The Story Behind the Story

This 2001 bridal season has been outstanding for my alterations business. I mentioned several times about specializing and "business growth". I tried to continue with custom gowns but it is impossible to do the volume of alterations that I have scheduled and custom wedding gowns. I would rather have 300 happy bridal alteration customers. I decided to do Bridal and Formal Wear alterations and no custom bridal gowns for the rest of this year. I plan to sew for myself a new wardrobe! I will keep you posted with pictures!

I put a lot of TLC into these gowns and it is very rewarding to me when the customer is "more than happy" when they take the garment home. I absolutely love the bridal business. It is seasonal and it is hectic. A lot of time management is required or it can get out of control. There is nothing worse than over committing. I have been there, done that, got the T-Shirt and in therapy! It is not fair to the customer or worth the stress. I started reviewing some of my resources (sewing books) and see how many ways there are to do a specific alteration. By doing this first, saves a lot of time. More importantly review the projects/customers that went off schedule or took more time or maybe rework to see if there is a pattern. Learn to say NO to this type scenario in the future. We also need to educate our customers and control the scheduling. Once a customer controls your time and makes last minute changes, you get out of control and end up with a disaster on your hand. It does not make a difference at this point how good your work is if you are off schedule. I mentioned before that Marketing is meeting customer wants and needs at a profit! If you do not evaluate your invoices you will continue to make the same mistakes and you will be trading your time and not getting paid for it. The following worksheet will be a big help in time management and will motivate you to do a better job.

I created an Alterations Worksheet specifically for the bridal and formal wear business. It acts as a communications record and legal contract. Each fitting is recorded and signed by the customer. Terms and Understandings are defined. Alterations are based on three fittings and these fittings are scheduled upfront with proper undergarments, and shoes required at each fitting. Scheduling all three fittings and backing up from the event date so the bride can have a promised final date 5-weeks before the wedding keeps you on track. First Fitting: measurements taken for the record. It is determined what the customer wants to achieve from the alterations. Educate the customer and document what changes they request and what areas it will cause problems to by doing that particular task. A minimum of 50% deposit is required at First Fitting. The Second Fitting: Garment is basted. This gives the customer the chance to change undergarments, shoes - heel size, slips etc at this time. Final Fitting: Garment is complete and balance is paid in full. If changes are made at this time due to extreme size change, rework charges apply and paid for at this time along with another final schedule date.

The backside of this worksheet has the price listed. It acts as sanity check before writing up an actual invoice. There is also a checklist for what items I am responsible for. Customer is responsible for taking home any items that do not require alterations or steaming - shoes, jewelry, slip etc. An evaluation survey is also included for the customer to check and sign. This worksheet can also be used if you provide an alterations service at your local wedding shop.

I tell my customers if you like my work - tell everybody. If you are not happy, give me a chance to fix it. This worksheet documented properly eliminates miscommunication and a better chance of having a more than happy customer. It helps you to develop a Marketing Attitude - which is the subject of Issue 7 of my next Sew Be It.com newsletter.

The price of this worksheet is $15 and downloaded in a simple word document that you can add or delete based on your business needs. Click on the Sewing Store and order today!

Sew Be It! Nanc
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