I have heard before that Shanghai is known for their fine quality suits. On the bus ride back to the hotel that day Lina got on the loud speaker and said that there would be a tailor in the lobby for us if we wanted a new suit. It had occurred to me that I was in need of a dark blue suit, the only color I do not have in my collection… not that I have anywhere to wear these suits, I like having them around. So, my immediate thought was that one of these suits would be a good early graduation present to myself.
When we got back to the hotel from wandering around Shanghai the tailor had not yet arrived so Lina said we could all go upstairs and she would call us individually when he got there. So I went upstairs and took a quick shower and by the time I was done she had called. I padded myself dry and headed downstairs. When I went down a bunch of people were already around looking at the fabric swatches. I went through every booklet; we took the samples outside to see the colors in true light. I settled on a modern looking blue pattern and I was the first person to say “Let’s do this!”
I got some money from the ATM in the lobby and put down my deposit. I accidentally left my card in the machine, which I wouldn’t find out until the next morning. I was measured for the suit in the middle of the lobby. The tailor himself did the measurements and his pimple faced apprentice took down the numbers. They asked me some questions about my preferences, the tailor sketched the suit and I was good to go. I had myself a custom fitted suit on the way, to be ready the next night.
…
Twenty four hours later I was back in the lobby with the tailor, Lina, the suits, and everyone who ordered one. I excitedly took mine and went right into the bathroom to change. I got in the stall, took out the suit, it was dark so I couldn’t really see how it looked. I pulled out the pants and went to try them on, I could immediately tell they were too small. Sure enough as I pulled them on the length was right, but they were skin tight around my thighs, crotch, and waist. So I thought, “Okay…” Let’s at least try on the jacket. Just from pulling it off the hanger I could tell that the jacket was made for some the size a thirteen year old. I put on the coat, it was skin tight around the arms and shoulders and sure enough the jacket wouldn’t even close.
So, I walked out of the stall in my tiny suit and showed myself to the world… Marlon was the first person to see me and he laughed his ass off. When I came out all the ladies on the trip who purchased the suits were trying them on, they seemed to have similar issues with their suits. The tailor was standing right there, he didn’t speak a word of English by the way, and his eyes just about bulged out of his head. Lina then asked, “It doesn’t fit?”
“I think that’s pretty obvious.”
“Okay. He say he fix it and bring it back tomorrow night.” She said.
“Alright.”
So I took off the suit, gave it back to the tailor and went on my way. From my understanding the Professor took one look and said no way. He eventually got his money back. Marlon, who got the same suit made as I did, had an issue as well. So we had to wait until the next evening.
…
It was the last night we were going to be in Shanghai so the suit needed to be right. We had gotten back from dinner late, there were tentative plans to go out for the evening, but I needed to deal with the suit first and by the time it was over no one was going out. Sure enough the suit fit. Well the jacket did. It actually fits like a glove. The pants are still a little tight, but they’re manageable. Marlon’s suit seemed to be fixed as well. Pam’s suit was all f’ed up, this really was a sh*t tailor. As I went to pay the rest of what I owed the tailor tried asking for more money. The final price was ¥1200, roughly $184.00. The tailor tried asking for ¥1400. Really? After all that? F’ that guy. I ran up to the hotel room and grabbed the receipt to show him the accepted price. I was ready for a fight… in another language, but I was ready. My heart was racing and adrenaline going. Bring. It. On.
When I got down to lobby and showed him he said “Okay.” Well that was a letdown. With all this action going on it wasn’t until I got back up to the room with the suit and ¥1200 poorer that I realized that I took the time to consider the fact that the suit was absolute crap. The stitching is terrible, there are loose thread everywhere, and the cloth lining the suit is rough. At least I have a suit I don’t care about ruining. If I ever want to suit up for a night out on the town, I won’t care if someone spills their drink or throws up all over… I won’t care about the suit.
I take this as a learning lesson. I think this is a good metaphor of China. I had assumed that because Lina was working for ISP that this tailor would be part of the network and trustworthy. After the struggle put up about getting people getting their money back I firmly believe that Lina is somehow related to the tailor and was getting a kickback from the sales. If the tailor didn’t make any money, neither would she. Lina was in it for herself, she had an angle, everyone in China has an angle. It’s hard to constantly remember that everyone in China is playing an angle and it must be considered when doing anything. It truly is a country of “Buyer beware.”
