Just my 2 cents...
I believe that you create your own experiences...
I have frequented 5 area quilt shops in the Denver area, one of which has recently closed. At least 3 of them greet me by name. I also have 4 JoAnn's that I can visit and do not feel mistreated when I visit them. When my husband and I have traveled I have visited shops in Kansas, Ohio, Virginia and a couple of other states. I can say that I HAVE NEVER been treated poorly in any shop that I have gone to. I like to look around without people hovering over my every caress. I find a person to help me and wait patiently if they are busy. The employees are busy whether there are other people in the shop or not doing the side work that is required at any job and it is not fair to expect them to drop the rotary cutter (or whatever) to cater to my every need.
Also, with the economy, ( I have been employed only 6 weeks in the last 2 1/2 years but have applied for over 100 jobs, so I do understand the ECONOMY), are these owner's/shop employees worried that they will be out of a job tomorrow? Have their husbands or a family member just lost their job? Has something just happened in the shop or at home that needs to be fixed? We have no idea what causes a person's bad mood, and we all have them. As we all know, costs are going up to the owners and thereby us the consumer. With that have the sales gone down enough that the owner is trying to decide who loses their job today or tomorrow? There are too many reasons for them to have a bad day and we all need to be just a tiny bit (great deal) more patient with our fellow man woman and quilt shop owner....
Happy Quilting,
Susan