Customers Make My Day

People often ask me what it is like to own a store and to interact with so many different people.  My answer is always that 97% of the people that come into my store are wonderful.  That's a pretty good percentage if you ask me.  I've written before about how much I enjoy getting to know people and what an amazing privilege it is to get to be part of their lives.  I recently had two customers who left me with a lasting impression.

One afternoon in mid-September, a woman walked in and asked if I had any white dresses.  The remaining ones that I had from summer were in the back and I asked her if I could grab some to show her.  She said yes.  I brought out a selection and she chose one of my favorites - a Graham & Spencer jersey dress.  She tried it on and then came out for us to look at it in a 3 way mirror.  It was then I found out she was shopping for her wedding dress!  She had looked at the bridal stores and just felt out of place in the more formal gowns.  Her wedding was to be in her back yard, she was in her mid-30s and she wanted something that fit her style and personality.  She asked if I would allow her to bring something else in to try on with it and if I would be willing to hold it until Tuesday (this was a Friday).  Of course I told her Yes!  (She looked beautiful in the dress)

She had taken my business card and on Tuesday at around lunchtime she called to say that she had a 1 pm meeting but would be over at around 2:30 when it ended (she works close by).  Sure enough, she came in after two to try on the dress again.  She then told me that she had taken pictures of herself in it (on Friday) while in the dressing room and sent to her fiancee and her sister to see what they thought.  She felt it was a winner!  The funniest thing was that she said she normally never walked in the direction of my store from her office - she felt it was meant to be that day that she had walked that way.  While I've had the honor of dressing many a bride for showers, rehearsal dinners, brunches, and going away events, this was Zoe's first wedding dress.  It was a great feeling!

A few Saturdays ago, a mother and daughter walked into the store immediately when I opened on a Saturday morning.  Although we will often get the morning coffee drinkers at that time of day on a Saturday, we rarely get serious shoppers that early.  The daughter picked out three dresses to try on and headed for the dressing room.  I had told her that we had heels in the dressing room so that she could see what the dresses would look like in heels.  She came out in the first dress and looked absolutely stunning.  If you could have seen this dress on her, you would have said "Wow!"

The ponte fabric draped perfectly on her figure.  She remarked that she wasn't used to heels that high (yes, I've been known to favor a higher heel or two!) and preferred a kitten heel.  As she went back into the dressing room to try on the next dress, her mother told me that her daughter was more used to combat boots - that she had recently completed two tours of duty with Iraq in the Army!  What a fun opportunity to dress such a lovely and courageous young lady!  She looked equally stunning in the second dress but decided to stick with the one above as her choice (it was to wear to a wedding).  It was such a warm and happy start to my day.

Next up:  Baby-sitting Zoe