Linda's Alterations & Cleaners — Local services in Houston

I give Linda one star only because google does not allow zero star ratings.

I waited two months to write this review. I sat with what transpired between her and I, and now I am ready to report my experience.

My wife's father died in late November and in the first week of December we visited Linda's shop to have alterations made to her attire for the funeral. My wife is white-appearing and I am Black. We are both women. Upon entering the store Linda warmly greeted my wife as she was a long-time customer of hers. However, once her eyes met mine she looked utterly terrified, then disgusted. She asked me curtly, "Do you need something?" I said, "yeah, I'm with her", pointing to my wife. She then turned to my wife and they discussed alterations.

I could tell Linda was uncomfortable with my presence. I've been black my whole life and I know that kind of apprehension when I see it. However, I knew the funeral was fast approaching and for my wife's sake we needed these alterations quickly. I decided to sit in the waiting area until it was done. As I waited, a white woman walked in. Linda stopped everything she was doing and eagerly greeted this customer. No "do you need something?". It was all " YES! How can I help you ma'am?!"

After happily greeting that customer, she returned to my wife and began pinning. Once pinning was finished my wife called me over to review her alterations - she wanted my opinion on the fitting. As I awed over Linda's work and assured my wife that she would be in tip-top shape for her father's funeral, Linda snapped at me "Do you NEED something?". Confused, I responded "I am looking at her clothes". Linda then said, "You need to go sit down over there. Please GO SIT DOWN", pointing to the seating area. My wife asked ,"Why does she need to sit down over there? She is looking at my clothes..."

To de-escalate the situation I said, "You know what, I am going to the car. Come out when you are finished." I do not stay in establishments where my presence is not wanted. I happily left and waited in the car.

About five minutes later my wife came outside fuming. She said after I left that Linda said "Oh, she mad. She need sit down. She don't have to leave". Then she watched Linda return to the white customer and happily interact with her, rather than rudely snap at her. My wife told her to remove all the pins out of her sweater so that she could leave. Linda said to her "Why? You good customer. You come here all the time". My wife responded, "I dont like how you treated my wife - take these pins out now". LINDA HAD THE AUDACITY TO SAY, "Oh she you wife? I did not know." My wife responded, "Why did you need to know that she was my wife to treat her with respect?"

Linda just kept apologizing but the damage was done. My wife apologized to me, but it wasn't her fault. I was willing to sit that one out because the most important thing was getting her clothes ready for the funeral. My wife was already suffering enough and I wasn't going to let Linda's blatant prejudice add stress to the situation. My wife decided that she would never do business with that woman again based on the way she treated me.

Like I said, I waited two months to write this review. Linda's behavior was so painful and damaging to me during a time that was already stressful for us. I needed this time to really sit with this situation.

To Linda, thank you for showing your true colors. My wife came you for YEARS, never knowing how you really feel. Thank you for forcing us to find another tailor with 10x your customer service. I wish we would have known sooner. I wish we never spent a dime with you. Most of all, I am glad to have a wife who - even when grieving the loss of her father - will not tolerate me being treated that...

Very skilled seamstress. On initially coming into Lindas shop more than 10 years ago with a pair of mens pants that had not been completely sewn up on one leg she spoke in what seemed like a rude, loud, snapping manner insisting that she could hem the pants for 12 dollars. She repeated this behavior several times. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago and had surgery and ongoing radiation treatments that I had to drive myself to every evening after working all day. So with this frame of mind I felt that I could not deal with this kind of person and took a deep breath and turned around to leave. But as I walked away Linda snapped at me as to why I was mad and that I shouldn't be mad. As I reached for the door she asked me not to leave in a softer tone and said come back. So I took another deep breath and said a quick prayer and turned around. We talked about the pants and she didn't apologize but by her sincere manner I could tell she didn't mean to offend me. I continued to come back to her for all my alterations. She is very good at her work. I came to understand that her manner and the way she interacts with customers is a reflection of a culture that is...

Not only did this person inside offend my sister but our race, as well. She told my sister [after she asked about repairing her pants] that "I know your kind don't have money" and offered her a discount. Now, the problem was not with the discount but the simple fact that she offered the discount with an insult. My sister did not ask, nor did she need the discount. However, it is beyond upsetting that other races see our people (black people) as penniless or broke or always looking for a handout. My sisters and I are the biggest tippers when we go out and support local businesses. Not every person within 1 race is the same. So disappointed. I will never ever come to your place again. #thinktwiceaboutwhereyoushop #thereisenoughignorancetogoaround #supportacommunitythatsupportsyou #exposestupidity #getaclue #stopjudgingthecover...