So, as we all know, tailors are also humans, with feelings and emotions running through their vains, but seems a lot of people don’t actually care, especially their customers as they’ve been subjected to a lot of criticisms and mental stress.

Most of these fashion designers (tailors), especially Nigerians don’t take it likely as they tend to lash back at any customers who crosses the boundary without any atom of remorse.

You will surely hear tales of woe and wasted fabric at the hands of dreaded tailors from customers to the point its no longer obvious that Nigerian tailors have a lot to answer for.

Its so difficult to find an individual who does not have a Nigerian tailor horror story and we do hear or read a lot of comments concerning tailors on social media and thereabout, but seems nobody even care to know or hear the Tailors’ side of the story.

Hitvibz decided to speak to some of these fashion designers from major cities in Nigeria, ranging from Abuja, Lagos to Port Harcourt, Kogi and Benin, you will be amazed at certain revelations from these tailors over their valued customers.

Read the first edition of our exclusive interviews below as the second part comes up next week Wednesday…..

What are those things customers do that get on your nerves?

Jefenzer Fashion House in Lagos had this to say;

“Well, number one is negotiations vs quality. In the sense that there is a high population of people who wants to look good but can’t afford it. We’ll have a lot of cases where a certain customer looks up a designers outfit take it to a tailor expect exact picture but can’t Pay for everything needed to produce it. This is also a function of the fact that they don’t know what it takes to produce an outfit. Certain materials combined or put together to produce it. Tailors begin to hear things like “I have a tailor that can do it for 2k”

She added that;

“Sometimes they don’t know also that fabrics play a role too and if you don’t get the desired fabric the style won’t come out and fabric varies in types and price. “Customers are always right” a lot of Nigerian customers have some form of entitlement that is totally wrong. They refuse to listen to their tailors advise and when everything spoils they blame it on the tailor with that popular quote.”

She further noted that;

“Emergency customers love emergency production. They know they’ve got an occasion. They won’t come on time, some how they feel they are the only customer such tailor have and they try convincing the tailor to sew their outfit in a timing that won’t work. Some tailors take it to please them or with hope that they will make it and end up disappointing. Most customers have the weirdest imagination. They feel that things this and that can be done like this or that but in reality they can’t, why? because they don’t know anything about tailoring.”

AGM Clothing from Ibadan also noted that;

“When I bill a client and he’s trying to reduce the price but i told him if I reduce the price it’s going to affect the quality of the work and he insist that he can’t pay that amount. in a nut shell he wants something of good quality but he’s not willing to pay the required amount.”

Alan’s Cut from Kogi said customers get on her nerves when;

“You finish making their dress and they start condemning it because they don’t want to pay the initial agreed amount, even when people are complimenting the style that it is beautiful.”

Lady Q Apparel in Port Harcourt said;

“Giving me 3yards of fabric to make a garment that would take 6yards, pricing 5k for a style of 12k, using the slogan that “customers are always rights to intimidate me”, it’s so annoying,”

Dahlia’s Wear in Port Harcourt said;

“Making me loose the cloth after sewing, and thinking the cloth will look exactly the same way it looks on the model on them.”

Johnbest Fashion Line in Abuja said;

“Changing of style when you’re already done with what they gave you at first, telling you that you didn’t bring out their best.”

GBozz Couture said;

You make their dress and tell them to come pick it up. Probably, you gave them two weeks. They will fail to come, rather they take like one month or a month plus, no times two months before they will come get their clothes and by the time they return, they are either size 10 or they’ve increase to size 16.

You see it means that you have to work on that dress again, like you’ve not even made it. So it is very annoying and there’s nothing you can do.

Another thing they also do that gets on my nerves is when you give them Price for a particular style they’ve chosen, some of them will tell you, ‘is it not just to cut and sew, is it not just to sew it like this, is it not just to cut it, is it not just to make the skirt and cut it like this’.

How do you handle this kind of situations with the customers?

Jefenzer Fashion House said;

“How I manage emergency is to work with a production schedule and when I know that it can never work. I subtle tell the customer in a diplomatic way indirectly rejecting the work. I sometimes use audio recording to avoid some “customers are always right” situations. For example, I told you I wanted the sleeve long. No ma this is what you said, I play the audio. Most of the time I take my time to explain how things work to customers not because they deserve to know but because they deserve to understand how their clothes are being produced.”

AGM Clothing said;

“If the customer is a loyal client, sometimes i do it the expected way because I wouldn’t want to do something that will bring down my standard and if the person is not a regular customer I sometimes reject it totally depending on how busy I am.”

Alan’s Cut simply said;

“I just tell Dem not to bother paying anymore.”

Lady Q Apparel said;

“When I have a situation like under-fabric issue, I will do color combination with a plain fabric and I will either make it with 8k or she will have to visit another Tailor with her Material.”

Dahlia’s Wear said;

“For the loosening of the cloth, I will always do it just to please them, you know that customers are always right. Then I will give them reasons why it can’t look like them, because their structure isn’t alike.”

Johnbest Fashion Line said;

“You just have to be calm with them, the problem are the women oh! We don’t have much problem with guys at all, you have to make them understand with you.”

GBozz Couture said;

How I’ve been able to handle situations like this is by wearing the armor of patience.

So its usually at the tip of my tongue to tell them, Ok now, take your clothes go and cut it yourself and make it since its so easy just to cut and sew. Just take it, go and make it yourself. Its usually at the tip of my tongue but of course you want to do it, but you cant say that. So, there is nothing as annoying as when someone tries to make your work look like its ABC.

Many people criticize tailors a lot, could they be having wrong perception?

Jefenzer Fashion House stated that;

“Some of the impressions are true, most of them are caused by the customer. There are great tailors out there but they are expensive because of this same impression. Cos it is those customers that can’t pay that give the most problem. Bottom line is let people cut their coat according to their cloth.”

AGM Clothing said;

“Though I can’t speak for all but we have good and bad tailors and one of the things customers complain about is failure to give clients their clothes in due time.”

Alan’s Cut simply said;

“Yeah they criticize because a lot of tailors lack integrity, most times they spend the money before doing the work.”

Lady Q Apparel said;

“Yes! Because they think its easy to sew, even to make something as small as face masks is not easy, if u don’t know how to sew, trust me you can’t. I remember making a butterfly gown for my neighbour and I told her I would take 3k for it, it was an urgent work. Boom! The woman started yelling and said she was going to give me N500, that is just a simple straight gown without lining, that she could even make the gown without learning how to sew, that is to tell me how simple it is.”

Dahlia’s Wear said;

“Not totally, most tailors give their client that bad impression and some clients also judge the tailors base on their last experience.”

Johnbest Fashion Line said;

“Well, It depends on the tailor, some tailors can be so wicked at times oh! When you give them clothes and tell them you will need it in 2 weeks time, they will collect it and they won’t tell you that they have jobs on ground already, it is when you come to collect your clothes, that’s when they will start saying they have so many jobs that they have not started your work.”

GBozz couture said;

Well before I actually became a Tailors. I would say I was part of the people that criticize them a lot.

Many Nigerians don’t speak or think too much about quality but cheap prices.

All they want is just sew it for me at a cheaper price. That’s what they want in Nigeria, so many people overlook quality and just go with ‘just do it for me anyhow so far I can wear it’. Now the thing is, after making it, the start criticizing the tailor, meanwhile its their fault.