Tailr 'Stole" a Button- Husband Won't Let It Go

[Anonymous]

Actually three buttons. My DH took three suit pants in to be hemmed. These are nice, Italian wool suits. I won't name the brand but they are mid- to high end ($1000 each).

When he got the pants back all the spare buttons had been removed. Contacted the Tailor and they denied it, but these pants had never even been worn. The buttons were there.

He won't le it go- he's threatening to take them to small claims.

Is this normal?

He keeps saying 'it's the principle.'

[Anonymous]

Your husband sounds like a loon.

[Anonymous]

He’ll get laughed out of small claims court

[Anonymous]

Wow your dh must not have a lot going on in his life. Are you sure the buttons are on and not in a little envelope in one of the jacket pockets? My dh has some very high end suits and the trouser buttons don’t come on them - the tailor puts them on when he hems them

[Anonymous]

Google the buttons(the designer) and see how much the buttons sell for… it will give you a sense if they were worth taking.

[Anonymous]

Par for the course...sorry. Probably someone who works for he cleaner took them off thinking they were supposed to, and then promptly lost them, and of course the owner denies all culpability. Don't waste more energy on this.

[Anonymous]

Small claims is excessive though I understand the ire here; the tailor absolutely stole those buttons. Likely does this all the time as if those extra buttons are his or her right. I'd be angry too but it sounds like this has really set your DH off. Can you redirect his anger away from the small claims court idea, though?

One thing that worked for a friend of mine long ago with a problematic business was informing them, very coolly, that she had already written letters to the Better Business Bureau and some other local business association with formal complaints about the business. This was back in the day of actual letters (early 1990s) and she stood there at the counter with the letters in her hands and said, "I can walk out of here and mail these right now, or you can make this right." The business instantly caved.

With SO many online reviews etc. these days, that might not work, and this business might not care. But in your DH's shoes, I'd probably go ahead and file a complaint with the BBB and any local merchants' associations of which the tailor is a member. Should be easy to do online. The tailor might not care but maybe it will help your husband get past this. If the tailor is on Yelp or other review sites, he can write reviews there (though he should be careful; there have been instances of people being sued by businesses for negative reviews online!).

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of the 18 million dry cleaning lawsuit that captivated DC in the 90’s. Not a good look.

[Anonymous]

Google Pearson vs Chung

[Anonymous]

Just let him write a one-star review on Yelp. He can vent there, and let everyone know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’ll get laughed out of small claims court

This tells me you have zero knowledge of small claims.

Stolen buttons is perhaps one of the most legitimate claims I've ever heard.

[Anonymous]

Your husband paid for a service and the tailor stole from him. The tailor most likely took them and added them to his stash he uses to make repairs. The button isn't worth much monetarily, but the fact that your husband who probably works long hours to earn money to pay for everything he has in life all the while sucking up various injustices/insults/humiliations to earn that money just got slapped in the face by paying to be stolen from. It may be a very small thing and you might think its an over reaction but what it really is is one more straw on the camel's back. The irony of the situation is that this person stole such an insignificant item in such an unnecessary situation that your husband experiences the event as emblematic of how everyone, even the tailor, doesn't respect him.

If you can truly understand this then you might figure out a way to help you husband move past it.

[Anonymous]

OMG I can't with you dreadful people. No one with real problems in their life would spare two seconds to think about this. If your husband is so rich that he has multiple pairs of thousand dollar pants, his life is pretty good. Let.It.Go.

[Anonymous]

This explains all the one-handed tailors I saw in Saudi Arabia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’ll get laughed out of small claims court

This tells me you have zero knowledge of small claims.

Stolen buttons is perhaps one of the most legitimate claims I've ever heard.

DP. I was actually in Small Claims court about 15 years ago. The case right before mine (I won!) was brought by a woman who took her DH's new designer pants to a tailor to replace the zipper. She claimed the tailor did such a poor job that it ruined the pants. The tailor offered to re-do the work and refund her money. She refused. She wanted the value of the pants when new. The tailor refused and the women took the tailor to Small Claims.

The judge did, in fact, find the work was poorly done. He asked the woman if she'd accept having the work re-done and money refunded. She said no. The judge asked her twice more....'are you sure....?'. The woman was sure. The judge then found in favor of the defendant! Those of us in the courtroom were all nodding our heads in agreement. She was totally unreasonable.

OP may not get laughed out of Small Claims Court but going there for 3 missing buttons is ridiculous and a waste of taxpayer resources.