I think I am at the complete other end of the opinion spectrum on this! I think if she wanted your business the helpful thing would have been to show more of an interest in what she could do for you, not start off with negative comments. For example, she could have said "Are you thinking of a quilt, a piece of clothing, a dog bed, etc". Maybe given you some ideas, offered some matching fabrics for your project, given you an idea of if/when it might be on sale, maybe even, oh I don't know, suggest you purchase a yard or 2 in case it sold out, etc. From a customer service standpoint, there were a dozen other ways to help keep your business instead of running you off. What if you had said "I want to purchase 5 bolts of this fabric and am just making a note so I can come back here and order 5 more?" I am sure her attitude would have been completely different but when she started negative, it naturally puts you or anyone else in that position on the defensive where no customer wants to be. Perhaps it's decades of training experience speaking but you should always give reasons why your product is superior, not why someone else's is inferior. When I am on the hunt for that one fabric to complete my project, I usually have a picture of the other fabrics I've already gathered and it's on my phone. I will use that picture in the store, from my phone, to find a matching fabric. I have never had anyone say anything to me about my phone no matter where I am. A couple of weeks ago I was in my LQS taking pictures of different fabrics and sending them to sweetie. He was picking one out for the mixer cover I was making his mom. Had the shop owner said something like you experienced, I probably would have left. If she's had someone do the 'showrooming' thing before that's too bad, but it is not a reason to treat other customers negatively or accusingly. It's that whole fly-honey-vinegar thing.