad review will spread on the web?

The customer relationship is a two way street. Look at it from the other side of the transaction. They dealer may not be able to return it to the vender and could then only sell it at a huge discount. Would you buy a used jacket without a steep discount? If you bought it and were unaware or did not ask about the return policy you may bear some of the culpability. Are all your clients 100% in the right or do they sometimes have unrealistic expectations?

I know a couple of motorcycle dealership owners, let me just say their margins are even slimmer than us surveyors. Having a place to try on the jacket is worth a little extra money. Not to mention not having to wait for it to arrive. Don't forget shipping charges that come with many online purchases. Do you think the online guy would be more receptive with a return? Maybe, maybe not. Then there would be the cost of return shipping.

Most good business people do value their customers and will want to find a solution so you will come back for more. More than likely talking to the owner/general manager you may be able to work out something. Such as an exchange for another jacket or some other product in their inventory.

I have found treating people with respect, and offing suggestions on how to resolve the situation, will get you a lot further than a hacked off attitude.

Good luck!

Some well thought out responses; I will be calling and asking for the GM, and if that fails I will send my pregnant and very hormonal wife to scream and cry at them!:-P I took some spray & wash and a tooth brush and got the jacket cleaned up, rinsed it off in the tub and dried it off so it is sparkly/burn your eyes bright green.

Many people buy clothing that makes them look good in the mirror and don't even think about how the fit should be for its intended use. Should have put it on and gotten into the position you would have been using on your bike. Sounds like it was a bit dirtier than a wet towel wipe-off, was it that way when you bought it? If so why did you take it to begin with. Sounds like you bought something without getting some advice from someone who knows about leathers and the way they should fit for use. My leather jacket, which I bought in San Diego in 66 still looks loose when standing, but it never bound me up when riding a bike or horse. You should just pay the restock fee and feel lucky you are not stuck with it. The buyer is not always right and any customer who thinks that is true, is spoiled.
jud

Dang it's hard to find good customers these days.

If you want to survive, you need to attract customers. It is not a matter of being spoiled or anything else. How much do you think advertising costs some of these retailers? Make one customer extra happy, even at a loss, you have paid for a walking, talking advertisment. Also, if they know that someone is trying to business with them locally rather than getting a super on-line deal, they should be happy. And at a much lower cost to the retailer than most ads they can buy.

It is not a "two-way street". The retailer needs to yield right of way. (Having said all that, I think there are exceptions to the rule. There are customers who will never be satisfied. After the retailer goes out of their way to satisfy a customer a number of times, it might be time to fight back). One jacket and dissatified.....that is losing a customer for sure.

I agree with the shop local, as I live in a small town. But it is tough. But it does seem that you were happy when you walked out of the store with it, or you wouldn't have bought it. They must be the only biker store in town??

I like the idea of the preggo wifey returning it, with a SMILE though, and if they still maintain the 20% re-stock fee have her offer to split it and make it 10% and just move on. I bet they go for it, especially if she looses her smile and the hormones kick in. Along with a subtle reminder of how FAST word spreads in small towns about BAD service and a store that won't back their product.

[sarcasm]Or, just lose 20 lbs so it does fit...[/sarcasm]

Only big box stores take back a worn product, ie. shoes, shirts, pants, jackets.

I bought a Kilamanjaro about 3 years ago, fits fine but had to get one size bigger than I normally buy. I had a couple issues with the workmanship over the next year or so. The cinch belt was anchored only by a double stitch of medium thread and 1/4" of 2" wide fabric. With a few months of daily wear, it worked loose. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer could direct me to someone to fix it. I eventually found someone by asking at sporting goods stores for someone who repairs backbacks and such. The other issue I had was the removable liner rather poorly made of cheap fleece. It doesn't quite fit right within the jacket, and one sleeve is about 1" longer than the other.

Since repair of the cinch belt, I haven't had any problems with the outer, but use either my Gerbing's heated liner or the liner from my Olyimpia jacket when I need a liner. When I replace the Kilamanjaro, maybe this winter, I think I'm going to splurge an extra $100 and get an AST or other Olympia jacket. I've been really pleased with my Olympia Airmesh and expect the workmanship on their heavier jackets would be of the same quality.

I would think that the manager/proprieter of the store should at least give you store credit for the full price of the jacket if there is no damage to it. If you are simply returning it after minimal wear, a nominal restocking fee might be OK, but the manager should understand that even that has potential to hurt business by building a reputation as a cheapskate. A reasonable restocking fee, if one is charged at all, shouldn't exceed $20, IMO. If you were simply asking to exchange for a different jacket, asking any restock fee is nuts.

Is this just a local shop or a national/regional chain?

Curly's jacket (he named the model in a post farther up in the thread) isn't leather, it's 100% textile. But your advice of wearing it in the position he would be using it (riding position on his bike) is good advice.

I have the same model jacket, aside from some workmanship issues that I noticed after wearing the jacket for a while, it fit OK. But my riding position may be quite different than his. The jacket may provide decent fit for an upright riding position such as on my tourer, but may be all wrong for the riding position of a sport bike where the rider is leaned forward over the tank.

I miss wearing my leather. Similar style to curly's jacket, but high quality leather and top end craftsmanship(Hein-Gericke). I still have it and it's still in prime condition, but I bought it 22 years and 40 pounds ago. I can still fit into it, barely, if I remove the liner and don't move my arms around too much. I'll fit into it again someday. I have to, it's too nice to just leave in the closet until my 10 y.o. son is big enough to fit into it and start asking me if he can have it.

Local shop, but one of the megaplex variety. I have an earlier kilimanjaro and it did great, seeing me through many miles and storms; when I have more money, I hope to go for the bmw gear.... gotta match the bike ya know!

As mentioned, it's textile. I did get it cleaned, brush and spray n wash, easy peasy. As for fit, I did squat down a bit and arms up, however the issue isn't noticed until your helmet is on.

BMW gear is nice and would go well with my 1150RT, but when compared to the Oly gear (also sold by our local BMW shop), it seems like the workmanship is about the same but there is also about a $150 markup for the BMW logo. Maybe if it goes on sale.

Interesting, I haven't had the opportunity to compare the two brands side by side. I have an 1100rt.