Today I decided to finally stop in at the LQS to take a look around and see if they sold a Chalk Pounce. A lady came from the back, said hi and asked if she could help me. I told her what I was looking for, a chalk pounce, she looked at me like I had two heads. I tried to explain it to her and she said she had never heard of it. I just happend to look up at the wall behind her and noticed they did sell them in both red and blue chalk. Upon taking it down she looks it over and makes a comment about how much easier that would make in marking designs on quilt using a stincil.
The shop is beautiful by the way and appears to be very well stocked, I just have to wonder about the knowledge of the employees or ?owner?. Being a beginner the last thing I need is the wrong advice.

cautious about what? She obviously wasn't trying to sell you something ;-)

Since it's a new shop everyone there is probably learning on the job. Maybe ask for advice here, and then go there with knowledge of what you want. Give them some time...they'll become familiar with all their stock over time.

I use to work in a retail store and though I knew quite a bit, I didn't know it all - maybe she was new or quilting is not her area or expertise. Just think today you taught her something new :lol:

Everyone learns something new if they pay attention... Let's hope you taught her something. <grin>

I would be cautious taking advice from them, but other than that I would go back. I encounter people who don't know what they are talking about quite often. But as long as I know what I am looking for its all good!

A am a quilter, a longarmer and work in the fabric department. I still learn things from my customers from time to time.
I do love it when they ask me for something they think I won't know about and I can either take them right to it and/or tell them all about it!
You taught her something that now she can pass along. :)

I would wait to judge until you have met some of the other employees. Ask some questions that you already know the answer to and see how that goes. It might have been a new job for her. You can always get a second opinion from here to help in your evaluation.

Yes, I would be cautious....about their knowledge. At least the knowledge of that particular person. Ask for the owner if you have a specific question and aren't sure you are getting the right answer.

When ever the voice in my head makes me wonder if I am getting the best answer , I ask the sales person "so what kind of quilting do you do?" since there is so much diversity with in the art/craft they may be expert in something but be very limited in your type/method.
It would be like asking a dedicated hand quilter "so how would you or what would you recommend for machine quilting this?".
The diversity in the art/craft exists in every step of the process.

Go back, give them a chance to grow, as you said it was a well stocked store. You can always ask here if you need help and get the best advice. :-)

everyone has a learning curve and maybe her's is slower then others.

i tend to throw myself into things in a very all or nothing way - it wasn't long before i exceeded my LQS "quilting talent" even they say that i surpassed them within 6 months of my starting to sew and these are ladies that have been quilting for 20+ years.

its all a matter of staying on top of the new items on the market and that comes from the top down so if management isn't teaching the staff who will - the customers like you.

I also hope you go back but the others gave you some good advice.
You just taught me something too! I never heard of that stuff- now I'm going to look for it :D:D
Sounds like a good product!

I'm curious to hear how you like it once you try it. I had one years ago and it was super fast to mark with but the marks would be long gone before I finished quilting even a block.

I have been to quilt shops and asked for things and got the are you stupid look. It takes a real airhead manager/employee not to go to the computer and look it up right then and say thank you for letting me know about this and I can/can't order it for the store. If the store is run this way it doesn't have much of a future. I know the shops I have been to that gave me the impression I was dumb never got a penny from me.

We have one here in town that I won't go to anymore. I went in for hand quilting supplies and she made this kind of "humpf" noise and said "no, we don't carry THAT."

I had a friend go in with a friend of hers to help her buy things for her first quilt. My friend had a book at home they were using the pattern from but had forgotten to bring it with her. They found the book in the store and the owner told them they couldn't use it to find fabric requirements unless they paid for it first.

My friend would have bought ALL the needed fabric for that quilt and probably more things but instead she walked out, feeling like she was humiliated in front of her friend.

It's surprising how often quilt shop owners just don't have a clue.

Did you buy the chalk pounce? I bought one several years ago but they have since made a new white chalk for it that disappears when you iron it with steam, or just wet it. A few of the ladies in a class I went to said to be cautious about the colored chalk, in some cases it does not come off the fabric no matter what you do.

Yes, I had a chalk pounce. The marks didn't stay for any time at all.

Do they now stay until you do something to remove them? That would definitely make me reconsider for when when I use stencils...though I am glad to have the warning about the colored chalk.

I have a chalk pounce that I haven't used yet. I saw a video or quilting show where they demonstrated using one and they showed using it by "priming" the pounce on something other than the quilt to get the powder down and coming out of the pounce then swiping it over the stencil instead of tapping or what I would consider "pouncing" it on. I think I remember the teacher saying that it stays on the fabric longer this way. Might be worth a try. Need to hold or secure the stencil with painters tape so you don't move it when doing this.

One thing about this board is that if you wonder about the advice from the LQS, you can always make an inquiry here. There is always great advice from the experts on here.

Give the shop a few chances. As a former business owner it is my experience a limited number of employees are really knowledgable. The exception seems to be in quilt shops. in LQs most employees work for fabric and are themselves quilters.
The person you met may have been a relative needed to stand in while owner had a pressing matter. Think of this she greeted you and was cordial. That counts for something.

I love your name on here. But now I want to know "what your wife made you do?."

Just share your knowledge with her and be ever so glad that you have a LQS.

The main thing I have learned about customer service in retail, is to tell the customer "I'm not sure, but let me find someone that does know". Then we both learn.

Well, at least the one who stocked the shop seemed to know what they were doing. Maybe you can find out who that is.
Robin in TX

Maybe she is a "beginner" also & not yet familiar w/the store inventory or w/quilting. You had a great teaching moment & bet she went home thinking (maybe even talking about) "you learn something new every day". :lol:

Just a thought don't especially care for the pounce, much prefer the little chalk pen type.

I think I would say something to the manager or owner about the incident. If they don't have a clue about sewing, they can't be of help to quilters or people who sew. No sale, no business. Everyone who works in a speciality store should have some knowledge about what they are selling. If they don't know, they should ask until they will be able to explain what the item is for and how to use it to the customer. Myself, I probably wouldn't go back to a shop that didn't even know what they had for sale.

I would like to hear too. I haven't heard the most positive things about them.

About 10 years ago I worked at Joanns. When I first started, I tried to go in a little early so I could browse the store to familiarize myself with what and where things were. If a customer asked me about something I wasn't familiar with, I would simply say, "I'm new here, let's go look for it together."

Well having worked at many a store and asked many questions about stock, all I can say is "you just cannot remember everything that is in your store no matter how you try and the older you get the more difficult it seems to be" Also this person may have been a beginning quilter herself, maybe she knows nothing about fabric and is a family member that needed a job? Who knows! At least she was not snotty to you and you did show her merchandise that she did not know she had, so good for you! You not only helped her but you probably helped someone else who wanted to find the same thing. That is a win win no matter how you look at it. :)

You arent alone, Ive been in one shop where the clerk was using the rotary cutter like a chop saw. She didnt know it ROLLED across the fabric. I asked her if she had ever used one before and she said no, so I showed her how it worked....
and her eye lit right up! Maybe some shop owners should not assume their new help knows all they need to know.

I might look for someone else to ask for advice, however I wouldn't NOT go to that store. I know that sometimes one of my LQS owners has to run out for something or is out of town. Her DH "mans" the shop then. He isn't all that much help..but the store is open, has merchandise and fabric for me to buy..so I'm happy. There is plenty of advice here when I need it.

Give it another chance. I also work in a shop and have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things BUT little knowledge on a lot of things. She was partly right about the stencil, I do use the chalk pounce with stencils that I buy as well as ones I create myself.
Brenda

She may be an eager learner as well. Our LQS hired a new girl about a year and a half ago. She had no quilting/sewing experience but had a wonderful eye for design and color. She's since proven that she can do anything she puts her mind to and is really wanting to learn it all. I'll never forget being in the shop when someone came in and asked her if they carried stilettos. The look on her face was priceless! I know she thought this lady was looking for new shoes to go with her little black dress!!! I jumped in and made it a teaching moment. We still laugh about it. :lol:

I agree with a lot that has been said, New employee, sure but being a newbee well that to. But the Customer should not have to give service to them selves. Thats me though..

My guess is you taught her something (everyone should learn at least one new thing every day) and she will probably never forget it. For sure she will use the information with another customer and feel good doing it.

Sorry, I don't know what a chalk pounce is either.

It's no excuse for a quilt shop not to keep up with what is new. (The Pounce isn't even new, it's been around for years). The quilt shop trade magazines, the quilt supply distributors, the instant online resources, the market shows, or at least emails from manufacturers when a new product is available, make it so simple. Heck I get all those and I don't own a quilt shop.

I have it in blue and white, though I have yet to use it. I'm not a hand quilter, but seems it would work great for marking lines for machine quilting.

I wouldn't fault the lady for not knowing every single product there is to know about quilting. She may have taken a job there to learn more things herself. If I was in your shoes, I would definitely go back there. She probably appreciates that she learned something from you!