Wed
15
Sep
2010
A Hari Raya Story
It's that time of the year again. The celebration of Hari Raya!
My memories of Hari Raya celebrations have always been festive and colourful. Laughter, joy and FOOD! Meeting relatives that you usually only meet during festivities. Exclaiming over how big your little nephews, nieces or cousins has gotten, catching up on what I've been up to, being asked when will it be 'my turn'. This year, it's no different. :)
* Pics taken from Tongue in Chic
Anyhoo, one of my favourite things about Hari Raya is the fashion. The variety of colours, materials and designs never cease to amaze me. Most women spend time and money designing, re-designing and producing their own baju fashion just for Hari Raya. And let me tell you, they're not called baju fashion for nothing.
However, in my opinion, the most important factor for a gorgeous baju kurung is the seamstress. You may have the most beautiful piece of material in the world, but with a bad tailor, you can consider money spent on purchasing the material as money down the drain.
I had one particularly HORRIBLE experience with a certain tailoring shop in Menglait. And to this day, it still angers me to think of it.
I sent about 4 pieces of material there, all gorgeous, with designs thought out thoroughly. But because it was about 4 weeks before Raya, I was a bit anxious about whether they could be completed on time.
But the tailoring shop owner(H) reassured me that her seamstresses would definitely be able to finish them before Raya. Still anxious, I checked in with her again about a week before Raya and she said,"Oh they're not all finished yet, but don't worry so much. They'll be ready before Raya."
On Hari Raya eve, I rang H again and now she said,"Oh sorry sorry. We have so much orders so your bajus are not finished yet. They'll be completed in a few days. So, just wait for our call." You can imagine, that at that point in time, I was already upset because Hari Raya was the NEXT DAY!
Do you know when I finally got my clothes? TWO WEEKS INTO RAYA! That's right, the 14th day of Hari Raya!
Omg, you can't imagine how furious I was. And the worst thing was H's attitude about it.
Me : Fine! I'll take the clothes but you obviously need to give a discount since they weren't completed on time.
H : Sorry, I can't and won't give you a discount.
Me : How can you NOT give me a discount?! If it's just a few days late, I wouldn't mind paying you in full. But it's been TWO weeks! You didn't fulfill your part!
H : But they're finished, aren't they? So, you have to pay in full.
Me : Finished TWO weeks AFTER your promised date of completion!! I had nothing new to wear for Hari Raya because of your lateness!
H : Sorry, I don't even give my own relatives much of a discount.
Grrrrrrrrr!
In the end, she did give me a discount. A measly 10% off! And the huge slap was... the baju kurungs were HORRENDOUS! The cutting was all wrong, the beading was sloppy, the sewing was messy! I immediately regretted paying for the clothes. I should've just left them, then at least, I would've saved a few hundred bucks.
I heard, that apparently, I wasn't the only victim. H took in too much orders and wasn't able to deliver as promised. She even had an apology posted on Ranoadidas. And get this, she blamed the whole thing on her seamstresses.
What a nice boss, huh?
I don't know what had become of the shop but one thing's for sure, there is no way I'll ever go back to them.
Experiences like this are what we should be careful of. We have sunk hundreds of dollars into just purchasing the material, and to have them sewn into bad-looking garments is just a horrible waste of money. If you're lucky, you can salvage your baju kurungs by sending them to be re-sewn. If they can't be re-sewn, well, bye bye money.
At the moment, I'm still looking for that one seamstress who can create magical and breath-taking clothes. I've had little hits and lots of misses and I'm tired of searching. So, if you have someone to recommend for me, let me know and I may just let you in on which tailoring shop I just spent a whole blog post ranting about.
Toodles and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!!!
Comments: 8
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#1
Omg...That's horrible! I'm furious just reading about it! I've never had tailor-made baju kurungs before, but I myself know that it costs a lot to make a piece! The boss was simply irresponsible, especially towards clients!
My aunt tailors, but I never experienced her service before. But I'm sure it wasn't as horrible as the one you've experienced! -
#2
Yeah Amy! She was obviously about the money, not customer satisfaction. When she said 'Well, they're finished so you have to pay in full' (same exact words), my hypothetical thermometer blew its top. I was yelling at her through the phone, and couldn't believe she was so nonchalant! To her credit, she didn't yell back at me and didn't hang up on me. But that's a few hundred dollars I'm never getting back.
Makes me kind of phobic to try out a new streamstress without a recommendation of others :S -
#3
hi. dat was such an awful experience. imagine u can only wear them day15 of raya.. n a meager 10%.. but im curious- is the name of the shope "D e_ _ _"?
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#4
Hi sharreb,
Yeah it was the loss of money that hurt the most. I hope this situation is not a common thing for everyone.
Nope, it's not "D e___", whoever that is. :P -
#5
oh good. haha cause my tailor's De bon Dressmaking- previously in menglait. but she has now moved to serusop. i've sticked to this tailor for 2 years- it worked for me.. with the exception fo the first fitting- the following bajus I make all fit me perfectly evytym. usually she gets things done for me in 2 weeks tym (not peak season) but I’ve sticked to simple baju fashion- cant vouch for manik-manik etc.
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#6
Sharreb,
Oh sounds like a not bad tailor. :) Yeah, maybe i should drive by Menglait one of these days just to see whether that 'shop' is still there. Hehehe -
#7
i think i know which seamstress you are talking about..if im not mistaken, she already sold her tailor shop this year...she also has a bakery business right?
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#8
Hi AB,
Hmm, not sure if she has a bakery as well. but if it's the right person, let's hope her bakery business is better than her tailor shop! 
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