Tailor Archive
Thread: Is it just me or are men a pain to deal with as customers?
...I've spent a fair deal of time picking out clothes, and I know stories of some others who've done so as well. I think part of the thing here is that it just stands out more when a guy does this, as it breaks typical male stereotypes.
Some reasons it takes me in particular longer ...
- I'm a twi-lek with blue skin. Sometimes finding the right shade of a color takes some doing.
- Some of the clothes look great on display but then very odd once I put it on. This is probably the biggest issue for me. At the same time though I never request a try-on from a tailor unless I know them fairly well - I hate having to say I don't like something and give it back.
- I know many of the clothing names - for women's clothes!
The dresses and entertainer outfits are a lot more memorable than the jackets, shirts, and pants, at least for me. I have a hard time recalling the difference between a rugged jacket and a pilot's jacket, for example. Thankfully most tailors I frequent have all the clothes on display, so that's not much of an issue.- Colors I find that my favorite tailors get right on the first try most of the time. And if I really decide I want a different color I'll usually go back and just by another one instead of handing something back.
All that said, I try to be as quick as possible when I have an actual sit down with a tailor. I try to prepare my order in email beforehand, then keep any additions or alterations to a minimum once I'm there. I'm always worried about taking up too much of the tailor's time, particularly if there are other people in the shop.
What I'd really love to see (though I can't say how many other males would go for it) would be a tailor offering blocks of their time for sale, at so many credits an hour, for clients to come in and just be pampered and dressed up. Perhaps pair up with an image designer and maybe even a second tailor to really get that full service feel. I'd like to walk in and feel fine, since I'm paying extra for the time and service in addition to the outfits. Getting all the colors and cuts right, with the opinions of tailors and image designers to help you find what looks good, and especially the whole interaction, would be worth a good deal to me, at least. If something like that were available I'd start saving my credits.
Might be a good solution to the problem customers who just can't decide, too!
- Vaadu Vun, Bria
Perhaps it's not so much that all men are a pain in the ass when you sell them clothes, it's just that there are more men out there playing SWG, from what I know. I'm not a Tailor myself, yes I wear a Duster (Spec Ops) an undershirt, wrinkled pants, uniform boots, all in black. But, I dress like that in real-life! But once again, looking at the male/female ratio, it's feasable that perhaps female gamers consist of a generally older age group? Maybe there's more idiotic male players, in swg.
Then again, maybe you've just had a bad spree of customers. I try to be as quick and decisive as I can. I have a neighbour who's a tailor, I shop at her place all the time, supposedly I'm a "good customer"... I don't know what point I'm leading to, so I'll take this opportunity to end my post!
here's my question...
Xailo,
I find it nearly inconceivable that your first post on these forums was in the tailor thread. lol.
As a male tailor, I agree that men are far slower/indecisive when picking out an outfit. They also tend to spend a lot less when they spend more time... because there are very few outfit items at tier 4 or above that are for males. I really don't mind spending time with them, because they always bring all of their friends back to buy more. Plus they usually are pretty cool.
I've only had one female come in and not really have an idea of what she wanted... and i suspected from the start that she was either 9 years old, or a male.
Swine Flew
Corbantis
Ahh, I'm a bit of a forum ninja really, I've been browsing the forums for a good month or so now, and finally decided to post. 
Alas, it looks like I'll be thriving after a casual jacket now, unless anyone can make me look cool? 
maybe for around 78 credits?
<_<
>_>
Um, just so we're clear, the pair of sentances above were sarcastic. Everyone's clear now? Good.. *forum-ninja vanish!*
The majority of male customers I've had have been the "make me look cool" type, which in my mind equates to black. *shrug* I did however get an order for 3 specifically colored flex-form shirts the other day from a guy, which was a nice change. LOL
This also got me out of my standard "jumpsuit" of ribbed shirt & pants (only upto Casual2) and into a flex-form and large pocketed pants "uniform". There's just something about that outfit that makes it pop. The lines on the pants & shirt line up great.
Okay, I have to admit.. this entire question really interested me, because it's one I'd been puzzling over since I began the profession.
I had assumed, starting out, that -- based on what you see in real life -- guys would come in knowing at least something about what they want, buy an approximation of it, and leave. I had assumed that women would come in, eye the displays, talk about colour, and buy something... that could well be very different than their original intent, if they'd had something specific in mind to begin with at all.
Because that's how the stereotype goes, right?
Not here on Scylla. Here, the women either come in with a highly specific order (as with some others who've responded here), buy it, and leave. Or they will enter into lengthy discussion of colours and matching outfits, and eventually buy one thing -- or just leave, to think about it.
It was the men, though, that surprised me. In general, the guys who buy from me come to me with "Make me look good". Okay. Fair enough. I explain to them that I'm taking into account their profession and how their character is coloured, when I'm making their clothes; usually, if I ask what colour they'd like, it's "You choose" or "black" (except for the scaley guy who wanted purple-and-green pants...). We go into the usual set of questions (that's the best way with them, it seems: yes/no questions like "open or closed", to avoid confusion over, say, the twelve different jacket styles available), and I make the outfit.
Pretty straightforward, except in almost every case, they take a look at it, decide they like it, and come back the very next day for the exact same outfit, in a different colour. At times, they will impulse-buy -- I have seen guys buy three sets of gloves, two pairs of boots and countless belts from the vendor, while I've been making the requested garment. They will examine the display and ask for 'those pants' and 'that shirt', after I've already begun, and purchase those in addition to the outfit already being made.
If these guys had the same amount of cash in real life, they'd buy checkout-line candy of every colour available until there was nothing left but the boxes.
It's hilarious, and I don't know what causes it, but it sure does make life interesting.. *grins*
OH GOD men are a major pain to deal with. I am one. Of course, when i sit down inside my crafter making a new outfit, it either takes an hour, or a minute. Depends on how simple or complex i would like to be. So here's what you do:
MAKE OUTFITS. Sit there one night and brainstorm "cool" outfits for guys, create a couple variations, and display them in your shop. Do the basic muscle shirt/lg. pocket pants/duster ones, do the others. OH, and how about posting your ideas/combos here? It'd help everyone out. Personally, i have my combo for success:
1 Dress Uniform Jacket; 1 Sidebuttoned Shirt; 1 Uniform Boots; 1 Mercenary Bandolier; 1 Reinforced Pants
The trick is to make colors match throughout the entire outfit.
I have had customers before that were guys that were totally oblivious to what they wanted. You cannot deal with that sort of thing because you might find yourself making all kinds of stuff that nobody would want, just to try to make one garment that they might like. Just tell them to look through what is on your vendor and tell you if there is something there they like but in a different color. If they find something, then try to isolate it down to, "Well would you like light, medium or dark brown?"
I have never had a lady customer that was a pain. They come into my store and some greet me and they look at the Ladies Wear Vendor and I hear...."Wow" "Cool" "Nice" ....and the sales start ringing up. Most guys come in and don't say a word. They just buy and most of it is either in black or white. The gals like color. Something cheery and something that makes them look fabulous.
Guys can be a pain. But not all of them. Maybe around 3% of them. They try to describe a garment that they want that doesn't even exist and then will argue with you about it and try to make you seem like you don't know what your doing. I had a customer today that was driving me crazy that way. Then thereare the ones that are extremely picky. Everything has to be exactly the way they have it invisioned. If it is off, then they don't want it. So here you are grinding away making clothes to find that special garment and watching your resources go down the drain because you are making stuff that nobody would want to buy. Then you are finally right on. You do trade to show them the garment and they like it. Then they try to cut you down on your price. This just about sent me through the roof! If it would have been in Real Life, that person would have been thrown out of my store.