Rapids Alterations & Repair

When a customer brings in pants to be hemmed, our policy is to have them to be fitted by our trained employeesWhen a customer brings in pants which are not their own, we take the customer's word for what inseam they would like them to be altered toIt is not to any benefit to our company to incorrectly transcribe the customer's wishesThe pants were hemmed to the requested inch inseamIf the customer would like them to be re-hemmed to the new request of inch inseam, she can bring them back and we can shorten them one more inchWe would strongly recommend the actual person who will be wearing the pants to come in and to be properly fitted Concerning the formal dress, the original hem could not be duplicated because the original horsehair was covered with a custom cut binding which conformed to the original hem width and curveHorsehair was only located on the front of the dressOnce the hem was raised and the curve was altered, the original binding piece could not be reused as it no longer fit the dressWe were able to recreate the look of the original hem on the exterior of the dress, without said binding using a technique used on bridal horsehair hems with the existing materials Our staff informed the customer at her final fitting, there were multiple solutions to her concerns of the horsehair being visibleWe offered to cover the horsehair with another piece of fabric which had been cut from dressThis would need to be custom made and would leave an additional stitch line on the exterior of the dressAnother option was to remove all the horse hair from the dress and do a rolled hemAnd as a last resort, she could attempt to color the few inches of horsehair exposed on the inside of the hem, so that it would not be as visible inside the dress on the sides of the hemAll of these options were strongly declined by the customer The hem was executed in a manner where the dress was altered to the requested length and style by the customerWe are not in control of what materials the items we alter are created with and unfortunately not all alterations are able to be an exact match to the original, however we are able to recreate the look of the original item As for her claiming our company refused to rectify her concerns after she had signed, paid for, accepted and left with the dress, comes down to her not allowing our manager to speak with herThe customer called and left a message during the weekend (when we are not open), which our front counter staff promptly returned on the following MondayOur staff member quickly explained she would gladly have her speak with the manager who could address her issues directlyOur employee unsuccessfully attempted multiple times to hand the phone to the manger, however, as the customer would not allow the staff member to speak during her spiel, and then customer rudely hung up on her Had she taken the time to allow us to address her concerns, she would have learned we would have gladly re-hemmed the pants in questions and to reevaluate her options for her formal hemHowever, without allowing us to even speak to her about the matter, leaves us with no options to rectify anything for herAs a service company, it is our sole purpose to provide professional and respectful service to all of our customersWe do expect our customers to respond in a respectful manner and we want to address all of our customer concernsThe customer in this manner, simply refused all options we provided for her on the day of her final fitting and disrespectfully didn't give us the chance to talk to her during the phone callWe stand by our work, policies and the alternative options previously provided to her

Rapids Alterations has been the premiere alteration shop in Central Minnesota for over years with the seamstresses having having over years combined sewing and alteration experience The shop is well-loved, trusted and known for quality work.This customer’s initial fitting with the owner went well, however during her additional fittings the customer was rude, abrasive and belligerent with the staff Her actions have caused us to start a new policy when dealing with abusive customersThere is absolutely no reason the employees need to be subjected to such hostile treatment by customersHer blazer is not “ruined” and we have asked her to come in for a fitting with the owner to alter the jacket to her additional specificationsCustomer has not responded to phone calls made by the owner Alterations sometime have a domino effect, when one part is altered it can affect another part That is why we have fittingsCustomer has declined the offer to re-dry clean her coatThe customer stating that she was physically threatened is absolutely not trueWe as a shop, pride ourselves on professional quality work and excellent customer serviceWe do, however, expect our customers to treat us with the same respect and at no point in our interactions, after initial drop off with said customer, do we feel she acted appropriately when all of our staff tried everything in their means to address her concerns

I am rejecting this response because:
The owner Cindy contacted me and today I called her backI confronted her on my complaints about the items and she did not specify what could have gone wrong, just that they would fix itI told her I was not comfortable coming in after the last situation and would at least like the old jacket back, and she said she would "Be a bad boss if she didn't believe her staff, no matter what happened and they would persue me for the cost of repairs if I did not come in to get the item fixed." I feel I am being forced into an agreement to go in Tuesday to meet specifically with her and since I must do so I will be bringing my mom as a witnessCindy has stated she tried my jacket on and the sleeves are not too short and that I had been wearing a sweater that dayShe was not there and I have image of myself in the blazer, no sweater with the sleeves being too short. I feel every possible excuse has been made by the company to get out of taking responsibilityShe has denied additional alterations, although I was told differently by the seamstress the last time I was inThe only time they mentioned bringing my jacket back to the cleaners, I was told I would have to pay again which is why I declinedThe lady on the 13th told me if I had a problem with the cost, I could speak with them myself.I feel as though I am being forced into a very uncomfortable situation by the owner and the company...adding in the whole part about being a reputable company is a very tacky way to try and justify the situation and that the "customer" (myself) must be to blameI am not happy with the response at all and I will be addressing the issue further

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/15) */
We were completely taken aback by Ms***'s complaints, for she didn't voice any concerns until after her event was overShe failed to address her concern about the prices at the time of payment, stating she was thrilled with the
alterations and how quickly they were completedShe signed the work form acknowledging and agreeing to pay the rush charges, before work was even started and also signed and dated under the "Customer acceptance of garment" at the time of pickup and paymentMs*** later emailed us with her concerns, and we did offer refunds on the items that, in her opinion, were completed poorlyHer other complaints were for alterations prices, the rush charges and not steaming her items
We shop our alteration prices on a regular basis, and they are well within range for the St Cloud areaMany times, people do not understand just what it takes in the form of talent and time to do alterationsWe have set prices for every dress that comes through our doors according to the construction of the dress and alterations neededThere are no hidden fees, and we took time with her to explain how the alterations were to be doneWe offer free consultations to all of our customers and at no point is a customer required or forced to have your alterations completed at our shop
Ms*** had two bridesmaid dresses (with additional construction detail, causing the alterations to need more attention than the average dress), as well as full tux alterations, all completed within a weekThe style of the bridesmaid dresses had details making alterations more time consumingAll of her prices were quoted, as well as posted in numerous locationsAs she stated she was quoted $and $for the hem, which is correctShe was quoted $for the three layer hem (two lining layers and one top chiffon layer) PLUS $per wing, which she acknowledged there were six ofMeaning one hem was going to cost $The seamstress made sure she was aware of the extra work, by explaining exactly how the hem was going to be completedThe technique we used to hem her dress was professionally the correct way to handle that style of hem
Unfortunately for Ms***, we are not responsible for prices nor the processes of other seamstressesWe have over 150+ years of experience in our shop and we can easily guarantee that shortening her dresses at the waist would not have been the easiest, nor the cheapest way to handle that style of bridesmaid dressThe waist and hip area of the dress would have been significantly altered due to the size of the skirt being different, had it been moved up the 4-inches necessary
Rush charges are applied to those who fail to seek alterations in a timely manner, in order to offset the cost to the shop for over-time hours needed by the seamstress to complete the projectMs ***'s first fitting was Thursday, Sept 17th at 5:00, she had three fittings and walked out of the store with her items business days later on Thursday Septat 4:When she initially called to make her appointment, we had earlier times available, however they did not fit her daughter's scheduleAll of her appointments were arranged during the initial phone call and we clearly stated there would be a rush charge if she waitedWe also reiterated this at the fitting, and by her signing the work form stating the rush charge, she accepted full responsibility and was very aware of the rush chargeWe apologized to her that somehow, after all this she didn't understand the rush charge and are not sure how we could have made it more clearRush charge policy is also posted in numerous locations throughout our shop and clearly on our webpage
We do press all of the places in which alterations are preformed, such as her straps and hemWe are a service shop and do not press the entire dress unless requested by the customerPressing requires additional time and cost to the shop, hence the additional cost to the customer
We are concerned with her complaint, but her refund request is, in her words, a slap in the faceHer total bill was for $of which $was taxes and $for the tuxedo alterationsWe offered to make amends for the items she felt were not completed to her liking, but that wasn't good enoughSimply put, we explained our prices numerous times in various ways, as well as the rush charge which she signed and agreed to pay for before any work was even startedShe also signed her acceptance of the garments at the end of her three fittings, without expressing any concern for the services provided or their costWe stand our ground on the charges she received, as we feel they were fair, known to the customer and warranted
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Rapids Alterations is stating that they informed me via phone that there would be a rush charge if we waited until the following week to start the alterations, that is falseI even asked if there was enough time to complete the dresses and the tux when I contacted the company in the first placeThe young lady I talked to said that it was no problem to complete the items, but never mentioned the rush charge if I waited for later appointments; if she's stating she did, she's trying to save her butt and her job
I think they saw a mom with three children, they wanted to get me out of their establishment as quickly as possible, and even though I requested the cheapest and quickest route to complete the dresses they saw it as a way to earn a large amount of money within their "so-called guidelines."
I did initial their form after being in the facility for over an hour of fittings for my children and myself along with their year old sisterAt this point, I didn't have any other options to take the dresses and tux to be altered anywhere else and I didn't think the bill was going to amount to over $so I wasn't too concerned at that point
When I picked up the items, it was two days prior to my brother's wedding, what was I suppose to do not pick up the dresses and tux and we all go in t-shirts and jeans? At that point it was either pay for the items or not have the dresses and tux needed for his weddingI did look over the line item bill, but did not feel I had much I could do; they looked at me like $600+ was no big deal, but in my world, it isI'm not a person to throw a big stink or make a scene and I wanted to process the situation before talking to the company, to see what I could have done differentlyI had the option to stop payment on the card, but I felt that would not be an appropriate way to handle this situation and felt that after the wedding was over I could possibly work something out with the company, however, that has not happened so far
I agree, they did attempt to make things right by offering an $refund, which I do not feel is good enough out of a $bill
Rapids Alterations claims that altering the dresses at the waist would have changed the look dramatically, however, my sister, one of the other bridesmaids is only 5' tall compared to my 5'3" and her dress did not look any different than mineI also requested that our dresses be taken out a bit, but the seamstress stated there was not enough fabric due to how the company makes their dressesHowever, shortening them at the waist, which would have been cheaper would have solved both issuesAfterwards, Rapids Alterations claims they couldn't do that as it would have costed more to move the zipper, even though it wouldn't have had to be moved based on a conversation with my sister and the other bridesmaid that had their dresses altered this way, for a cheaper price, through companies in the Twin Cities area, which Rapids Alterations, claims charges more for their alterations
Due to how the dresses were shortened on the top, my daughter and I were not able to wear our dresses all night due to them rubbing our armpits rawMy dress had strings trailing me that day and night while wearing it due to the hemming that was completed, and my bra cup that was put in was almost completely torn out by the end of the nightIt was Rapids Alterations claim that I used excessive force that evening and that is why my bra cup was no longer fully intactI'm guessing it probably has more to do with my breasts being a 38DD which I shared with the seamstress when she asked my cup size for the bra cups; with this information, I would think a company that has been in business for years, as they claim, would know to put more than a couple hand stitches in the cups to ensure they stay in placeAlso my son's tux sleeve was not even, thankfully it was not noticeable for pictures
Up to this point, it is my feeling that Rapids Alterations is still trying to pass this off as the client's problem rather than them sticking to their website line of "Professional Quality at a Reasonable Price and taking responsibility for their misinformation and undetailed verbal quote
I went back to check their website this afternoonOn their website, hems are listed at $25; this is the first time I checked this part of the website as I looked at the "Prices" tab the first time I checked out their companyTo me, as a customer, it makes sense that is where a person would check for information about prices when scanning a website
Rapids Alterations did not even respond to my complaint until I mentioned that I would be talking with the Revdex.com if I did not receive a response, once again they blamed me for putting in the wrong e-mail address; even though I clicked on a link from their website to discuss my complaint
I'm taking responsibility for my part of the situation, I'm asking Rapids Alterations to do the sameI truly feel I was taken advantage of from their companyI'm requesting that 1/of the money be returned to me as I feel they didn't need to complete the work they did to make our dresses and tux look nice for my brother's wedding=$
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/26) */
We completed our part of the contract with Ms***, which was to provide complete alterations for two bridesmaid dresses and one tux in her short time frameShe was given quotes for the work (which were also posted throughout our shop), told about the additional rush charges multiple times, and she signed-off on the rush charge (see attachment) before any alterations were startedWe offer free consultations for alterations and at no point was she required to have her alterations completed at our shopShe received excellent service, especially since she was under a time crunch, which we, as a shop, had no control overWe have no further responsibility to her other than what we previously offered
Ms *** was charged according to our standard prices and policies which were explained to her at the fittingsYes, we said there was no problem getting the alterations completed in such a short time frame - because that's what we do - we get dresses done on timeWhen our seamstresses need to complete alterations in less time than our requested time frame, they must work overtime, which raises the overhead cost to our shopWe then charge a rush charge to all services providedThere are NO exceptions to this policy, we are very clear to every customer that walks into our shopThe customer is aware, and by signing their initials, they are accepting said responsibility
Each of her complaints has had more and more added to itShe is now accusing us of rushing her out because she had children with herThis is a family business and we have a two-year old who comes to work every day, all day long, and she has since she was weeks oldChildren are part of the everyday scenery here, they are always welcomeWe are a full staff of four generations of women and would never take advantage of any of our customers, man or womanWe find it extremely offensive, she would accuse us of doing soWe pride ourselves on having a welcoming environment to all of our customers, no matter what age
The web-page does state Hems at $25.00; it also states "The list below provides approximate starting prices for a number of wedding gown and bridal party gown alterations." This accusation could have been avoided if she simply completely read our web-page, or read the prices and policies which are located in every single fitting room or simply listened to the seamstresses when they were explaining our pricesOur customers come to us because they are unable to make the alterations they need themselves, so we also don't expect a majority of our customers to understand the science behind how alterations will effect a garmentWe refuse to waste customers money and our time on alterations which will not be completed professionallyShortening her dresses at the waist would not have been a professional manner of hemming the dresses nor would it have been more cost efficientAs we explained in previous responses it would have been significantly more expensiveHer insistent complaint about how others had their dresses altered is completely irrelevant to our shop and the cost of her alterations, had the other women came to us, the alterations would have been performed in the exact same manner along with the same charges
We requested Ms*** to bring her dresses to our shop so we could verify her complaints, however she has outwardly refusedWe can not entertain her complaints of our work without being able to it see them first handWhen she left our shop she had two perfectly fitted and structurally sound gowns and one tux, to which she had multiple fittings beforehand to express her concerns on how the garments looked and feltWe have no idea how the dresses were treated once they left our shopDamages that may have occurred during the use of the dress, have no bearing on the original alterations that were performedAs for the armpits of the dresses irritating them after several hours of wear, we also leave to the customer's lack of communicationHer daugther's armpits were lowered through alterations and were checked at the second fitting to which the seamstress was told they looked great and felt perfectly fineMs *** was asked if she would like the same done to her dress and she refused to have the alteration performed, stating they felt fine and were not bothering herWe do not perform alterations on any garment unless the customer requests or okays the recommendations, hence the reason her arm openings were not altered
In conclusion, Ms*** agreed on the cost of her alterations by signing the tickets, accepting the rush charges, and then again the day of piby signing for, accepting and paying for the itemsPlease see the attachments showing she signed off on the rush charge and the final completed dressesBeing a business owner I will do, and have done, almost anything to make a customer happy, however, it has become evident to us, with her escalating claims, that there is no making her happy other than paying her outrageous requestWe now would appreciate for Ms*** to take responsibility in her failure to now accept the charges which were thoroughly explained to herHer claims are borderline slander and we would like to agree to disagreeOur contract to each other has been completed on both ends by us completing the alterations and from her with her signatures and paymentsWe see no need to continue with this issue, other than the offer of refund we have previously stated

I am rejecting this response because:
First, I work in men's tailored for Macy's therefore I knew the inseam that was needed and simply brought in the pants and specified the needed inseam. This information was  not written down by the staff person when she took the pants, nor was I at any time, for any of the alterations given a slip that reflected our agreement. Typically I would expect to see a written ticket for my records and the companies records to ensure that they were clear on what I asked for.  I received nothing before or after all transactions. Not only did they fail to specify what they intended to do, upon completion of the transaction they never even provided an itemized summary.  No one at any time said that they would not be able to reassemble my dress in the same way it was originally assembled. If there were going to be deviations to our agreement I should have been contacted an consulted. Had I known, I would have left the dress at the length it was.Furthermore, no one offered to rectify anything. Nor did any one at any time offer the phone to another party, they IN FACT HUNG UP ON ME. Had they offered to correct the inseam length I would have accepted it except they didn't.  The person on the phone said, ' just said these things happen".  When Rapids Alterations refused to take any corrective action I had no choice but to cancel a shift at work and adjust the hem myself because they needed to be delivered to Cn Rapids by Tuesday Oct 4th. Furthermore, no one at anytime offered to cover the white horsehair nor did they offer to fix it. She said I could color it with a magic marker or she could take the horsehair back out for a fee. Those were the only options I was given. Here I kept trying to figure out why the dress hung so different, you substituted the materials. Now it all makes sense.  I was told the original horsehair would be put back IN...not some stiff crap tacked on top of the hem. Even if you were going to tack stiff crap on top of them anyone reputable business would have at least chosen a color that was the least conspicuous on a high low dress. It seems you purposely don't give anything in writing up front so you can later claim whatever you want. Also when we picked up my daughters dress I had to ask for an itemized copy of what was billed and even then they tried to avoid giving me one! I had to ask twice. My daughters wedding is Saturday the 8th, I check on replacing my dress but they are sold out. I loved the dress I dropped off at Rapids Alterations and now it riddled with issues! It bows out in front because the horsehair is stiffer than the original, so I look like a bell and now the horse hair is visible.  So far you haven't correctly executed a single thing, I want a refund.  A legally binding agreement is one where both parties agree to the same terms. I ever agreed to pay for a 29 inch inseam. I never asked you to substitute the horsehair in my hem, with something else nor did I ask you to put it back together making something that should be invisible, visible.

Rapids Alterations and Repair is a locally owned, family business that has been serving Central Minnesota for almost 40 years. During that time, we have earned the reputation of professional, expert, accurate, and detailed alterations. We have a kind and courteous staff that delivers excellent customer service.   Rapids Alterations would not be in business, nor have lasted for almost 40 years if we conducted business as the customer claims. There are store policies and procedures we follow with all of our customers. We work on hundreds and hundreds of dresses each year and are very skilled in the various techniques of formal alterations.   I have little doubt the customer remembers the events as she states they happened, but they are simply incorrect and the business is not run as she claims.

When a customer brings in pants to be hemmed, our policy is to have them to be fitted by our trained employees. When a customer brings in pants which are not their own, we take the customer's word for what inseam they would like them to be altered to. It is not to any benefit to our company to...

incorrectly transcribe the customer's wishes. The pants were hemmed to the requested 29 inch inseam. If the customer would like them to be re-hemmed to the new request of 28 inch inseam, she can bring them back and we can shorten them one more inch. We would strongly recommend the actual person who will be wearing the pants to come in and to be properly fitted.   Concerning the formal dress, the original hem could not be duplicated because the original horsehair was covered with a custom cut binding which conformed to the original hem width and curve. Horsehair was only located on the front of the dress. Once the hem was raised and the curve was altered, the original binding piece could not be reused as it no longer fit the dress. We were able to recreate the look of the original hem on the exterior of the dress, without said binding using a technique used on bridal horsehair hems with the existing materials.   Our staff informed the customer at her final fitting, there were multiple solutions to her concerns of the horsehair being visible. We offered to cover the horsehair with another piece of fabric which had been cut from dress. This would need to be custom made and would leave an additional stitch line on the exterior of the dress. Another option was to remove all the horse hair from the dress and do a rolled hem. And as a last resort, she could attempt to color the few inches of horsehair exposed on the inside of the hem, so that it would not be as visible inside the dress on the sides of the hem. All of these options were strongly declined by the customer.   The hem was executed in a manner where the dress was altered to the requested length and style by the customer. We are not in control of what materials the items we alter are created with and unfortunately not all alterations are able to be an exact match to the original, however we are able to recreate the look of the original item.   As for her claiming our company refused to rectify her concerns after she had signed, paid for, accepted and left with the dress, comes down to her not allowing our manager to speak with her. The customer called and left a message during the weekend (when we are not open), which our front counter staff promptly returned on the following Monday. Our staff member quickly explained she would gladly have her speak with the manager who could address her issues directly. Our employee unsuccessfully attempted multiple times to hand the phone to the manger, however, as the customer would not allow the staff member to speak during her spiel, and then customer rudely hung up on her.   Had she taken the time to allow us to address her concerns, she would have learned we would have gladly re-hemmed the pants in questions and to reevaluate her options for her formal hem. However, without allowing us to even speak to her about the matter, leaves us with no options to rectify anything for her. As a service company, it is our sole purpose to provide professional and respectful service to all of our customers. We do expect our customers to respond in a respectful manner and we want to address all of our customer concerns. The customer in this manner, simply refused all options we provided for her on the day of her final fitting and disrespectfully didn't give us the chance to talk to her during the phone call. We stand by our work, policies and the alternative options previously provided to her.

Rapids Alterations has been the premiere alteration shop in Central Minnesota for over 40 years with the seamstresses having having over 150 years combined sewing and alteration experience.  The shop is well-loved, trusted and known for quality work.This customer’s initial fitting with the...

owner went well, however during her additional fittings the customer was rude, abrasive and belligerent  with the staff.  Her actions have caused us to start a new policy when dealing with abusive customers. There is absolutely no reason the employees need to be subjected to such hostile treatment by customers. Her blazer is not “ruined” and we have asked her to come in for a fitting with the owner to alter the jacket to her additional specifications. Customer has not responded to phone calls made by the owner.   Alterations sometime have a domino effect, when one part is altered it can affect another part.  That is why we have fittings. Customer has declined the offer to re-dry clean her coat. The customer stating that she was physically threatened is absolutely not true. We as a shop, pride ourselves on professional quality work and excellent customer service. We do, however, expect our customers to treat us with the same respect and at no point in our interactions, after initial drop off with said customer, do we feel she acted appropriately when all of our staff tried everything in their means to address her concerns