mzsooz,
I don't get there often since It's in another country :-)..but when I do - I always find something - I went yesterday just to look around - hoping to find a couple of green pieces for a project....didn't really need anything - and walked out over $100.00 later...it's so easy for me to find things there..

I don't buy at JoAnn's any more for some of the same reasons that happened to you. They have cut there staff so much you can't find anyone to cut the fabric. Then there were times when there was a huge line up to have fabric cut and the 2 people that were cutting fabric were walking around putting the bolts back in place and it took 15 minutes before she got it all put away. Then there was a time I was the only person in line and made me stand for 15 minutes while she put bolts back in place. I also got several cuts that were not straight and one gal couldn't find a scissors and ripped the fabric off the bolt and made a mess of it. On busy days there it could take 20 minutes to a half hour to get checked out as they only had two lines going for checking out. I got so fustrated with them I walked out and haven't been there since. I use to buy all my craft stuff there also and liked there seasonal decorations.

I would rather have fabric ripped than cut crooked!

Is Ikea a fabric store? We don't have a store by that name here in my area or at least I have never heard of it.
Our Joann's is about 45 miles from my home so don't go there often. Actually everything is 45 miles from my home I can either go up the hill or down the hill-45 miles.
MNM

Ripping fabric doesn't mean it will be straight either as it stretches the fabric and the blocks when cut are off a bit. It doesn't really matter what method you use to each is own do what you want! I won't tear fabric but that is my own choice.

Patrice, you're joking, right?

Lila - What store are you at? I shop in the greater Detroit area and go to the many different JAs. I find the ladies friendly and helpful but it's too bad that they seem to be alwaysshort staffed.

about which half of the comment?

dead serious about the first half.

wishful thinking in the second. c'mon. be honest. who doesn't dream of having a whole store and the entire staff's attention all to themselves? especially as soon as the doors open on the first day of a killer sale. :lol:

Where is the store you work at? i go to the one in taylor and Allen Park. usually 2 cutting..i like both of the stores for different reasons. rarely have any problems.

Yesterday was my first visit to JOANNNS as it is on the other side of the city. Ladies were very friendly and helpful. I had to buy what I needed in two pieces. I had a coupon and the gal who cut my fabric put a note on the paper saying to charge me as if it were one cut. At the cash register, the gal rings me up.... woooppppsss, no 40% discount on one piece. I said no, they are counted as one. I showed her the note and she said, "oh, I didn't see that." She rerang the and I got my discount. She was not very friendly but not obnoxious. By the way, I only saw two workers in that GIANT store and they were wonderful. Now, that is a BIG store.

I stopped into Joanne's yesterday morning...there was one person working both the cash register AND the cutting table. I don't have to tell you what the lines were like at either counter!! :thumbdown:

I have been looking for a part time job for awhile and it seems every few weeks Joann's is "hiring". Makes me wonder if the problems we sometimes encounter in the store don't go deeply into the company.

I live in Malone, NY and I find the girls always friendly. They are a great bunch there.

I go to Joann's only when there is no other choice. I am lucky as JoAnns is on one side of the street and Hancocks is on the other.
I really don't like JoAnn's because it is so crowded, the isles are small and the people that work there don't even sew much less quilt!

I went to Joann's yesterday. When I pull my number, 75, they were on like 53. I am very good about waiting if I can sit down on a chair, which I did. I'm sure I waited 20 minute's or more. They had 4 people cutting and they were very nice. I don't like to take my frustrations out on the employees if they are doing their best.
I have to remember to go during the week early in the day. What I hate the most is they don't have enough people to help you find something! Not my favorite store.

My experiences (Akron, OH area) have mostly been positive. The cutters are very nice and helpful, and the lines at check-out go fast. There are several check-out counters, and then they call out when they can take the next customer. Very orderly.

At the store I shop most of the employees know me. If I want all left on bolt and it measures less than a yard, I always ask for remainder for remannt price. I never will pay full price for less than a yard. Maybe that girl was new. Did you talk to service desk or manager?

Haven't been to a JoAnn's in years. The nearest one is about 90miles from here. But that is ok, cause from what I have read I have much better places to shop for my fabric!

TALK? There was no one else around. One poor little girl asked if she could go to the bathroom and the "cutter" said, "Honey you will have to wait. I have to walk you there. Can you wait?" When I left (after waiting a long time at the checkout), the little girl was still hanging around, waiting.

After all this time has passed, I see that it was perhaps not a big deal, but I was stunned when she rounded it off in their favor. And when I got home, I measured to see if she had given a generous cut. Nope. Still under 5 yards.

But you know what. I'm done. I've left it behind and I'm movin' on. Thanks for the input. Gail

Walk her to the ladies room. Never heard of such a thing!

Poor girl!! never seen that! Lucky she could wait!

Yeah, that's about what it's like at ours. The ladies working don't seem to get upset, but what makes me crazy is that there is no organization. You wait forever at the cutting counter with no way to tell who's next, except to depend on the honesty of others - which GENERALLY works! But then you have to head up to the front of the store and head into ANOTHER line. I used to manage a Joann store 30 years ago, and we would cut, and then check out the same person. Seemed to work better.

You went to JoAnn's huh? Why? I've gone so far as to talk to headquarters after complaining online. It makes no difference at all. Attitude comes from the top; they don't have enough staff for their sales and the employees are not happy. Therefore, I avoid the place like the plague. Even the restrooms aren't managed well....or, at all. You can smile and make nice with them and still end up leaving frustrated and disappointed. Nix on JoAnn's.

Aside from JoAnn's, our city has only one other "big" all-pupose fabric store: Hancock's. They're more friendly and helpful but they don't seem to stock quality fabrics; so it's not a one-stop shopping experience. More frustation. When looking for fabrics like voile, lawn, etc., for lightweight sewing, I need to find a manufacturer's description, then check out Etsy and other online sites. Shopping's a full time job anymore and I'm one of those who wants to feel the fabric before it's cut. Such a bother.

Unfortunately, the JoAnn's where I live closed down years ago when Wal-Mart came in. I was there so often I actually got a Christmas card from them! Our Wal-Mart is scheduled for a makeover in April, but the manager's wife said she didn't know that they were cutting out the fabrics. She's supposed to check for me.

I'm fortunate to live in an area where I have a half-dozen or so JoAnn's to choose from. Some are better than others. One store in town is always mobbed and understaffed, while another one has plenty of staff, but few customers. If you can, find another JoAnn where the service is better. Don't write off the whole company.

I feel so fortunate that we have a pretty good Joann's. Actually we have many of them. But the super store is my favorite. Yes, you have to wait (they do have you get a number) but you have to wait everywhere these days. Fast food, bank, grocery store, etc. For me the problem of waiting is that it tends to make me buy more stuff that I shouldn't! LOL

I worry with posts like these that it will make people avoid their local store based on the experience of someone else. Not all Joann's are run like this. What is really happening is the lack of good customer service everywhere. People are so stressed with their problems at home that they don't always make the best employees. And a lot of the work ethic starts in our schools. The schools here are horrid and the kids come out of them with no sense of accountability.

Ok..off my soap box! :) :)

I have only had positive experiences at our Joann's. They are always willing to answer my questions or help me find what I need. I never go on the first day of a sale though. Plus, having worked in retail, I am a much more patient customer now. Short staffing is a pain, but it isn't the clerk's fault. I did go to a fabric store out of town and the clerks were really taking their good old time and not helpful at all. I put my fabric back and left. Life is too short to get irritated.

I am also fortunate at the two JA's that I shop, both being 45 min away (in different directions) am greeted and recognized by the staff. They are very helpful and knowledgeable, and yes sometimes there is a waiting line; but, they usually call for more help.

I went to Joanne's a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for a 1/4" foot for my singer machine. I asked the lady working in that department if they had any. Her answer was " Singer doesn't make a 1/4" foot." I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!" I told her that I knew they did because I saw them online at singer.com. She told me that it would be better if I ordered it online because they would have to get it from their warehouse in Tennessee. ( I'm in Ohio) By this time I'm thinking.. this woman doesn't want to sell me anything. When I thank her for her time she tells me " Be careful when you order the foot cause singer doesn't make a true 1/4" foot". Now I'm thinking this woman doesn't like Singer. I just shake my head at her and walk off. I ordered it online and don't have a problem with it. Cant say I won't go back because here we don't have a lot of different choices.

I jut shop on-line. Save me a hassle.

I can say that I have not really had any bad experiences in Joanns thus far. I know they are busy at times and expect the wait. As time has it, hiring extra help is out of the question, even though it might generate both jobs and better relationships with customers, the ecomony won't allow it. Sad but true. I enjoy getting the coupons and putting them to use on either material or notions (always need to buy something or other). In fact I am planning on a run by there this week with the coupons I had received in the mail! I need to check out the fall fabrics for a couple of projects ahead of me! I am sorry that some have experienced bad times when shopping at Joanns, hopefully things will improve.

I tend to have similar problems at Joann's. My local store is smaller and generally not stocked with much as it is in a lower income area but I go anyway because the next closest one is about 30 minutes away. With a toddler, I try not to make the trip too often.

So the last few times I have gone, mostly during the day, there has been ONE employee in the store and a manager (who is magically never available to help). So this ONE employee works the cutting counter until everyone's fabric has been cut then goes to the register to ring everyone up. This means that if your the first to get your fabric cut, you can wait up to 45 minutes (more in the evenings and weekends) to get checked out. And if you wander too much and miss her at the register, you have to wait for all the new people's fabric to be cut.

Last time I was in, I casually mentioned that they always seem understaffed and the manager (who was watching the ONE employee at the register but not doing anything) in a very nasty voice said, "well we don't do that much business so there is no reason to need more people." The employee, whose back was to the manager responded in my direction by sneering. Haha... now I make a weekend trip to the farther Joann's when my husband is home to watch my little guy.

I hate the big store attitude but I can't afford the $7.99-$12.99 a yard that my local private quilt store sales for every project.

I must be spoiled because we have 2 very good JoAnn's within driving distance and they are great. We do use numbers at the cutting table so I can get the number (and if there are several numbers before mine) I can do more shopping. They use a hand gun type of reader where they put in the correct amount of yardage and I am charged the correct amount. If there is only a little bit left on the bolt (after they have unrolled the amount that I ask for) the will give me the rest of the bolt at a discount. (Say I ask for 1 1/2 yards and they have 2 yards on the bolt...they'll ask if I want the last 1/2 yard at a 50% discount)...I always say yes.
:wink:

I live about an hours drive from both stores so I plan my trips to town to co-incide with their sales. :lol:

The clerks are very helpful. Many times they'll ask what I'm going to make and they give good ideas if it is warranted. I feel a lot more comfortable in JoAnn's than I do in many local fabric stores. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. The store does get busy quite a lot, but the clerks are great and pleasant almost all of the time.

My JoAnn's experiences has been the same as many of yours - long lines, unfriendly and unknowledgable clerks. The best one was when I found the twin pointed needles on their website and went to the store to see if they had them. The clerk told me "You are crazy". I think they sell too many other things besides fabric and notions.

As a former employee of Jo-Ann's, I would like to respond to some of the remarks: 1. There is a card taped to the desk that gives you the proper decimal amount to put in for anything cut or measured less than the norm (like 34 inches)-unless it is an old store that does not use the handheld devices; 2. They are very short handed and I always grab a ticket when I walk in so I can be waited on sooner; 3. As far as letting the night crew set up the new merchandise, I worked the night crew and we were busier at night than they were during the day and then we had to put up all the stock that the day shift did not get to before we could go home-which was sometimes 11pm after the store closed at 9pm--THEY NEED TO HIRE MORE PEOPLE-LOTS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT NEED A JOB!

There is 1 Joann's close to me and its a real pain in all the above ways. There is another about 15 miles away and they are all super with customer service. With a couple of MUCH better stores nearby I don't go there either. Admit I did luck out on a 18 x 24" Fiskars cutting mat(self-healing) for $12 recently.

I too am a former member of Joann's. I totally agree that they need to hire more employees. We had enough people to work, but the upper management told our managers to cut hours. Our store does very well in sales and most of the employees are very plesant. Our district manager is not so pleasant with the customers however. It seems that all they look at is the bottom line. I realize they are in the business to make money, but it sure makes it hard on the regular employees by cutting hours.

I love JoAnn's and have had nothing but great experiences there.

I think the managers are lining their own pockets. Keep staffing costs down and get Bonus.