I have never taken a class I had to pay for. There are so many free video classes on line why pay for a class?
So have never had a problem with shop snobs.
Just buy fabric and notions so they have no idea what machine I have.

I don't think she was complaining about paying for the class it was the comments made that was upsetting. It was like they were treating her like they were upper class and she was lower class because of her machine. That is wrong no matter what.

Try walking into a Janome dealership for a FMQ class with a homely little tan 1956 Singer 301. I got a remark from the instructor and looks from the other class members, but guess which machine outshone the pretty ones?? Any problems were operator error, not AnnieRose's. If your machine is the right one for you, then it's the right one!

My husband has a saying about sales people - they are coin-operated and run on a 30-day cycle.

That is sad!!!! I just bought a Brother's SQ9050 at Walmart $20 off and it does everything my OLD expensive Kenmore did with cam's, monogram, embrodiery, you name it, it does it! But cleaning Kenmore is $59 and cleaning the Brother's equal what it cost..so with that said...I may upgrade and NOT EVERY professionaly clean this Brother's! I looked at their machine on close out and NONE offered what I got with this one from Walmart..I'm happy with my cheap light machine that makes buttonholes in a flash, drop in bobbins which I hated bobbin on last 2 machines! Check out YOU TUBE they have demo for anything!

I bought 2 berninas about 4 years ago. I love them. Truth be told, one is an embroidery/quilting machine and I haven't touched it yet. (Shame on me) Anyways, I have noticed that even though I own these tow machines they are always trying to get me to buy a newer model. Geee.....is it like buying a car that you are suppose to trade in every 2-3 years and upgrade to a newer model. I don't pay attention to them because my machine works just fine and does what ever I want. But it does make me wonder if there are people out there who can just keep upgrading their machines........these babies are not cheap.

my BFF got me into quilting-I didn't know if I would like it-silly me!-so I bought an inexpensive ($500 marked down to $150) Singer from Costco. When I went to the LQS for instruction on quilting-not the machine-I was put down for my "noisy mechanical machine" and that the instructor was not used to the "noise" my machine made. Yes, it was noisier that the computer models there, but not that much more. I tried for 2 classes at $40 a piece and then said "screw it!!" I was made to feel like an outsider and a poor relation because I did not have the 'fancy' machines.

I have since bought a Babylock Symphony (from a dealer and hour and a half away from me) and love it. I, however, do not go back for quilting instruction. I come here to the board for ideas and help. I find that the questions asked are answered without the 'attitude' I found at the LQS.

I have since also found that the fabric is the same if I buy it at $11-$15 at the LQS or $7-$9 at MSQ or fabric.com! Needless to say I buy from the internet. No hassle and no attitude!

Thank you for the great people on this board

I needed a new sewing machine and went down to the Brother retail store and their machines just like mine were almost $400. So I looked on Amazon.com and brought their CS6000i for $169 and shipping was free.

I am so sorry you ran into this. But I'm afraid that snobs are everywhere. Shame on her. I don't care that the price for her commission was included in the "dealer price", isn't it always? Geeish. Instead of pittying the commission she lost by you buying another machine, she should have thanked her stars that you wanted to learn more and were willing to ask her. And some wonder why their sales drag? Who wants to buy from a pity party?

Find someone else that teach you the techniques you want. Check out the LQS for possible guilds that might give you
more support. When our guild workshops come around, you can see a gammut of sewing machines in the room. We Feather Weights, I take my Singer 301, someone else has the to the nines computer machine, and all the types in between. The machine can have a great bearing on how the sewist sews, but by and large it is the operator that has the most control. You can make beautiful things with the simplist machine.
I've got to step off the soap box now before it becomes a stage!!!

IMHO, you need to remember that everyone chooses their machine(s) for their own use. What anyone else says about it is just that - their opinion. Enjoy your new machine! I am sure someone on the QB can help if you have questions. There is so much info here and through other media sources that you will have available to you.