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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/airbornecavepuppy on 2025-05-09 22:33:53+00:00.
So this one just happened like 10 minutes ago. I am an alterations (and mending) tailor.
A lady (whom we can call Karen, even though the customers I have with that name are all actually great… but I’ll do it for the meme) just came in to pick up an order she dropped off two weeks ago. Among those items was a t-shirt I was altering for her husband who is now in a care facility. Most of what I do for people there is to split open the back of their shirts/pants, finish the edges nicely and add either a drawstring to tie the back together (pants) or velcro (shirts).
She puts the items in her bag and then pulls out a new, flannel button down. Someone had hacked about 3/4 up the back of it (very jaggedly might I add) and left the fabric as it was, so it was getting all frayed and looked terrible. I figured that either she did it or maybe the care home did it and she’d like me to clean it up, finish the edge and make it look nice.
Me: Oh wow, this really needs some cleaning up! No worries, I can straighten up the edge which won’t take away too much off the size of the shirt since it has this pleat back here for extra room. Do you want me to split it all the way up the collar too like the t-shirt?
Karen: No, maybe keeping the collar together is important. Just make it look better.
Me: Alright, no problem. I will finish the edge with the same material I used on the t-shirt though so we won’t lose any size.
I make up an invoice on the computer.
Me: Okay, your total will be $13.64!
Karen: What?
Me: (a little louder) $13.64 please!
Karen: What?!
Me: Umm… (louder) Your total is $13.64!
Karen: Don’t you guarantee your work?
Me: Well, yes for the first 30 days, if my work needs to be redone because of my mistake, I redo it for free.
Karen: Well you did this! I won’t pay that much for you to make this right!
Me: Ma’am, I have never seen this shirt before. I didn’t do this work.
Karen: I never take my stuff anywhere else!
Me: I’m sorry, I don’t know who did this, but it absolutely was not me. I would never turn out such a garment.
Karen: I never take my stuff anywhere else!!!
Me: Ma’am. I do this particular job a lot. What I do is fold it in half, lay it on the table, and cut a clean line straight through the back of the garment, and finish the edges. I could never in good conscience just cut randomly through the back of something and leave it raw to fray like that.
Karen: ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!?!
Me: (calming breath) No, I’m not (but yes, I kind of am) but I know with 100% certainty that I did not do this, nor have I ever seen this shirt before. I don’t know if the care home might have done it or not but I swear that it was not me.
Karen: I will give you $5 to do it.
Me: (firmly folds the shirt and slides it across the counter) No. I will not. Please leave.
She snatches the shirt and her bag and storms out… muttering. Probably cursing my ancestors, but who knows. I have worked at this shop for going on 19 years. I have owned it for the last 10 and have worked alone for those 10 years. I remember most things that come through my shop. Heck I even remember customer first/last names (including hers). A moment after she left, I remembered that when she left the t-shirt, she had like 3 or 4 other shirts she wanted the same thing done to (maybe the flannel was one) but decided to do one first to see how it went before committing to having the others done.
I sure hope she realizes that she was wrong and feels bad about it.
EDIT: She returned! She sort of gave an apology, it wasn’t great but I’ll accept it. She brought back that shirt AND one more that had the same treatment. I will post a link to a photo of the one she thought I had done just so y’all can see how bad it looked…