A stubborn customer

As a fashion designer, I have a straightforward policy: pay an advance before I start, then complete payment once the work is done. But this one customer decided to test my patience. She wanted to make Ankara dresses for herself and her two daughters, but instead of paying the agreed advance, she paid less. Since it was her first time, I decided to let it slide, hoping to build trust.

After putting in the work and finishing the dresses, she completed only the advance payment and asked to take them home, promising she’d settle the rest within a week. I let her take them, trusting she’d keep her word. But two weeks passed, and I didn’t hear anything. I messaged her politely about the balance, and she just ignored me. Eventually, I called, and she simply said, “I’ll pay soon.”

Months went by, two to be exact, and I hadn’t received a thing. Then, on Sunday, I saw her with her husband at an event. We didn’t exchange greetings, I just kept my distance and didn’t bring it up.

Surprisingly, when I got home that evening, I received a payment alert from her husband. Maybe she got worried when I didn’t acknowledge her at the event, or perhaps her husband took things into his own hands. Either way, thank God the payment finally came through.