Susie42quilter

A waiting area for husbands, maybe a T.V.

If possible, a sporting goods store next door. If husband is
happily occupied, I am able to shop more and buy more!

lsmft

"5. Friendly staff - friendly is even better than knowledgeable- I will be back if you treat me right."

Friendly is so important, but KNOWLEDGE of the product is critical, especially if sewing machines will be sold. My LQS called me in the evening after I had been there with a problem to see how I was doing --- Now that's SERVICE!
The staff in a previous shop were nice, but "I'll learn with you" -- is not good enough for a successful business.

nabobw

sales people that are friendly

Pieceful Quilter

A clean bathroom, cuz I might spend hours at the shop!

Fabulous lighting in all corners of the store - even in the clearance section if there is one.

Consistently friendly staff. Treat ALL customers as though they were important, not just the ones you already know. You never know when a new customer might turn out to be your best customer.

Coffee pot, water cooler. Nothing fancy, just a place to wet your whistle.

A chair or two here and there for the hapless person who might be accompanying the quilter but not interested in shopping. Maybe with a small side table??

A place, or several places in the store where a person can lay bolts of fabric out to audition them - not just on the cutting table at the end of the store. The cutting table, hopefully, will always be full of fabric being cut!

Evening hours once or twice a week for those of us still lucky enough to have day jobs.

Good luck!

Conniequilts

Lots and lots of fat quarters. Not just single ones, but bundles. I love my bundles :)

I also shopped a store that sold 1 yd bundles for a very reasonable price. I LOVE THAT, it truly is very helpful in lots of smaller projects.

edensgaite

I worked at the local quilt store here in Quitman Texas for a couple of years. The owner was a business woman (still is) and applied her knowledge to the success of the store. The internet accounts for half of her sales, and she employs about 20 people. Classes are offered almost constantly, sales are almost nonstop. She almost always has some sort of a giveaway going. She sells quality fabric. She had a log home built to rent for quilting retreats, thats pays for itself! She also offers a "Boot Camp", usually twice a yr. for struggling quilt store owners or wanna be owners. She teaches them her business stratigies. Her employees are friendly. i could go on and on but i gotta run...
Mikki

Buckeye Rose

I love all the previous suggestions and would like to add that I would like to see LA in process in the store...seeing the creativity of the person actively quilting was amazing and sucked me into quilting even more. It would be nice if they had classes on LA and rented time on a machine there. I love the look of LA quilting, but the price of someone else doing it is very prohibitive for a large quilt (one of these years I will get my own LA).

ruck9085

1. Friendly, courteous , knowledgeable staff
2. Wide variety of material
3. Reasonable prices
4. Quilting accessories! (Nothing riles me more than to go into a LQS looking for a specific item and they either don't carry it or they sold out.)
5. Have the Accuquilt pro cutter and offer cutting services.( The Apopka Quilt Company in Apopka, FL cuts your fabric for free if you purchase it in their shop)
6. Long arm classes, and allow people to rent time on the long arm quilter to do their own quilts. While I completely understand the time and effort that goes into quilting and fully understand why it costs so much to have a quilt quilted on a long arm, when you make a king or queen sized quilt you already have over a hundred dollars in it, not counting your time. So, for me to have to pay anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 cents an inch for quilting is just not possible. But, I would gladly pay $20 an hour to rent time on the machine.
7. Classes!
8. Free BOM patterns without the material included. Not everybody will like the material that comes with BOM kits.
9.Scissors and rotary blade sharpening.
10. Monthly contests or drawings to win fat quarters, jelly rolls, charm packs or free long arm quilting.
11. I'd really like a shop that was open after five. Some people work and can only get to the shop in the evening.
12. Child free classes please! Unless the child is taking the class, please leave them at home. A child running around the store and making noise is very distracting and annoying. (Sorry, I have 12 grandchildren, so I certainly love kids, but NOT when I'm trying to work.
13. PLEASE carry quilting templates, paper for paper piecing, and books!

hoppa

Wonderful staff that greets you and goes out of their way to help you not just stands behinds the counter, Has a variety of classes geared to all skill levels. Clerance fabric area. Email notices of classes and sales. Diverse range of fabrics not like everyone else has.

Hoppa

Brandonsnana

I like shops with friendly staff that are willing and available to help without hovering over you. Bolts of fabric shouldn't be standing on the floor even if the floor isn't dirty, find something that lifts it up even an inch or two. And don't over crowd the shelves so we can't find what we are looking for. A store with space to move around without constantly bumping into another customer. Convenient hours, when will retailers (not just quilts shops) understand that many of their customers work for a living and are actually at work the same time the shop is open? I've noticed a lot only offer classes during weekdays and while that may be convenient for some customers it doesn't work for all.

And most important of all, really good lighting. I drive an hour to a quilt shop because it meets all these criteria but especially because Quilt-a-way has the best lighting I've ever seen in an LQS