Originally Posted by
juliasb
Wow! First off you are right around the corner from me!! I too go to the White Lake Joann when I go. I live on the boarder to White Lake and Waterford. We must meet up sometime soon! I know what you mean about this store. we don't have a lot of options for sewing machine shopping in our area since the Universal Sewing Center closed a few years ago. I understand there is a sewing machine store in both Royal Oak and Ann Arbor that might be a better choice for shopping for a better machine.All that being said, the JAF near us does not have the friendliest persons in the sewing machine section. I have had much better experiences buying on line only after trying someone else's machine. Or having a demo of a machine in the shop. One thing I just recently did was check at the local repair/vacuum shop. The repair person gave me some good advise on what machines might be best for what I wanted and said he would keep an eye open for one that came in the shop that someone decided not to get repaired. I could make and offer and get it repaired for far less than a new one. That to is a thought.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't feel welcome there (well, I'm not really glad because they will lose sales!). I'm no spring chicken (I turn 50 in October) but I got the distinct sense they felt I was too tech-centric (which I'm not). They kept saying things like the way "quilting has to be done". I politely explained that I am experimenting with a lot of different things and while I am not disrespectful of the old ways, I enjoy exploring the new technology and ways to do things.
Plus, what I don't get is that they don't keep the same hours as the store. The store is open until 9, but they close at 7 on weekdays. On the weekends, they aren't in until noon and leave before closing. Why be in a store if you aren't going to be there at the same hours. Some people (such as me) work and can't go out until after 5. If you are already closed, I can't buy!
I did go to one shop in Ann Arbor. It was a nice shop, had lots of machines. But then was told that they only keep a few in stock. I asked about software, and she didn't know much (which is fine). She just didn't seem interested in selling me, more like chatting. Normally I wouldn't mind, but we'd driven 40 minutes and I really wanted to figure out a solution to get a new machine.