The short answer for a customer: usually not when you are ordering a garment from that shop, and often yes when you want measurements and nothing else. The longer answer, for a shop owner, is a policy decision. Public pricing pages show several approaches, and none of them is the standard. We found no reliable survey of this, so treat the examples below as individual shops, not a trend.
The common approaches
Free with the order
Measuring is treated as part of making the garment. One New Zealand menswear retailer says its made-to-measure appointment comes "without requiring a separate measurement fee". This is simple to explain. The cost sits in your stitching price, so make sure your price really covers it. A full measure, with notes and a talk about fit, takes up a good part of an hour.
The risk is the visitor who takes up an hour and orders nothing. Shops with steady walk-in trade can absorb that. A shop that books one appointment at a time may feel it.
A deposit taken off the order
The customer pays to book, and the sum comes off the final bill. This tends to filter out casual bookings without costing a serious customer anything.
A consultation fee credited to the order
This is a close cousin of the deposit, with a firmer line if nothing is ordered. One US suit maker charges a $100 consultation fee that is "applied to the cost of your garments", and it is non-refundable. It also offers a free short meeting first, which gives a nervous customer a way in. A US couture house also takes a non-refundable consultation deposit that goes towards the purchase.
That fits well when the appointment holds design advice as well as a tape measure, as with bridal or couture work, where the first meeting has real value on its own.
A flat fee for measuring alone
Some customers want their numbers for another maker, or for an online order. Here you are selling your time, with no garment at the end. As one person on an Australian bargain forum put it, "You should always expect someone to charge you for their time." Set the fee from your shop rate. Our guide to building a price list shows how to work one out.
Which suits your shop
| Your situation | A sensible start |
|---|---|
| Busy counter, simple garments | Free with the order |
| Appointments, one tailor, long sessions | Deposit taken off the order |
| Bridal or design-led work | Consultation fee credited to the order |
| Requests for numbers with no order | Flat fee, with a clear limit on what it covers |
You can mix these. A shop could use the first for orders and the last for people who want numbers to take elsewhere. Whatever you choose, apply it the same way to everyone, and give staff room to waive a fee for a good customer on your say-so.
Check the sums on a credited fee
Credited fees cause confusion at the counter if the staff are unsure how they work. Here is one way to do it.
Example only: a customer pays a fee of 30 and then orders a garment at 400. The balance is now 370. Your deposit rule is 50% of the order, which is 200. The 30 counts towards that, so the customer pays 170 today. That leaves 200 to pay at collection, and the total paid comes to 30 + 170 + 200 = 400.
If tax applies, ask your accountant when the fee counts as income and how to show it on the invoice. The answer can differ by country, and it may matter whether the fee is refundable.
What a measuring-only fee should say
If you sell measurements alone, write down what the customer is getting. It protects you when a garment made elsewhere does not fit.
- The numbers are body measurements, with no ease added, unless you state otherwise.
- You are not responsible for the fit of a garment made by anyone else.
- The set is dated. Bodies change, so an old set may not hold.
- Say whether the fee will come off if the customer later orders from you.
Tell people before they arrive
A fee rarely upsets anyone who expected it. Surprise is the trouble.
- Put the policy on your price list, your booking page and your counter sign.
- Say it when the appointment is booked. Staff should use the same words each time, for instance: "We take a deposit to hold your appointment, and it comes off your order."
- Explain what the appointment includes, such as time, fabric advice and a full set of measurements.
- State what happens on a no-show or a cancellation, and how much notice you need.
Treat the record as part of what they paid for
If measuring has value, the record should show it. Take every measure with the same care on a free visit as on a paid one. Note the date, who took it, and anything unusual about posture. Keep the set under the customer's name, so a return visit does not start from nothing. For the routine itself, see how to measure for tailoring.
Tailoq keeps customers, orders and fittings linked together, with a calendar that checks for clashes when you book. Measurements sit with the customer as dated sets, so the next visit starts from what you already took.
See how Tailoq links customers, orders and fittings in one place.
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