I'm slowly warming to the idea of getting my clothes tailored. Instead of having my fat pants and post-food poisoning (aka skinny) pants, I could just have pants, shirts, and jackets that fit year round and look better. So I was pleased when I saw a sandwich board on the sidewalk near my house boasting of alterations from an expert seamstress who had done work for Yves Saint Laurent. Having worked with Carol a few times now, I think perhaps she did an alteration once on a Yves Saint Laurent garment and the shop owners took liberties with that resume bullet.
The other two people who work there and may even be owners of the vintage-retro-designer hell of the place, are weird. The guy is one of those gay men with a syrupy voice whose eyes are never as warm as his white smile. The woman is a passive aggressive snob who is perhaps used to fussing over more important people. They both refer to Carol and treat her a little like she is on a work release program or in transition from a half-way house. They gush about her work as if I'll never wear any other pants once I try on the ones she hemmed. Their prices aren't cheap either. I can't figure out why they feel the need to pump her up when the work pretty much speaks for itself. I was ready to write off their excessive enthusiasm until I got my clothes back. The pants were awesome but my shirt, which had a tie threaded through it when I dropped it off was returned to me in two pieces, unthreaded and inexplicably cut. Not a word was mentioned when I picked it up, all they did was gush about how well everything had come out. Then Carol altered a dress that I had been swimming in to something I could no longer zip up. She asked me if I was wearing a different bra as if that would make it physically impossible to zip up. My favorite part was when she indicated there would be no charge for fixing the dress and my shirt.
Phffft. So hard to find good help.
3 comments:
That sounds about normal. Why is that so true? It is hard to find a place that will take the time to treat you like a valued customer and not just a number in their total profits? Personally I always prefer to visit a smaller shop with a home town feel so that I feel like they know who I am and will care about the work they do for me. I think those are the kind of businesses this world (or atleast the US) needs more of.
I hear ya, this is what I thought I was doing when patronizing this shop. It's a neighborhood shop, not a chain and I like to support my neighborhood businesses. I suspect there is more to the story of Carol than I will get but they must be doing well enough to not have to bother with a small potatoes customer like me.
Argh... this would tick. me. OFF.
but you nailed the description of the folks who work there... yikes! :) I have images all worked up ... ha ha!
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