"Add small" – that is exactly the statement that usually comes out of Uche's mouth, cutting the fabric 3-4 centimetres short of what I actually paid for and quickly folding it inside a black nylon, before I look back or plan to see what he has been measuring. I was planning for an occasion, and I already asked my tailors how many yards I would be needing for the particular style I had picked, which he already told me.
I called my fabric seller immediately: "Uche, please deliver 5 yards of navy blue wool material to my house." Not up to an hour after I made the call, I got the delivery.
I took the fabric to my tailor's shop immediately because I don't want a delay. I told my tailor to measure it, and it turned out that of the five yards I asked Uche to deliver, there were four and a half that were there. I got so furious, and my tailor also told me that he has noticed that partner in most of the materials I bring because they are hardly complete.
I got confused after that statement, and I said to myself, "So Uche has been fooling me all this while, and I didn't know until now."
I did not call him immediately, and I did not go to his shop because I had other important things to give my time to, but I was just so angry in a way that I have been giving him full payment, and he has been cheating me all this while, and I didn't know.
The following week, I needed to get some food items from the same market, and I decided to go straight to his shop before heading to where I was initially going.
"Customer!" he shouted at the top of his voice.
I entered and then sat down till the only customer he was attending to left. This time, I was paying attention to how he was measuring the material; the person he was attending to was also looking. He measured a full length this time, which I was kind of okay with. But I was sure he did that because we were paying attention.
"E dey complete; no worry," meaning "don't worry, it is all complete," he told the woman buying, unprompted, like an old habit he'd stopped doing.
"I like treating my customers right so they will keep coming back."
He faces me, asking if I have come to buy something because he didn't expect me, and I have been telling him to deliver to my place for quite some time now.
I bought nothing from him that day; I just sat there, pressing my phone and observing if he would do the short cutting to other buyers too. I watched him attend to more customers, and at some point, I knew he noticed by my staying and not buying anything was unusual. I allowed him to finish what he was doing. I called him and sat him down.
"I noticed, and my tailor made the confirmation that you have not been cutting the specific yards of materials I have been requesting from you," I said, seeing how his pupils dilated and the reaction on his face.
"Oga, it is not like that, truly. I have not been faithful in cutting the specific yards that you want, but not all," he said.
I didn't go there to fight him. I only went to point out what he has been doing, which he didn't argue but acknowledged with a sincere apology. Because I know he won't want to lose a real customer.
I left that day for where I was going. I still buy material from him, but this time, he gives me exactly the yard I want without any inch decrease.
Thank you for reading.
Images created by Gemini AI
