DO NOT GO HERE FOR ALTERATIONS! THEY MAKE YOU PAY IN CASH FOR UNFINISHED ALTERATIONS! (To the owners who are reading this, if you're embarrassed, I suggest you fully refund my friend by check)
(I'm writing this for my friend as she doesn't have the guts to do so)
A lehenga was brought to the boutique for alterations, and they said to give them two weeks and that it would be ready on August 17th or August 18th.
It's August 17th, and the boutique is closed. According to Sabana, they are not open on Mondays despite telling my friend the dress would be ready on the 17th.
On August 18th, my friend goes in to get what was supposed to be a completely altered lehenga. Instead, Mala (the tailor) is surprised and takes out the dress from the same exact spot she left it two weeks ago. She didn't do a single thing. Mala then berates my friend telling her that she should have called to remind her. However, a customer shouldn't have to do that, especially if she is working and has errands to run.
Sabana and Mala then tell my friend not to worry, and that the lehenga will be fully altered by 7pm. In the meantime, my friend spent a significant amount of money buying accessories due to some "family friend connection sympathy" thing she has with Sabana. While my friend was browsing for accessories, Mala disrupts her for a good 30-40 minutes asking how to fill out a cashier's check to pay for some parking ticket. My friend repeatedly tells her she doesn't know how to do so, and after a while she takes my friend's advice of going to the bank and asking them to help fill it out for her. However, she decides to go to the bank right after my friend gave her that advice instead of working on the lehenga. Mala assures my friend to not worry and that the lehenga will be finished by 7pm.
At around 3-4pm, my friend gets several calls telling her to come to the boutique for further measurements and that the dress needs to be picked up. Problem is, she had other stuff to do that she planned, and yet they're the ones rushing her.
She goes in, and Mala does further alterations. What made it worse was that she forgot to wear deodorant, and what I was told was that her stench was unbearable. Also, the alterations she made were terrible, and you can tell it was rushed.
Sabana (feeling bad, I suppose) told Mala to put two pieces of decorative strings to the lehenga. Still, it's not much. Especially considering how cheap those things are.
My friend is told to try on the dress again, and as she's taking it off, Mala packs up and is rushing to leave. She says she needs to pick up her 30 year old daughter (who doesn't know how to drive) from work. She says that she will finish altering the dress, and put buttons on it next week.
This happened at around 5pm. Remember, both Mala and Sabana said they will have the dress finished and ready by 7pm. Mala tells my friend to have her family members pin the blouse instead. Problem is, my friend had a 3am flight to catch the next day, and she is not going to wear that dress again as it was meant for a wedding. Even if she was going to wear it again, she can't go back to the boutique as she lives in NorCal because of school. What was even worse was that Mala demanded payment for a rushed alteration that had too many flaws and was unfinished. Even more worse was that Sabana demanded the payment in cash.
Tl;dr:
1. They told my friend that the lehenga will be finished in two weeks between August 17-18. They started on the 18th, just hours before she needed to board a flight to NY with that dress.
2. Mala was completely unprofessional, irresponsible and is a rude liar. According to Sabana, Mala is apparently her best tailor. Yet, the lehenga was terribly altered.
3. Sabana tried to make the experience less worse, but it didn't help.
4. They demanded a cash payment for an obviously rushed, flawed, and unfinished alteration. I hope when they see this, they'll at least have the decency to refund her the money. read more