A mother ordering for her daughter in another city. Here is how to take that order without guessing, and what to do when the numbers are wrong.
The Situation Every Shop Knows
She comes in with cloth and a photograph. Her daughter is in Bangalore, the function is in three weeks, and the daughter will land two days before it. Can you stitch it.
Say no and you lose the order and probably the family. Say yes and guess, and you have a garment that does not fit, an alteration in the last two days before a function, and a customer who tells everybody.
There is a third answer, and it takes four minutes at the counter.
You are not being asked to guess. You are being asked to work with what can actually be known.
The Four Sources, Best First
Work down this list and stop at the first one you can get. Anything from higher up the list is worth more than anything below it.
| Source | How good it is |
|---|
1 | Your own record from her last order | The best there is. Same body, your own measuring |
2 | A garment of hers that fits well | Very good. Measure the garment, not the person |
3 | Somebody measuring her where she is | Usable, if you tell them exactly how |
4 | A photograph and a height | Not a measurement. Treat it as a last resort |
Most shops jump straight to four because it is what the customer offers. One and two are usually available and nobody asked.
One: your own record
If she has ordered from you before, you already have her measurements, and this whole problem disappears. This is the single strongest reason to write measurements down against the customer rather than in a book that gets full and replaced.
On keeping records that can be found again, see measurement management for tailors.
Two: a garment that fits
Ask her to bring one kurti or one blouse of her daughter’s that fits well. This is the most under-used answer in the trade. A well-fitting garment is a measurement that has already been proved on that body, which is more than a tape reading from a year ago can claim.
Measure the garment flat: chest across, waist across, full length, shoulder, sleeve length, sleeve round, neck depth front and back. Write down that these came from a garment and which garment, because it changes how you allow for ease.
Three: somebody measuring her there
If it has to be done at a distance, do not just say "send me her measurements". You will get numbers taken over a jacket, in inches or centimetres unstated, with the tape pulled tight.
- Send a voice note naming each measurement in order, in her language
- Say clearly: over a thin fitted top, not over loose clothes
- Say clearly: tape flat and snug, not pulled tight, not loose
- Ask for inches, and ask them to say the unit out loud when they send it
- Ask for one extra thing - her height, and the length of a kurti she already likes
That last one is the check. If the numbers that come back do not sit sensibly against her height, something was measured wrong and you can ask again before you cut.
The measurements themselves are listed in how to take measurements for stitching.
Four: a photograph
A photograph tells you a style. It does not tell you a size, and no amount of experience turns it into one. If this is genuinely all you have, say so at the counter, in words, before you take the money.
What to Say at the Counter
This is the part that protects both of you, and it takes one sentence.
"I will stitch it to these measurements. Since she is not here, please bring her in for a trial the day she arrives, and I will keep the time free for alterations." Then write it on the bill.
You have not refused the order, you have not promised what you cannot promise, and the family knows a trial is part of the plan rather than a sign that something went wrong.
- Write on the bill where the measurements came from - your record, a garment, or sent from outside
- Write the trial date on the bill, not just in conversation
- Keep an hour free in the two days before the function. You will need it
How to Cut It
Two practical habits for a garment stitched without the body in the room.
- Leave extra at the side seams and the sleeve seam where an alteration is easy. Not at the shoulder, where it is not
- Finish the fitting seams last if the trial is coming. Hems and side seams can wait a day
This is ordinary tailoring judgement, and the only new part is deciding it at cutting time instead of discovering it at the trial.
The Family Order
The same situation, multiplied: one person places an order for six people before a wedding, and four of them are not present. The difference is that a family order is where a shop is either made or ruined, because everybody at that function will see all six garments together.
- Take each person as a separate order with its own tag, never one order with six items in a note
- Ask which of the six will be present for a trial, and stitch those last so the others are learned from
- Get one phone number for the whole order, and write whose it is
On the festival and wedding rush generally, see the festival season rush.
Why This Is Really a Records Question
Notice that source one solves the whole problem and needs nothing from the customer. A shop that writes measurements against the customer never has this difficulty with a returning family - the daughter ordered a churidar two years ago, the numbers are there, and the conversation is thirty seconds long.
A shop that keeps measurements in the cutter’s notebook has this problem every single time, and solves it every time with a guess.
On moving off the personal notebook, see digital measurement records.
On what happens when the notebook walks out of the shop, see tailor order tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I take an order when the customer is not present?
In this order: use your own record from her last order, then measure a garment of hers that fits, then have somebody measure her with clear instructions, and only then fall back on a photograph. Write on the bill where the numbers came from and fix a trial date.
Can I stitch from a photograph?
You can stitch the style from a photograph. You cannot get a size from one. If a photograph is genuinely all you have, say so before taking the money and plan a trial and alteration into the timeline.
How do I measure a garment instead of a person?
Lay it flat and measure across rather than around: chest across, waist across, shoulder, full length, sleeve length and sleeve round, and neck depth front and back. Note that these came from a garment, because the ease is already built in.
Someone sent me measurements and they look wrong. What now?
Ask for the person’s height and the length of a garment she already wears happily. If the numbers do not sit sensibly against those, ask for them again before cutting. Asking twice is cheap; cutting twice is not.
Should I refuse orders when the customer cannot come in?
No. Refusing sends a whole family to another shop. Take the order properly, be honest about the trial, and write it on the bill.
For keeping every customer’s measurements findable, see measurement management for tailors.
For customers who come back, see repeat customers for tailors.
Plans and what each includes are on the pricing page.
Start With the Customers You Already Have
The next time this happens, check first whether you already measured her. If you did, the problem was never a problem. If you did not, start writing them down today, and in a year this conversation stops happening in your shop.
You can start free on the Basic plan - ten customers, twenty orders a month, no card.