Dear Makers,
Welcome to your handbook for The Seam!
Please read through this handbook carefully and get in touch if you have any questions.
What we do for you
The Seam’s ethos has always been to put our Makers at the forefront, and work to ensure that our business offers well paid, meaningful work and fair treatment for all.
We tailor your workload to fit your skill set and availability and we provide safe payments for all of your bookings. Just remember to always take payment upfront, before starting any work.
In order for us to keep The Seam secure, it’s important that you insist on customers contacting you only though the platform, and keep all communications within The Seam’s chat function. You must also ensure all payments are processed through the platform. We make it easy to update pricing and request additional customer payments when your quote changes. In cases where payments and communications are taken off of the platform, we’re unable to offer assistance and support in case things go wrong in a customer booking.
We’re always working on bringing you more, regular work, that’s why we’ve partnered with brands such as Net-A-Porter, The Outnet Hylo, Matches Fashion, COS, etc.
We also offer booking and platform support 9am-5pm, 5 days a week. For any issues, whether it’s customer, project or platform related. Always contact Lollo, The Seam’s Head of Makers.
Build a winning profile
Sign up with your full name, not your business name. Your bio should be around 100 characters. Keep it short and sweet, and write in the third person (i.e. “Megan Smith is an expert tailor” instead of “I’m Megan and I’m an expert tailor”). Try to include the following:
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Your area(s) of specialism (i.e. footwear repairs, knitwear darning, bridal alterations, etc)
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Number of years’ experience
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Any relevant education or training
If your address changes at any point, please change it on the platform AND message Lollo about it.
We are building more in depth profiles for Makers, curated by The Seam, to help build customer trust. We'll use the information shared by you when you sign up for The Seam to build your extended profile.
Our guide to pricing
It’s important to us that, as a Maker with The Seam, you always feel fairly compensated for your work and skillset. We’ve also found that pricing transparently, and offering relevant estimates to customers upfront is more likely to generate repeat bookings.
When you’re providing a quote to a customer, please use our pricing guidelines (see here). For basic alterations and repairs, such as trouser hemming or seam tears, prices should be in accordance with our price list. In cases where the service has added complexity (such as a blind hem or delicate material), please explain to the customer the reason for the price differentiation.
Per-hour pricing is only recommended for bespoke customisations and made-to-measure projects. When receiving a booking, please give the customer an approximate quote based on the pictures they provide, and take payment as soon as possible.
If you receive an item that needs more work than expected or there’s some sourcing of materials needed that will increase the cost, inform the customer and await their approval. If they agree to the new price you can add the extra cost on the booking by setting a new price. As long as the first price has been paid you just set the new price for the extra. If the original price has not been paid the new price will void the old one and you have to set a new full price.
Customer fittings
When accepting an alteration or made-to-measure project, a customer fitting usually has to be arranged. The customer may choose to have you visit their home (for which an additional charge applies, to compensate your travel time), or the customer may opt to visit your studio.
We only advise allowing customers to come to you if you work from a professional studio or have a home studio which is seperate from any living space within your home. We do not allow Makers to hold fittings from your bedroom, for safety and professionalism.
When visiting a customer’s home for a fitting, please wear your branded lanyard and/or your branded measuring tape. Make sure to always be on time for your fittings, if you are running late make the customer aware of this as soon as possible.
Deadline &
turnaround times
Our recommended turnaround time for simple and standard bookings (such as trouser hemming, dress alterations, moth hole repairs and footwear repairs) is 7 working days from when you receive the item.
If a project’s complexity means it will take longer than 7 workings days, it’s important to communicate this to the customer early on in the booking process. Customers are usually understanding of turnaround times when they are communicated in advance of the project.
Do not accept a booking on The Seam if you are fully booked and will therefore need to push the start date of project, requiring it to exceed 7 working days.
Quality Control
Always make sure to take before and after pictures for each item you work on. This practice makes it easier for us to keep a high quality standard and support you in the case of a customer complaint. All before and after pictures have to be sent through WhatsApp to Lollo for approval.
Packaging
We’re introducing branded packaging, which includes the following components:
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Hangtags
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Tissue paper
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Flyers
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Stickers
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Postbags
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Bubble wrap (for shoes & handbags only)
Please use these for every The seam-booking you complete (post bags not necessary for at-home visits). We ask all Makers to defer from adding their own business card to any finished booking. You can see how to use our packaging in a short video at the link below.
When you’re about to run out of any branded packaging, flyers or tags, please contact Lollo@theseam.uk and we’ll arrange to send you more.
VIP bookings
We regularly work with VIPs as part of our marketing efforts to promote The Seam. This typically involves The Seam ‘gifting’ a service to an influencer or journalist. As a Maker who works on a VIP service, you will still be paid for your work as with any other customer, the difference is that you will be paid by our team rather than the client.
If you get assigned a VIP booking there are a few important things to remember:
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Please wear your lanyard and/or The Seam- Measuring tape and The Seam-tote bag to VIP bookings.
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Always let us know if a VIP is going over budget with their gifted service, I.e adding extra items or more complicated alterations than previously agreed.
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Always make sure the VIP gets the right packaging. Double check with Lollo@theseam.uk if unsure.
Customer
communication
Maker Alex B
Great customer communication is essential for all Makers. Please make sure to:
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Proofread your messages before sending.
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Always be friendly and professional.
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Answer all customer queries within 24hrs.
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Defer from asking a customer to book you outside of the platform or give them your business card.
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Avoid to take bookings outside of the platform even if the customer insists. We can’t offer any insurance or support if a booking isn’t completed through the platform.
Postage & Couriers
Once you have set the price for your service, the customer will be presented with different shipping options during the payment process:
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Fitting / drop-off in person
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Posting to the Maker (we recommend Royal Mail)
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Courier service (we use TOSHI)
At checkout, we also ask the customer to choose how they would like their items to be returned to them:
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Collect in person (Free for customer)
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Royal Mail (£9.95 for customer)
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Courier (£20 for customer)
If the customer choose Royal Mail as their return:
You, as the Maker, will receive £9.95 to cover the cost of insured return posting to the customer. You must select Royal Mail Special Delivery. In most cases, the actual cost of postage will be around £8.45. This slight overage helps account for the few instances where the postage cost may reach £10.65. You are no longer allowed to use Tracked 24 or tracked 48.
To arrange Royal Mail special delivery, we recommend booking online through the Royal Mail website, as it offers better rates compared to the post office. The postal person can even come to your house or studio to pick up your parcels, free of charge. They will even bring the postage label so you don’t need to print it. There is no need to visit the post office.
If the customer chooses courier services:
TOSHI, our courier partner, will contact you to arrange delivery and collection of the customer's items. TOSHI will allow you to reschedule if you aren't available on the day of collection or delivery, however they charge us, The Seam, after 2 collection attempts, so we ask you to be as flexible as possible.
Customer choices at checkout
Insurance
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All Makers must have an insurance policy covering public liability.
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The Seam endeavours to support Makers by recommending insurance policies dependent on different Makers’ professional and/or business circumstances. We recommend that Makers sign up to Direct line Public Liability & products liability insurance policy, Link here.
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The Seam is not liable for any of the policy wording in the insurance plans recommended to Makers.
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Makers are encouraged to do independent research and choose an insurance policy which covers them from liability set out in these terms.
When things
go wrong...
We know everyone makes mistakes and we are very understanding of things not always going according to plan. We encourage all our Makers to get in touch with us as soon as possible if something goes wrong with a booking. We always strive to help resolve any Seam-related issues you might have as smoothly as possible. In our experience problems can be solved a lot easier and quicker if they are reported to us straight away. Please contact lollo@theseam.uk.
Managing
customer expectations
It is important for Makers to be able to manage customer expectations for their bookings, especially for repair and restoration projects. Please always show customers pictures of relevant previous work that showcases a realistic outcome for the customers booking. This is especially important when you cannot guarantee an invisible repair.
