Was I lacking here?

Question

A man came to my shop to have a suit made. He was told by his aunt, who also happens to be my customer, that I make clothes.

He was going to use it in his concert. (He was a voice teacher.) The suit that he wanted looked somewhat like what Sammy Davis, Jr. wore on stage. Sequined collar and lapels, glittery bow-tie, etc.

I told him my business procedures. A 50 percent downpayment first - to enable me to purchase the materials; and the remaining half percent must be paid upon delivery of the items.

He informed me that he didn't need it right away, that his concert was still two-months away. But, I took his measurements just the same.

And so, he mentioned that when that event draws nearer, he was going to come and give me the downpayment.

I must have forgotten about him because 3 hours before the concert he dropped by at my shop to pick-up the suit! With a bewildered look on my face, I asked him if he remembered what I told him about the downpayment. He says he forgot.....

Answer 1

Not your problem. No money exchanged hands, he's out of luck.

Answer 2

He was in the wrong. You have nothing to apologise for.

Even if he had been right to pick up the suit , he would have been foolish not to come a few days earlier to allow for adjustments.

I suppose that he became confused because you took the measurements, however. Perhaps it would be a good thing to have a leaflet printed with the procedure so that something similar doesn´t happen again.

If you want to be nice to him you could offer him a discount on the suit but there is really no need to except out of goodwill.

Answer 3

No he's a typical loser who thinks everyone owes him something. Hiding behind the "Oh my aunt says you'll hook me up..." routine. I Deal with this type all the time (Aunt, dad, friend, etc., etc.).

If you would have taken it upon yourself and did the suit and he came in picking it up at the last minute, he would have had some excuse for only having 1/2 the money or dwnpmnt and you would have had to go thru the aunt to pick up the balance.

Hope he liked whatever duds he chose for his concert. Let him be disappointed in you. Let him tell everyone and the BBB you screwed him. Your loyal customers will know better.

Answer 4

Hmm...a tough situation. I hope he didn't lose it on you. I do think that by not providing the required downpayment, he communicated a lack of interest in having the clothing made and project completed. You can't be blamed for not going ahead and purchasing the materials out of your own pocket. What if he defaulted and never returned? Those would've been funds lost. Don't people come in for more than one fitting before they need a final product anyway? To be fair, he might have misunderstood the terms or been disorganized in his own planning leading up to his deadline. Not your responsiblity. I do think that it might be advisable to provide written material to future customers or post it clearly in the shop and mention it too that outlines your requirements clearly and releases you from responsiblity if the downpayment is not received in a timely way. If a project is particularly costly and labour-intensive, maybe a signed agreement is called for. Do you tend to track your orders in terms of completion date using some sort of planner or reference that keeps you on track (just asking. maybe professionals like you don't need to use this sort of system).

One thing that may be a lingering problem is the relationship you have with the customer's mother. There's a risk of losing her business because of the situation with her son. I would avoid raising it with her unless she brings it up herself, and when/if she does, calmly explain your terms and why you could not proceed. Perhaps offer her and her son some sort of discount on future work they bring to you, but be firm about your terms. Hope things work out!

Answer 5

You're in the clear here. You gave him plenty of time, and your instructions were perfectly clear, and extremely reasonable. I don't think it was your obligation to remind him to get it done. He could have had you take the measurements and paid you the down payment that day.... but chose not to. That would have given you more than enough time to make the suit, and to have him come in to try it on for any alterations. Bad planning on his part doesn't make an emergency on yours.

Answer 6

the customer isn't always right...only thing you could do is catalog all measurements taken against current orders for call backs? however, that would really be going the extra mile...maybe if you don't do the measurements until the down payment is made that would clear it up a bit....then again, you can't have business procedures/processes for every dummy out there!

Answer 7

While he should have brought you the money, you too should have made a record of taking his measurements, and perhaps made a note to call him a month or so before so that he could be reminded to bring (or send) the money, and that way he wouldn't be without a suit, and you wouldn't be without a client.

Answer 8

Oh man! That is his fault, not yours. How would you know that he didn't just change his mind!? If I was having something custom made, I would have checked in with you a few times before the big event. That's just crazy! So, did you whip something up or did he have to wear something he already had.

Answer 9

No, you weren't lacking at all. You were very clear about your policy and he never left you his deposit, so....why would he assume that you would "magically" have a suit ready for him? Maybe he thought that since you took the measurements that you were going to do the suit, and take payment later....but that's still on him, because he was aware of your payment policy.

Answer 10

You are in the right. He was informed of your policy, failed to make the initial payment. There is nothing you should have or really could have done. I guess he didn't look like Sammy Davis, Jr!

Answer 11

HIS fault not yours he never followed thru on the downpayment but as a goood business person you should have a tickle file and send out a reminder