Last edited by kenperes (2006-04-15 10:46:26)

A little back story on GRM.
GRM was started maybe 15-20 years ago by a fellow named Victor Kresik. He first worked with an excellent mill in Spain called Garriga. Well made but afforadble cloth.
Victor is now in Florida still running part of the business. Gordon runs the New york office.
There is also a canadian firm that they work with as well.


On the subject of deposits. I almost always ask for a deposit with new customers. It is just good buiness sense. Cash flow as well as the commitment of the customer.
I recently made a sample shirt for a fellow who I did not take a deposit from. The shirt has been ready for 6 weeks. No sign of the customer even after repeated calls.

Last week I did not take a deposit from a rather elegant older gentleman. He is a difficult fit and has been let down by several other shirtmakers.

I figure if I get it right for him, I will get quite a nice order.

It is important to take deposits for me. I do not work on an obnoxious mark-up. I also buy and stock fabric. Fabric merchants and mills need to be paid. Workers like to see a check at the end of the week.

Back to the topic at hand.

Usually when a customer comes to me they are ready to commit. sometimes they are not. 10-15 munutes should suffice to give the customer an understanding of what I can deliver based on their expectations. If they wish to look at additional  fabrics then I just pull out the swatch books and walk away. I have no patience to stand over a customer while they peruse swatch books and ask questions that in some cases they know the answer to. Sometime it takes longer and I need to educate a customer why some fabrics are better then others.
I recently had a customer who was stuck on the concept of Sea Island cotton. He wanted to know why there were not more choices in this type of fiber.  I had to expalin more then once that the production of actual Sea Island cotton is limited and it is woven in very high count fabrics, which are limited in design due to the cost. That he would be just as happy with 2/170's from egyptian cotton.

Mistakes happen in tailoring. A good tailor/shirtmaker should do his best to make sure the customer is satisfied. Sometimes a slightly botched job can be acceptable to the customer at a reduced price. I am not talking about an outright abortion. If you like the tailor/shirtmaker and plan to continue working with them, then it is an excellent gesture to tkae the suffiently discounted garment. The tailor will go out of his way for you in the future. Again we are taking about minor errors that might be difficult to fix. Not glaring mistakes.

I am amazed that in some business's the company can make mistakes and usally still get paid. This is usally when there is a government contract.

Carl

I don't really presume to tell my tailor much of anything, other than choosing the fabric and requesting 3 button closure and double-vents. Other than that I shut up and listen to him talk about his granddaughter.