OH MY GOSH! I went to Wal-Mart for the first time in months and had to take a quick tour of the fabrics...how could I not? I found a couple pieces of must haves and waited in line to speak to the area assistant, proudly wearing a 10 year badge and I thought it must be my lucky day, someone who knows what they're doing.....

I was talking to the kids about the quilt they'd go in to after I asked for a yard of each. When she handed them to me, she said I don't know who in their right mind would EVER consider putting black in a quilt (one of the two is royal with black and my son's favorite material yet). She rolled her eyes, said it's just not right and ticked me off.

I asked about the interfacing/fusible web thinking well, :roll: everyone has a bad day...she said they're over there and I had to ask specific questions about the location, let her know I've not used it before and then had to guess what kind to get.

I don't care how much I have to pay at the quilt stores, even though they aren't providing the freebie info they used to, I've never been treated like this. Is it just me venting or would this have ticked you off, too? Keep in mind this is 2 days later because I was afraid of how I'd come off a day or two ago LOL....might have been some choice lanuage going on, too!!

PS why doesn't target have fabric???? I love target.

hahahaha I have had that happen at JoAnnes and our Walmart has fabric but I can never ever seem to find anyone in that department. So off I go to the quilt stores and boy are they helpful.

"PS why doesn't target have fabric???? I love target. "

TRUE DAT!!!!

There's always one or two in every store. I've even had it happen to me in quilt stores. Would look at a certain fabric and have one of the people in the store tell me that THEY wouldn't put THAT color/style in a quilt. Well, guess what? THEY aren't the one making it, are they?
Just smile at them and walk away.
Unless you meet the quilt police like I have. ;)

She obviously missed the quilt that took best of show in Paducah this year:
http://qnm.com/issue/403/feature370/

:wink:

PS why doesn't target have fabric???? I love target. [/quote]



I have asked this same question so many times I love Target...I have had treatment like that before and it ticks me off so bad especially because you needed help and had no choice but to have to ask her...I expect jolly people in the fabric dept. because if I was working with all that great fabric I would be soooo happy...hahaha...sorry this happened to you keep the chin up....

I have found WalMart is not always staffing their fabric departments ( if there is a fabric department any longer) with people that know about fabric. A large box department store, you draw who you get. Sometimes it will be a person that likes their job.

I do enjoy quilt fabric stores. I just can not afford the high cost everytime I want to sew !

Chairjogger

There is this one very old clerk in joanns. she is very over weight , has a bad hip, and is hunched a bit. I dislike having her cut my fabric she gives you dirty looks; and she definitely doesn't want to converse.

So All I can say is there are people you are not so pleasant all over :D

There was a new quilt store I went to and the two clerks watched me like I was a thief.......not at all friendly. None of these places pay well so...........who knows

I love my walmart ladies they have worked in fabric most of their working lives...a fountain of knowledge

I just don't get why some people have to have such bad attitudes maybe she does'nt want to have to be working I don't know but all the same at some point why not make peace with it and find some joy...shes obviously not a kindered spirit among quilters...we have a wonderful store here called Beverly's and the ladies in the fabric department are so helpful and actually quilt or sew and that fabric department is huge and so well organized and I know it's because of these gals....it makes a lot of difference to have someone thats actually in the know to be in a department of the store your shopping in....

You run into unhappy salespeople everywhere. I feel sad for them and try to be pleasant, or just wind up my business and move along. I taught school for almost 30 years and always felt blessed that I was getting paid to do something I genuinely loved. Not everyone is so lucky.

The last two times I was at JOann's (for batting) the ladies that cut it for me were soooooo nice and viisited the whole time asking what I was making etc. It was a pleasant experience. One lady even told me she made purses to sell and showed me what kind if interfacing she puts in them. I rarely buy fabric there, only buy at my local quilt shop. Sorry gals, I am a fabric snob. Marge

In my area, there are 3 quilting stores, 2 WalMarts, one Joanne's and one Hancock store within 20 miles. Only ONE of the quilt stores has courteous staff (and the owners work at all of them, so no excuses). At WalMart and Joanne's, the service is of uneven quality, depending on who is working. They are high turnover low-pay jobs, and folks cannot keep pretending to be happy when they work 40 hours and can't feed the kids or pay for car or health insurance.

Hancock's has gone from a similar situation to a sheer joy since new management took over last year. It is rare that I am not greeted and asked about my new projects. Granted, they have seen me bring things in to match, and I stock up when I am working. They never have any job openings (and I ask) because people are making a living wage and have realistic expectations.

I have had similar experiences and all I can say is never be rude back cause then they feel justified in their attitude but kill them with kindness and eventually they will feel guilty for their rudeness.

And I know it is very hard to do sometimes.

Not to defend the sales girls attitude or opinion but I will tell you that anyone who has ever worked in retail can tell you how rough it can be. All it takes is one person and they can crash your whole day. The girl at our wal-mart has been there since it has opened and is very knowledgeable but because now that they are taking out the department she gets sooo much flack from the customers like it is her fault! It is very hard to smile when the last 5 out of 6 customers may have just ripped your head off over something you can't control. I get it on the front end of the store because I am in managment about the rising cost of milk, bread, eggs and all the other groceries. Like I can do something about it, I buy the stuff at the same price they do and I don't like it either. People need to vent and the sales clerks or the retail people are the punching bag. They know that for the most part we aren't supposed to say anything back out of line and they can get away with it. So maybe that clerk was having a bad day!

the fabric ladies at our local walmart are sweetie pies. every single one of them. they treat their customers like queens because (1) like i said, they're naturally nice folks; and (2) they know it's the customer traffic that will keep the department open ... we hope. i have also gotten great service in two other wm fab departments. and not-so-great service in one in southern florida.

i'm treated well when i shop at hancock's. i assume it would be the same at joann's if i could ever find anything there i wanted to buy. at least they always say hello and goodbye when i browse there.

and i've had some really great experiences with online vendors, too. and i've found a few i'll never shop with again.

point being ... sales people are ... well ... people. that means some are good folks and some aren't, just like you'll find anywhere else.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm over it and won't shop in that department again...quilt shops are nicer and when I know what I need, I can buy online too. Our Hancocks closed, which is a shame because people there seemed to know what they were doing and were always nice. I enjoyed shopping there and will miss that store.

I still think Target should have fabric LOL but I'm not a purchaser, so what can a girl do but keep asking....maybe one of these days if I pester them enough they'll do it. :lol: I still go to JoAnns but it's not that close and with gas prices....I'd rather pay the difference to go to a nice quilt store close by.

Everything happens for a reason.

I've had really good luck at Walmart and the Joann people are truly nice, but sometimes rushed when a sales is going on. The quilt shop here seems like a private club and I feel like I've just dropped into a party uninvited. When I was looking for a machine they were too busy to take an interest and asked a new girl who didn't know much about the machines. to show them to me. Now I know they have classes etc. but someone could have at least tired to set a time for me to come when they weren't busy. I spent my $ somewhere else and it wasn't cheap.
People are people. The last time I was in the material dept. at Walmart the clerk was helping me and I had about ten bolts of fabric for her to cut and another customer came up and told her she didn't know where to find a certain thing and she told her which aisle it was in and she'd help her in a minute, the gal left and came back and said she couldn't find it and was in a hurry for her to help her find it. I just shook my head and told her to show her I'd wait. The clerk was at a loss. It takes all kinds doesn't it.

i'm sorry you had that trouble. i love the gals in our fabric section. they are so friendly and very helpful

Thanks everyone....I guess not everyone's mamma taught them if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I just need to keep that in mind LOL. :D Maybe I was having a sensitive day, too.... :roll:

I would go back and try again. It could have just been a bad day for everyone. It happens. But...if it happens again, take it up with the store manager and let them know what is going on.

I agree 100%

That sales person should not be in the fabric dept. That is obvious from the start! The walmart I go to has very knowledgeable people in the fabric department and I enjoy going there for the knowledge, and the great conversation I have every time I go. Every place and every one is different. There is going to be a bad pea in a pod every so often. Take it with stride. I would go again and check to see who is working and even speak to managment. I do. :D

I can certainly understand your frustration and downright anger not to be treated appropriately in Wal-Mart. There are clerks like this everywhere, even some of the nicest quilt stores around. I always wonder what's going on in their life to be so grouchy and feel sorry for them. I try (and don't always do a good job at it) to treat other people like I want to be treated. Sometimes, a well placed kind word helps.....Life is hard (especially in this recession that we are in)

First of all, I NEVER shop at Walmart for anything as their business practices have upset me. I understand when some people have no where else to shop,they have to go there, but I have many choices,fortunately. I love the local quiltshops(LQS) and the extra you might pay certainly is returned in the personal attention and knowledgeable sales. I share ideas for projects with the LQS staff and they help me with all kinds of things, not just on the things they sell. I go to JoAnn for their sales on thread or other supplies that I can't get at the LQS. I don't like the quality of fabric at JoAnn at all. I guess I am spoiled but the quality is key. Even the fusible web I bought yesterday at 50% off was of a lesser quality than at Hancock. The simple rule of you get what you pay for applies.

judee

sounds like she's a keeper. i get tired of the jo-anns ladies asking me what i'm going to make because they ask the question and i answer it and that's usually the end. i guess i'm fussing about it because some time ago jo-anns was doing an on-line survey and one of the questions was 'did your clerk show interest in what you were going to do with your purchases' (or something to that effect). that was when our jo-anns was super pitiful (they've since become a mini super jo-anns) and i did the survey about 4 times a week just to continue to give them feedback about the pitiful store. so i feel they are asking because they have to. our local store has very little, if any, turnover and i've known the ladies for 5+ years (they've watched my baby grow to be five years old already!). really nice ladies, but few, if any, of them know anything about quilting.

Hi:

Sorry to hear about your problem with the WalMart fabric dept, I had a problem with their eye vision center I paid for everything and the glasses were suppose to be in a few day. I never heard and never heard and finally I went in to see what the problem was. Now I was talking to the manager who waited on me in the first place and she casually said that the order had been terminated. Well that really made me upset and I told her I had already paid for the glasses and that they had no reason to terminate the order. She finally called someplace and then came back and said all she would have to do is remeassure me and that they would be in again in a few days. I was really ticked by that time and so I went and bought my groceries and then when I went to check out the checker never even acknowleged me or said thank you or NOTHING.

So I knew the names of both employees from their name tag and I kept track of what time I was with both of them and came home and sent WAMart an e-mail letting them know of the situation. Lordy me two days later the manager from the optical place callled and aplogized.

I tell you what the service now a days is the pitts.

Have a good day
:wink:

I've only run into rude workers cutting the fabric at Joann's. They seem to giving off vibes as if "well, if I have to cut this for you" type of attitude. Needless to say, I very rarely shop there!

Everyone at hancock and walmart know me by name. My walmart ladies used to work at Hancock.

The quilt shop I go to has the best people working there! They even willingly will figure up how much yardage I need and help me find just the perfect fabric with a smile.

It's all just "people" - we have good Walmart fabric people here (Joanns too) and some nice quilt store people, too. And then there are the quilt snobs (police) that are found in different places, too!

Just people.......

Well, folks are just folks...some good, some bad..I find that mostly folks are really nice the majority of the time. I just try to avoid the bad ones if possible and if its not, then I just take care of my business and go on down the road. I feel worse if I stew in it.

Such a mixed bag of people we get when dealing with a subject we love! Strange when you think about it. Fabric is EVERYWHERE! All kinds, colors, and textures - seriously interesting stuff. I love putting colors together and pulling out shades and fabrics. My best day would be told "here's money buy fabric."

I so far have not found anyone locally that shares my passion (you wear it on your body everyday, how can you look so bored?), or has much more than a smidgen of enjoyment out their jobs.

Last month I send DH to Walmart to look at the sewing machine I was drooling over, and the information I sent him with caused him to know more than the person in that department. (sigh) Eventually they found someone, but it was such a "stock -I'm in a hurry- answer".

I love a grocery store first thing in the morning, (at least the ones by me) everyone is always smiling and happy to help, because no one has ruined their day yet!

The local Petsmarts (We have at least three) used to ask us all the time "What kind of pet's do you have? What is your cat's name" ect., but they don't do that anymore. :( It was a little fake I suppose, but a good portion of the US has a pet. Would you believe I've had people at Lowes (our local Home Improvement stores let you bring your pet inside) pull out pet photos to show me? Now that's friendly

:-) When I get a clerk who would say such a thing,
I ask are they having a bad day? and give them a great big smile or
ask if they quilt?
oops

My wonderful mother bless her souls when dealing with rude sales staff used to smile and very kindly say --I'm so sorry your feet hurt today that does tend to make people crabby!!

:thumbup: Oh the sense of humor your mother must have had
that is a perfect remark
oops

I've got to remember that one. Your mother had a wonderful sense of humor that's for sure!

I have found that alot of the people working at wallmart are rude and no help. In fact on day I got so upset I asked there headcashier what had happened to customer service sence Sam Walten died. Not the most pilite move. I have worked in retail most of my adult life and I know some customers are really upsetting but thats no reason to take it out on everone else. If I ever ran my own shop my number one rule is be nice to the customers not matter what. If you can't get someone else to work with them, and if you don't know an answer find someone who does and stick around for the answer so next time you do know. I'm glad I'm not the only person who feels customer service has been forgoten.

You are lucky you found someone to cut for you at Walmart.
All the fabric places around us are closed.
but I have a little fabric to work with. Needs to be refolded again but I am too busy tearing it apart for my next project. lol

Nice stash! I'll come help you find something. Looks like you have some pretty stuff hiding in there :)

My Joanns have very nice helpful people working for them. They are quilters too and are always interested in what you are working on.
WalMart clerks are hard to find in the fabric dept. but are nice once you find them. I like to buy my backing fabric at Wally. They had some really nice fabric marbles come in and I did not buy any that day and of course it was gone when I went back.