As an employee - I'd rather have the customers irate at me than my employers fire me!
Sometimes the employees have to do what they are told - even if it seems stupid to them and to us!
Most of us know - or will learn - that it is up to us to make good fabric choices.
I would say - over the years - that I've ended up with 'more' than i've paid for than what I've been 'shorted'
It seems kind of odd - when we purchase things that are sold by the yard -
if we end up 1/8 inch short - we have hissy fits - if we get 'extra' - we act like we are entitled to it.
For almost everything else - if we get 'exactly' what is listed - we accept it and go on with our lives.
I don't know what to say about fabrics purchased on-line. One can't see them to check them out.
We need to learn to look at the fabric BEFORE it is cut - and then decide whether it is 'worthy' of being purchased and brought home.
That said, some stores and cutters are easier to work with than others.