I rarely write negative reviews, particularly about a business I have patronized repeatedly, but my…read morefinal experience with King's Custom Tailor was so upsetting that I feel other customers should know about it.
I had been a loyal customer here for approximately 2 1/2 years and brought a significant amount of business to this shop -- well over $1,000, and possibly closer to $1,500, in alterations. I also recommended King's Custom Tailor to friends because, despite his consistently abrupt and unfriendly demeanor, I had generally been satisfied with his work.
Recently, I brought in several pairs of shorts for alterations. One pair came back fitting poorly. I returned, tried them on for him, and he acknowledged the problem, re-pinned them, and corrected the alteration. I appreciated that and thought nothing more of it.
When I picked up those corrected shorts, I left another pair to be altered. I paid $20 for that alteration. When I picked them up and tried them on at home, the alteration was also poorly done. The shorts laid strangely and had odd-looking seams that simply didn't look right.
I returned to the shop and explained the problem. He had me try the shorts on, looked at them, acknowledged that they weren't laying correctly, and re-pinned them to fix the problem.
Then, at the counter, he told me it would be another $15.
I explained that I had already paid him $20 to alter these shorts. His response was that he had never altered them.
I honestly thought I had misunderstood him because it made absolutely no sense. He had just examined the shorts, acknowledged that there was a problem, and re-pinned them for correction -- yet he was now insisting that he had never worked on them in the first place.
The conversation became increasingly bizarre and unpleasant. When I pointed out that I had been a very good customer, had spent a substantial amount of money with him over the years, and had referred other people to his business, his response was essentially, "No more business for you."
I was stunned.
Rather than simply standing behind a $20 alteration that clearly had not turned out correctly, he became argumentative and rude and denied having done the work. He then removed the pins from the shorts and asked me, "I charge you $20?" When I said yes, he threw the $20 at me.
That was the end of a 2 1/2-year customer relationship.
What bothers me most is not that an alteration went wrong. Anyone can make a mistake, and in fact, he had previously corrected another pair for me without an issue. What matters is how a business treats a loyal customer when something does go wrong.
After the amount of business I had given him and the people I had referred, I expected basic professionalism and a willingness to stand behind work I had already paid for. Instead, I was treated with hostility, had the work denied despite what had just occurred in front of me, and was essentially told not to return.
Needless to say, I won't.
There are plenty of tailors who will appreciate loyal, repeat customers and stand behind their work. After this experience, I cannot recommend King's Custom Tailor.
