I’ve been a business owner for going on a year and a half now and I have to say a thing or two about those of you have come back to the shop after being there once before. Your return is an affirmation that we are doing something right. It’s motivating. It’s stimulating. It is building a business. I thank you. Here’s a story about a very pregnant woman who came in a couple weeks ago to get a nursing bra. She asked to try on a 36G because the one she had been wearing in that size had been “working” for her.
36G is one of those sizes you don’t hear about every day. Someone who says they are a “36G” has been to a real bra store before. Just like a cowboy at a rodeo; this wasn’t going to be her first bra. I was psyched to find a 36G soft cup in the back – and to boot it was the pretty brownish/greenish paisley one. She took the bra into the dressing room and within 20 seconds poked her head out and announced that she needed a little more cup.
I wasn’t sure what “a little” meant so I grabbed both a 36H and a 36I and brought them to the dressing room door and knocked. The door opened slowly and a hand appeared from behind it. I hadn’t intended on going in, but it was clear she was going to be pretty sure I wasn’t. I put the bras in her hand, withdrew mine, and the door pushed closed towards me.
A minute later, she came out with the proclamation, “This works!” She asked me if by chance we had it in the paisley – the one she had in her hand was white. I told her we didn’t, but that I could order it for her. Her husband – who hadn’t said much at all, but seemed pretty happy in his “man chair” – chimed in from the seating area, “…well, your due date is tomorrow. I think you’re getting the white.”
“White it is,” she said with a smile and a shrug. They were having a baby tomorrow… She found a nursing bra that was going to work… Her baby’s older toddler brother was content playing with Mermaid Barbie… I mean, life was pretty good for these guys.
As she checked out, she thanked me not only for the help that day but also for helping her find bras a few months prior back when she was growing. She told me the bras from the shop had “saved” her and that wearing the right bra during her pregnancy showed her that good bras are “so worth it.”
Up until that moment, I hadn’t remembered specifics about her and her family, but then all of the sudden I did. I remembered that feeling of really wanting to help her. I remembered she lived in a town close by. I remembered that the husband and son were very cool. I remembered wanting to be there for her and women like her who lived here, whose bodies had changed, who were having babies, or who just needed a bra. As the three of them headed towards the door with the pink bag in tow, I asked her if she knew what she was having. She looked back and smiled, “It’s a girl.”
A girl! That’s news to keep me motivated for another good 12-14 years. 🙂
Thank you for coming back. It means everything.
