I had a phone call yesterday from someone interested in having two bridesmaid dresses made. She still had to choose the design she wanted, and was going to revisit the shop to make her final decision.
She called me to ask me to make them for her.
Now, there's an implication in this statement, and that is: she called to ask me to make them CHEAPER for her.
She was selecting a dress that had been mass manufactured in standard sizes.
She wanted me to make a bespoke, made to measure individually tailored dress for LESS than the mass manufactured dress cost.
What strikes you as wrong about this? Yup, I can see it, but apparently it was beyond the intelligence of this individual to work it out.
A made to measure, one off, bespoke garment sewn with attention and care by someone skilled and qualified will never, EVER, not in a month of Sundays, be cheaper than a dress made amongst hundreds of others in a factory, usually in the far east where wage levels are pitiful but at least the cost of living is also cheaper. There is a minimum wage in this country, and I fail to see why someone with my skills and experience should be expected to earn less than an unskilled worker. I refuse to even consider projects like this and waste as little time as possible on this type of call. I simply say "no".
I live here, in the UK. I have a mortgage to pay. Bills to pay. Food to buy. Fuel to afford. I pay the SAME as you do for all these things. Do me a favour - don't offend me by asking me to do this kind of thing, as you'll only ever get a "NO" for the answer.
I can't guarantee that I will always manage to be polite about it either.
