You can guarantee on the rare occasion you decide to take a day off the answer phone and email fills to capacity. Most messages are from our psycho obsessive brides wanting to check if they can wear a 2” heel with their dress. Other pressing and very important questions are what underwear should I wear with my dress? normal and quite sensible questions you say? well yes but not really so urgent about twelve months before the wedding! Can you image I call a top London designer who is dealing with maybe 200 dresses to ask which pair of knickers Miss C should wear with her dress.
These ladies also ring us about six months before their wedding date asking us to contact the designer to find out how their dress is doing? I tend not to ring the Designer to ask as they would probably reply “its over there in that roll of uncut fabric”. So sometimes we have to use our initiative to avoid POB going "off on one". “Oh I was just speaking to the designer about your dress” is a good one or “she is working on it as we speak” usually covers it.
When a bride orders her dress twelve months before the wedding and we smile and gush as she leaves the shop advising that we will look forward to seeing her soon. We usually, however, expect the “soon” to be when the dress arrives and not two days later. Some Brides call us every bloody week from “can I just check my fabric again” to “can I bring my underwear to check it for colour match”.
So we try to get the dresses in two months before the wedding. Eight weeks, you would think, would be long enough for even a Royal Wedding arranged in monstrous proportions? Well no in fact its not and many brides call us three weeks before this screaming at us where is her dress. When we reply it will be here in three weeks they claim that it is simply not enough time. So we receive three to four calls a week from the bride from hell until the deadline arrives along with the dress on time as usual. The bride upon hearing this wonderful news responds “about bloody time” then states "she is far too busy to come this week but there is no rush is there" and "can she have an appointment at 7pm because she has taken all her leave allowance for the honeymoon" or "I can't make it to the shop do you offer home fittings?". And where does this bride live in location to the shop? California? Siberia? No two minutes walk away not even a car journey.
We then spend the next seven weeks up to collection on the phone discussing veil colours and tiara heights. Can I also point out at this point that an ivory dress is ivory so do you really need a swatch of fabric to match up your flowers! And if it’s a white dress I suggest white flowers even without seeing the swatch of fabric would probably be the best way to go. I know attention to detail is all-important but I am pretty sure if your fabric is not quite the same shade as the roses there is not a bloody thing either of us can do about it unless you are the Queen in "Alice in Wonderland" and demand that the roses are painted!
The psycho obsessive bride worries about all eventualities all possible things that could go wrong are taken into account and possible solutions are noted. Hours are spent replying to answer phone messages
1) “what if the bridesmaid stands on the train or veil?” I would love my answer to be "kill the bloody big footed bridesmaid".
2) “What if it rains on the day” oh I will just ring God and tell him to defer that to Sunday it won't be a problem.
3)“How will I dance in the dress?” I don’t bloody care sod off.
They resemble a nervous wreck by collection of the dress and doubt they will remember any of the actual day let alone enjoy it. Why do we put ourselves through so much stress!
Friday, 25 September 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
The Bridal Exhibition
It's the Harrogate Bridal Exhibition (BBEH) for the bridal traders this week, I am smiling in the knowledge I no longer have to suffer it. It did, however bring back some memories of previous visits...
Oh the joy of the Bridal Trade Exhibition where we lovingly walk gracefully around beautiful stands of elegant bridal gowns viewing graceful models in these wonderful creations whilst nodding or swaying a hand to confirm this addition to our collection and sipping glasses of champagne and eating truffles and then retiring to our luxury hotel suite for an evening at the Bridal Awards Dinner...
Er.. No not exactly!
When at the show you pass many other Bridal Shop owners, some of these ladies have been in "the business of wedding" for years and you can spot them a mile off. Mulling through stand after stand polyester white beaded dresses they stand with designer handbag over shoulder always in compulsory gaudy gold colour, i-phone in one hand, palm in the other (ear piece if they want to be really sad) and very sparkly expensive looking jewellery over every finger, wrist and neck (yes they have multiple necks haha) with Bleached Blonde highlights, extensions or even a wig, false nails, fake tan and lots and lots of make-up.
All this is because, as we all know people, it is really important what a bridal shop owner wears. The shoes and Bag are all important whilst you do not want to end up crippled for life this pales into insignifigance as you must show you can afford this new dress designer by the fact you are wearing ridiculously expensive shoes and your Bag cost the price of a new Fiat Uno.
Anyone that knows me well, will know this is not really my style. I usually spent a week before the show frantically rushing around every store in the city to find something half way decent not so much resembling the look of a Gucci or Dior but affordable and practical. Most years I simply ended up wearing much the same outfit as I did the year before and I am pretty sure no one ever noticed.
As you walked down the aisles you had to try not to give eye contact to the stall holders in case you are pulled into their stand and have to smile and compliment them on their hiddeous creations whilst trying to make an excuse for why you couldn't purchase from them. When you finally find dresses that will compliment your already massive collection which you "just have to have" nine times out of ten you find the shop round the corner has smugly beaten you to it and ordered ten minutes earlier “DAMN AND BLAST”.
Hair dishevelled and blisters on foot you throw yourself on the nearest chair eating a very stale cheese sandwich which cost £10 and a warm flat fizzy drink which still proceeds to repeat on you all afternoon. Then slightly dishevelled you walk past endless models, waifs smugly prancing down the aisles in size 4 dresses. Even though you are the customer and your spending is paying their wages you tend to feel so insignificant and extremely overweight and unworthy.
Adding up your orders to find you have spent the price of a luxury holiday home in Florida even after promising yourself that this year you would'nt so that by the end you feel as if in the final round with Mike Tyson. You cancel the nights stay in the B&B down the road because the idea of sitting at the Bridal Awards with all those waifs in your size 18 evening frock makes you shudder. So you drive all the way back home and flop onto your sofa still in shock.
The bridal industry like most of the fashion industry is somewhat like the acting profession. You see lots of fake smiles and there are always kisses on both cheeks and gushes of loveliness. What your customers never see is the behind the scenes "dog eat dog" first come first served race against time to get the Designers you want before your competition. You smile and pass pleasantries at the owner of the shop down the road as she passes you in the aisles (always looking much more elegant in her Prada and Jimmy choo’s) but if she dares to drop in on my Designers stands I will rugby tackle her to the floor and knock her out! If a new Designer pops up that season that shows Design promise the stand resembles the first day of the next sale with bridal shop owners pushing and shoving one another out of the way to get to the Designer first to arrange exclusivity.
Designers love their ego's to be stroked and you are expected to say every single dress they design is fantastic even if you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Every year they get more expensive and every year they expect you to buy more Dresses to secure their exclusivity, yes exclusivity is all important when spending so much you don't want the shop round the corner selling the same thing.
I had some great Designers, but I spent a lot with them so I suppose I was just as much a great stockists as they were a Designer. That being said choosing them took years and I have made some huge mistakes with new designers in my time... but we will come to that another day!
For some people though the Bridal Exhibition is exciting and frilly and beautiful and lovely and like a pink fairy on top of a cake.. they usually fall into one of two catagories... the ones that are either buying for a major Bridal chain (and therefore are spending someone elses money) or those who work for one of the larger Designers that own a stand at the show and so they are simply there to take orders and look pretty! For those people it is three days of Champagne, laughing, messing about, eating and Parties. Basically, they are Lucky Buggars!
Oh the joy of the Bridal Trade Exhibition where we lovingly walk gracefully around beautiful stands of elegant bridal gowns viewing graceful models in these wonderful creations whilst nodding or swaying a hand to confirm this addition to our collection and sipping glasses of champagne and eating truffles and then retiring to our luxury hotel suite for an evening at the Bridal Awards Dinner...
Er.. No not exactly!
When at the show you pass many other Bridal Shop owners, some of these ladies have been in "the business of wedding" for years and you can spot them a mile off. Mulling through stand after stand polyester white beaded dresses they stand with designer handbag over shoulder always in compulsory gaudy gold colour, i-phone in one hand, palm in the other (ear piece if they want to be really sad) and very sparkly expensive looking jewellery over every finger, wrist and neck (yes they have multiple necks haha) with Bleached Blonde highlights, extensions or even a wig, false nails, fake tan and lots and lots of make-up.
All this is because, as we all know people, it is really important what a bridal shop owner wears. The shoes and Bag are all important whilst you do not want to end up crippled for life this pales into insignifigance as you must show you can afford this new dress designer by the fact you are wearing ridiculously expensive shoes and your Bag cost the price of a new Fiat Uno.
Anyone that knows me well, will know this is not really my style. I usually spent a week before the show frantically rushing around every store in the city to find something half way decent not so much resembling the look of a Gucci or Dior but affordable and practical. Most years I simply ended up wearing much the same outfit as I did the year before and I am pretty sure no one ever noticed.
As you walked down the aisles you had to try not to give eye contact to the stall holders in case you are pulled into their stand and have to smile and compliment them on their hiddeous creations whilst trying to make an excuse for why you couldn't purchase from them. When you finally find dresses that will compliment your already massive collection which you "just have to have" nine times out of ten you find the shop round the corner has smugly beaten you to it and ordered ten minutes earlier “DAMN AND BLAST”.
Hair dishevelled and blisters on foot you throw yourself on the nearest chair eating a very stale cheese sandwich which cost £10 and a warm flat fizzy drink which still proceeds to repeat on you all afternoon. Then slightly dishevelled you walk past endless models, waifs smugly prancing down the aisles in size 4 dresses. Even though you are the customer and your spending is paying their wages you tend to feel so insignificant and extremely overweight and unworthy.
Adding up your orders to find you have spent the price of a luxury holiday home in Florida even after promising yourself that this year you would'nt so that by the end you feel as if in the final round with Mike Tyson. You cancel the nights stay in the B&B down the road because the idea of sitting at the Bridal Awards with all those waifs in your size 18 evening frock makes you shudder. So you drive all the way back home and flop onto your sofa still in shock.
The bridal industry like most of the fashion industry is somewhat like the acting profession. You see lots of fake smiles and there are always kisses on both cheeks and gushes of loveliness. What your customers never see is the behind the scenes "dog eat dog" first come first served race against time to get the Designers you want before your competition. You smile and pass pleasantries at the owner of the shop down the road as she passes you in the aisles (always looking much more elegant in her Prada and Jimmy choo’s) but if she dares to drop in on my Designers stands I will rugby tackle her to the floor and knock her out! If a new Designer pops up that season that shows Design promise the stand resembles the first day of the next sale with bridal shop owners pushing and shoving one another out of the way to get to the Designer first to arrange exclusivity.
Designers love their ego's to be stroked and you are expected to say every single dress they design is fantastic even if you wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Every year they get more expensive and every year they expect you to buy more Dresses to secure their exclusivity, yes exclusivity is all important when spending so much you don't want the shop round the corner selling the same thing.
I had some great Designers, but I spent a lot with them so I suppose I was just as much a great stockists as they were a Designer. That being said choosing them took years and I have made some huge mistakes with new designers in my time... but we will come to that another day!
For some people though the Bridal Exhibition is exciting and frilly and beautiful and lovely and like a pink fairy on top of a cake.. they usually fall into one of two catagories... the ones that are either buying for a major Bridal chain (and therefore are spending someone elses money) or those who work for one of the larger Designers that own a stand at the show and so they are simply there to take orders and look pretty! For those people it is three days of Champagne, laughing, messing about, eating and Parties. Basically, they are Lucky Buggars!
Friday, 4 September 2009
The Dress Abusers
This is so irritating beyond belief. Now can I point out ladies that a wedding shop will have dresses which retail at well over £1,000 each which means they have most likely spent the value of a detached house in Escrick to get them on the rails so the system in a wedding shop is a little different to that of Dorothy Perkins.
For example we do not like it when you push all the dresses into one clump on the rail and proceed to pull one after the other across as if searching for another pair or hipsters in the summer sale at Miss Selfridge. Neither do we consider it big or clever to then pull out a £2,500 gown standing on the skirt has you pull it towards you mother waving it around the room.
I especially despise those that think it super fun to push the hanger still attached to the dress behind your head so as to dangle the dress in front of you stretching the neckline out of all realistic shape and leave a beautiful greasy lip gloss imprint on the front. And the final insult the ladies that seem to think as it is a sample it really doesn’t matter if, after trying on, they are discarded on the floor and stood on whilst trying the next style with their stilleto heels.
I had a bride and her mother in the studio once looking at bridal gowns, she had a budget of £1,000 exclaiming that this was an extremely large amount of money (which it is). The mother proceeds to drag through the rail pulling at a £3500 silk tulle bridal gown. I asked her to take a seat and we would go through the rail for her, she carried on dragging through the rail stamping on each dress as she went. I asked again to which she replied,
“Well how else am I to see the dresses”.
Now I could feel the blood begining to rise and thought steam would come out of my ears at this point. I replied ...
“If you take a seat I will show them all to you”
She snorted at me and replied with
“they're only samples what’s the problem”.
Now at this point I could imagine sliding my size 7 shoe towards her posterior and sending her in the direction of the stairs (or better still through the sash window into the street below her bum skimming the cobbles as she went).
I simply took a deep breath, counted to ten and said
“Well yes they are indeed samples as you say but as these gowns range from £1500-4000 and I have paid for each and every one of them myself you can imagine I must take care of them and a bride would not want to try on a dirty ripped sample would she?"
She took her seat as if a scolded child and I felt much better. Her daughter after trying on a couple of gowns apologised for her mothers ignorance and left the shop after happily promising to return without mother in tow.
For example we do not like it when you push all the dresses into one clump on the rail and proceed to pull one after the other across as if searching for another pair or hipsters in the summer sale at Miss Selfridge. Neither do we consider it big or clever to then pull out a £2,500 gown standing on the skirt has you pull it towards you mother waving it around the room.
I especially despise those that think it super fun to push the hanger still attached to the dress behind your head so as to dangle the dress in front of you stretching the neckline out of all realistic shape and leave a beautiful greasy lip gloss imprint on the front. And the final insult the ladies that seem to think as it is a sample it really doesn’t matter if, after trying on, they are discarded on the floor and stood on whilst trying the next style with their stilleto heels.
I had a bride and her mother in the studio once looking at bridal gowns, she had a budget of £1,000 exclaiming that this was an extremely large amount of money (which it is). The mother proceeds to drag through the rail pulling at a £3500 silk tulle bridal gown. I asked her to take a seat and we would go through the rail for her, she carried on dragging through the rail stamping on each dress as she went. I asked again to which she replied,
“Well how else am I to see the dresses”.
Now I could feel the blood begining to rise and thought steam would come out of my ears at this point. I replied ...
“If you take a seat I will show them all to you”
She snorted at me and replied with
“they're only samples what’s the problem”.
Now at this point I could imagine sliding my size 7 shoe towards her posterior and sending her in the direction of the stairs (or better still through the sash window into the street below her bum skimming the cobbles as she went).
I simply took a deep breath, counted to ten and said
“Well yes they are indeed samples as you say but as these gowns range from £1500-4000 and I have paid for each and every one of them myself you can imagine I must take care of them and a bride would not want to try on a dirty ripped sample would she?"
She took her seat as if a scolded child and I felt much better. Her daughter after trying on a couple of gowns apologised for her mothers ignorance and left the shop after happily promising to return without mother in tow.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
The W.O.T.
Yes the W.O.T. If you had this marked next to your name on our diary you won’t be coming back any time soon as you are a “waste of time”.
Believe me there are people out there with nothing better to do than visit wedding shops to try on dresses just for a laugh. You can usually spot them a mile off though but I do feel sorry for the "off the peg" bridal shop as they must get these girls a lot. I do know though that many of these shop owners demand the younger brides bring their mothers with them so beware! they have ways around your tomfoolery.
So there are diferent catagories of W.O.T.
Just a bit of fun girl...
Oh what a joy these are so much fun ! in case you were wondering I am being utterly sarcastic. Funnily enough these are the same girls that call demanding an appointment at one minutes notice and if they don’t get what they want they throw the tiara's accross the room (well maybe not but you know what I mean). They prance in half an hour late because they had a late lunch and wanted to finish off the bottle of wine but still expect a full hour (I mean what does it matter that they put out another bride). When I ask their budget…
“oh around the £500 mark but at a push I could make it £800".
Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against these brides, £800 is a lot of money to spend on a dress. I politely tell them my dresses are designer silk gowns and range at £1400+ to which they reply
“oh well I will try on anyway it’s a bit of fun isn't it”.
Well can I point out its not a bit of fun for me having some bride messing about for an hour when another bride has been turned away because we are fully booked up for the next six weeks! Don’t be surprised if I don’t find it a bit of bloody fun and boot you out the shop!
Wedding Dress Weirdo.
When working for another shop I had to do a dreaded wedding fare (we will come to those later). A lady came to the stand and went through our collection of wedding dresses and arranged an appointment to view. She came to the shop and spent well over two hours trying on dresses until she had decided on a style, asking questions over numerous emails and calls. She then came back two weeks later to try on again and again a week after that. Then, nothing no calls no emails nothing, we shrugged it off presuming she had bought elsewhere.
I receive a call from a bride wanting an appointment to view our dresses a few weeks after opening the shop. The name rings a bell but I proceed anyway and low and behold in she comes the same bride. Perhaps she had cancelled her wedding you think? Perhaps she is marrying someone else? I ask her if she has tried wedding dresses on before? She says no. Strange! Do you have a twin? No. Giving her the benefit of the doubt I allow her to try a few dresses on. Feeling like I was going through deja vous we receive countless emails and calls about the dress she definately wants and visits another time before never hearing from her again!
Six months later we are at another wedding Fare and whom do I see? You guessed it this time at another stand. I visit the stand after she has gone and ask they shop owner had she had the girls in before? “Oh yes she is getting her dress from us she has been in three times now so she will be ordering soon” don’t hold your breath I think.
Super WOT.
Or of course there are the super WOT’s which claim we don’t have enough stock – So I have spent the value of a new German Sports car in dresses this season and have the value of a small holiday home in Majorca already on the rail but that is simply not enough.
“Is this all you have”
we hear as the bride peruses the sagging rails of stock.
“Are you getting any more in?”
To which I usually reply, “what are you looking for”? Now I will guarantee you at this point she will bring out a paper clipping from a wedding magazine of the most hideous wedding gown know to history, it will be stroon with bright pink lace and heavy beading with bow peep style swags and rather attractive wonky bow on the behind. I am close to laughter and feel so strong the urge to burst out “your having a laugh aren’t you?” I don’t think I will be getting anything in like that I am afraid my designers shy away from the bloody ridiculous.
And then there is MEGA WOT!!!
I had an email from a bride wanting to come and visit I of course obliged. She came in and spent three hours trying on dresses to then tell me her wedding was two years away but she wanted to get sorted early. Annoyed but giving her the benefit of the doubt she left the shop with details on five different dresses of which she just couldn’t make up her mind which one she liked best.
She emailed six times in one week to go over the prices of each again and again asking if I would “do a deal for cash” or “would they ever be available in the sale”. Of course I don’t mind people asking me this but I had to remind her that our size 12 sample if it was in the sale would not magically change to fit her as she is a size 16 anyway.
She emails again to say she has seen another dress she really likes from the designer we stock and do we have it? we don’t, but the damn designer said to her we could borrow the dress for her to see! So we pay the £25 to borrow the dress and she likes it very much.
The thing is, she looks dreadful in it absolutely dreadful. Remember the huge hipped ones? And what don’t you wear? Bias cut right? Wrong you do if you are “Miss Strange”. I try my best to change her mind but she won’t budge. I then try offering a different skirt style one that doesn’t show her early middle age spread and doesn’t emphasise but skims! Big mistake! As she would want to see it first though, I mean, what if I didn’t like it?
So she now wants me to order a dress for free as a sample for her to try on before ordering. Politely I show her the door and ask her to speak with the designer personally. Twenty-five pounds and many hours poorer I breathe a sigh of relief that she has gone.
Oh no she sends another email saying the designer has the dress with the other skirt and we can … you guessed it, borrow the sample. No bloody way I think and tell her she will need to travel to the designer, as I am not bloody paying again.
The saga is not over yet, she emails again to complain to me that the designer did not have the dress she wanted and her time was wasted. I send back a polite note to say in a nice tone that its not my bloody problem and she would have to complain to the designer not me.
Oh god another email she is still pissed off with the designer (though not, strangely, complaining to her only to me!) and I am still down twenty five pounds not to mention many hours in dress fittings and twenty emails. I ask her what exactly she keeps emailing me for? She replies, “I just thought you were nice and I wanted someone to let off steam to” so obviously her family are sick of her as well.
So the outcome, she will never ever buy a dress from that designer not even if you paid her even though she loves it and thinks it was the best dress she had ever seen so there! Cutting your nose of the spite you face springs to mind. Oh and can she have another appointment to look at the other designers in my shop again? No bloody way, I reply email to say I think I have helped her all I can, she replies again saying “I think you are fed up of me now aren’t you” deleting a reply which just read “yes” I changed it to - well you did say your budget was £750 and we don’t have any other dresses at that price so its just upsetting you to come again and view dresses you cant afford, she replies – I just thought I could get some more ideas though, at which point I consider the fact that this is not a bride but a weird “not really getting married” lady who just wants to harass someone so I ask her to look elsewhere and then block her emails ha!
Believe me there are people out there with nothing better to do than visit wedding shops to try on dresses just for a laugh. You can usually spot them a mile off though but I do feel sorry for the "off the peg" bridal shop as they must get these girls a lot. I do know though that many of these shop owners demand the younger brides bring their mothers with them so beware! they have ways around your tomfoolery.
So there are diferent catagories of W.O.T.
Just a bit of fun girl...
Oh what a joy these are so much fun ! in case you were wondering I am being utterly sarcastic. Funnily enough these are the same girls that call demanding an appointment at one minutes notice and if they don’t get what they want they throw the tiara's accross the room (well maybe not but you know what I mean). They prance in half an hour late because they had a late lunch and wanted to finish off the bottle of wine but still expect a full hour (I mean what does it matter that they put out another bride). When I ask their budget…
“oh around the £500 mark but at a push I could make it £800".
Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against these brides, £800 is a lot of money to spend on a dress. I politely tell them my dresses are designer silk gowns and range at £1400+ to which they reply
“oh well I will try on anyway it’s a bit of fun isn't it”.
Well can I point out its not a bit of fun for me having some bride messing about for an hour when another bride has been turned away because we are fully booked up for the next six weeks! Don’t be surprised if I don’t find it a bit of bloody fun and boot you out the shop!
Wedding Dress Weirdo.
When working for another shop I had to do a dreaded wedding fare (we will come to those later). A lady came to the stand and went through our collection of wedding dresses and arranged an appointment to view. She came to the shop and spent well over two hours trying on dresses until she had decided on a style, asking questions over numerous emails and calls. She then came back two weeks later to try on again and again a week after that. Then, nothing no calls no emails nothing, we shrugged it off presuming she had bought elsewhere.
I receive a call from a bride wanting an appointment to view our dresses a few weeks after opening the shop. The name rings a bell but I proceed anyway and low and behold in she comes the same bride. Perhaps she had cancelled her wedding you think? Perhaps she is marrying someone else? I ask her if she has tried wedding dresses on before? She says no. Strange! Do you have a twin? No. Giving her the benefit of the doubt I allow her to try a few dresses on. Feeling like I was going through deja vous we receive countless emails and calls about the dress she definately wants and visits another time before never hearing from her again!
Six months later we are at another wedding Fare and whom do I see? You guessed it this time at another stand. I visit the stand after she has gone and ask they shop owner had she had the girls in before? “Oh yes she is getting her dress from us she has been in three times now so she will be ordering soon” don’t hold your breath I think.
Super WOT.
Or of course there are the super WOT’s which claim we don’t have enough stock – So I have spent the value of a new German Sports car in dresses this season and have the value of a small holiday home in Majorca already on the rail but that is simply not enough.
“Is this all you have”
we hear as the bride peruses the sagging rails of stock.
“Are you getting any more in?”
To which I usually reply, “what are you looking for”? Now I will guarantee you at this point she will bring out a paper clipping from a wedding magazine of the most hideous wedding gown know to history, it will be stroon with bright pink lace and heavy beading with bow peep style swags and rather attractive wonky bow on the behind. I am close to laughter and feel so strong the urge to burst out “your having a laugh aren’t you?” I don’t think I will be getting anything in like that I am afraid my designers shy away from the bloody ridiculous.
And then there is MEGA WOT!!!
I had an email from a bride wanting to come and visit I of course obliged. She came in and spent three hours trying on dresses to then tell me her wedding was two years away but she wanted to get sorted early. Annoyed but giving her the benefit of the doubt she left the shop with details on five different dresses of which she just couldn’t make up her mind which one she liked best.
She emailed six times in one week to go over the prices of each again and again asking if I would “do a deal for cash” or “would they ever be available in the sale”. Of course I don’t mind people asking me this but I had to remind her that our size 12 sample if it was in the sale would not magically change to fit her as she is a size 16 anyway.
She emails again to say she has seen another dress she really likes from the designer we stock and do we have it? we don’t, but the damn designer said to her we could borrow the dress for her to see! So we pay the £25 to borrow the dress and she likes it very much.
The thing is, she looks dreadful in it absolutely dreadful. Remember the huge hipped ones? And what don’t you wear? Bias cut right? Wrong you do if you are “Miss Strange”. I try my best to change her mind but she won’t budge. I then try offering a different skirt style one that doesn’t show her early middle age spread and doesn’t emphasise but skims! Big mistake! As she would want to see it first though, I mean, what if I didn’t like it?
So she now wants me to order a dress for free as a sample for her to try on before ordering. Politely I show her the door and ask her to speak with the designer personally. Twenty-five pounds and many hours poorer I breathe a sigh of relief that she has gone.
Oh no she sends another email saying the designer has the dress with the other skirt and we can … you guessed it, borrow the sample. No bloody way I think and tell her she will need to travel to the designer, as I am not bloody paying again.
The saga is not over yet, she emails again to complain to me that the designer did not have the dress she wanted and her time was wasted. I send back a polite note to say in a nice tone that its not my bloody problem and she would have to complain to the designer not me.
Oh god another email she is still pissed off with the designer (though not, strangely, complaining to her only to me!) and I am still down twenty five pounds not to mention many hours in dress fittings and twenty emails. I ask her what exactly she keeps emailing me for? She replies, “I just thought you were nice and I wanted someone to let off steam to” so obviously her family are sick of her as well.
So the outcome, she will never ever buy a dress from that designer not even if you paid her even though she loves it and thinks it was the best dress she had ever seen so there! Cutting your nose of the spite you face springs to mind. Oh and can she have another appointment to look at the other designers in my shop again? No bloody way, I reply email to say I think I have helped her all I can, she replies again saying “I think you are fed up of me now aren’t you” deleting a reply which just read “yes” I changed it to - well you did say your budget was £750 and we don’t have any other dresses at that price so its just upsetting you to come again and view dresses you cant afford, she replies – I just thought I could get some more ideas though, at which point I consider the fact that this is not a bride but a weird “not really getting married” lady who just wants to harass someone so I ask her to look elsewhere and then block her emails ha!
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