B & G Alterations

A tailor that doesn’t see the value in mending a customer relationship…
B & G Alterations in Midland off Ashman Street is one small room with one sullen seamstress named Pat. I had a sewing project for her that I imagine tailors do on a regular basis… replace a zipper. Just a pair of cotton shorts… no quasi Justin Bieber leather costume.
Pat said my shorts would be done in a week. She seemed relieved that she had a zipper in the right color. When I picked the shorts up, I noticed she used a heavy-​duty zipper for my light cotton shorts. The chunky teeth on one side were sewn curved into the side seam, rather than simply ending straight at the top… the curve of the zipper was so pronounced that it forced the front of my shorts open.
I asked Pat why she chose to sew the zipper so that the teeth on one side arched into the seam. She said that’s how the previous zipper was put in. I ignored her white lie and explained to her how I’d like the zipper to be sewn in… just like any other pair of shorts; flat at the top, teeth ending straight to the top. She said she thought she was doing me a favor by using a heavy-​duty zipper and she had to do it that way with that zipper. Later on in the conversation she stated it was the only zipper she had in the right color (truth should not be that difficult to share).
There were no apologies. No, «let me make it right». Nothing. She seemed annoyed that she would have to get a different zipper. Going on two weeks, I left her a message to ask when my shorts would be ready. When she didn’t call me back after two days, I called again. She said she didn’t know when the zippers would come in… they were on back order. I’m sensing another white lie.
I told her I wanted my shorts and money back. She said that was fine but she would then have to take the (heavy-​duty) zipper back out. I must admit, I don’t know how much it costs for a zipper, but Pat sure values them like gold. Maybe next time she’ll see the value of a customer.