Front & Center: Henryk Zowal sews customers’ loyalty into his business
His clients might disagree – particularly if they have a meeting in 30 minutes and the seat of their slacks just burst at the seam.
In such instances, Zowal calmly ushers them into the back room of his skywalk-level shop in the Chase building, 601 W. Main, has them discreetly pass the pants to him out front, and within minutes the clients are on their way, their blushing cheeks (and their formerly exposed ones) presentable.
Zowal – known simply as Henryk to the parade of passers-by who wave to him throughout the day – has been helping customers look their best for 25 years, whether that means reattaching a shirt button or drastically altering lingerie to accommodate a large male physique.
“We serve everyone,” Zowal says cheerfully, although in his case “we” means “I.”
During a recent interview, Zowal described growing up in communist Poland, how he ended up in Spokane and what he’s most proud of.
S-R: What led to you becoming a tailor?
Zowal: After eighth grade, I had to choose a trade school. At 15, I had no idea what I should do. My father wanted me to be a baker, but you had to get an apprenticeship, and we couldn’t find a baker who would take me on. Next he decided I should become a mechanic, because a relative had a repair shop. But the relative said, “I don’t want to have anything to do with a cousin.” So I ended up a tailor.
S-R: How long did you train?
Zowal: Three years. The first two I spent three days a week in school and three days in a shop. The third year was all in the shop.
S-R: Did you get a job after that?
Zowal: Yes, but then I went to West Germany, where I could earn more money.
S-R: What did you do there?
Zowal: All kinds of jobs – delivering fliers, washing dishes. I couldn’t be a tailor in Germany because I didn’t have papers.
S-R: How did you end up in Spokane?
Zowal: I wanted to move to Australia, as far away from communism as I could, so they couldn’t find me. But a local Catholic group agreed to sponsor me, so I came here when I was 25. I stayed with a Polish family for one week, then found an apartment.
S-R: Did any of your previous jobs help with the transition?
Zowal: Yes, all of them. They taught me patience, which I needed when I came to America and didn’t speak the language.
S-R: How did you learn it?
Zowal: I took classes for three months, but quit so I could get a job. I didn’t like being on welfare. I was a grown man, and I wanted to work.
S-R: Then how did you learned English?
Zowal: From television. It was the ’80s, so I watched “Rambo” probably four or five times. Gradually I started to get what they were saying.
S-R: And you found employment?
Zowal: Yes. I went to work for Pierone’s Men’s Shop, in the back, and stayed there seven years.
S-R: What made you decide to start your own business?
Zowal: A friend who moved to Seattle fixed me up on a blind date with a Polish woman living there. By the third date, we were engaged, so I had to think about working for myself instead of working for someone else. In 1990 – a year before Pierone’s went out of business – I bought one of the store’s old Singer sewing machines for $500 and opened my own shop at 2 N. Post St.
S-R: How did you grow your business?
Zowal: It was too late to get in the yellow pages, so my wife delivered fliers around downtown, I advertised in the Nickel Nik, and Hamer’s (men’s store) sent me customers. Little by little, business picked up. I was in that shop for 15 years, until I lost my lease and moved to the skywalk.
S-R: Did the recession affect your business?
Zowal: Of course. But you have to manage your money so you can survive.
S-R: Besides the economy, what affects your business? Movie fashions?
Zowal: Yes. Two months ago, a customer brought in a jacket and a picture of Sean Connery as James Bond, and said he wanted to look like that.
S-R: What did you tell him?
Zowal: Well, first of all, he was very short, so I told him I couldn’t make him look like James Bond. But I improved the fit of his jacket, which is my job.
S-R: What other unusual requests do you get?
Zowal: A very large man brought in some lady’s lingerie and asked me to alter it to fit him. And of course I did it. I don’t like it when someone says they won’t serve certain people. I’m like a doctor – I’m in business to serve everyone.
S-R: What do you like most about your job?
Zowal: When the work is done and customers are happy.
S-R: What do you like least?
Zowal: The long hours.
S-R: How long?
Zowal: Officially I’m open from 8:30 to 5:30 Monday through Friday and 9 to 5 on Saturday, but I never know. Tonight I’ll be here until 9 o’clock, Saturday until 9 o’clock and maybe Sunday until 9 o’clock because I have to sew labels on 600 stocking hats. Sometimes I work 100 hours a week. If we have work, we work.
S-R: What are you most proud of?
Zowal: Some of my customers are very wealthy, very successful, but they treat me like an equal. Sometimes I learn things from them, and sometimes they learn things from me.
S-R: Do you have what you might call a business philosophy?
Zowal: You have to work hard like the Japanese, and have good business sense like the Jewish people.
S-R: What distinguishes you from your competitors?
Zowal: I’m fast and I do good work. If someone needs something right away, I stay late.
S-R: Any favorite customer reactions?
Zowal: One time a customer and I were talking about skiing, and I said I didn’t go anymore because it was too expensive –$100 a day! His bill was $5, and he paid with a check. I didn’t look at the check until later, because I was so busy. When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it. He had added a $100 tip so I could go skiing. That was very kind.
S-R: Are there misconceptions about what you do?
Zowal: People see all the sewing machines here and assume I can fix anything – luggage, handbags, shoes. Those take special equipment. I only sew on clothes.
S-R: What’s the career outlook for tailors?
Zowal: Not good. Clothes in this country are so cheap – buy one, get two free. People pay practically nothing, then bring it to me and want me to fix it for practically nothing.
S-R: How long can you do this?
Zowal: I used to think I could work until I am 80. Now I’m not so sure. I have arthritis in my hands, and my eyes aren’t so good. I’m getting old. But I just signed a five-year lease, so I plan to do it at least that long.
S-R: You dress casually for work. Do you also have fancy clothes worthy of a tailor?
Zowal: Yes, but people in this country don’t dress up. They wear jeans to church. I went to a wedding in a striped summer coat, a nice shirt and dark glasses, and a friend said I looked like the Bulgarian Mafia. (laugh)
This interview has been condensed. If you have suggestions for business or community leaders to profile, contact Michael Guilfoil via email at mguilfoil@comcast.net.