finding things........in stores....

[butterfly_girl]

Hey, I'm wondering if anyone else has had problems finding things in stores. A couple of weeks ago, I went into Michaels, looking for a hair pin lace loom.

 

The lady looked at me with this blank stare. She asked what it was for, so I said making hairpin lace. still got the stare..........

 

She then told me to go to a wedding party supply store. That doesn't make sense!!!!! Just had to share my story. I still haven't found a hair pin lace thing. There's one more craft store I can try....Lewis Craft.........Wish me luck!!!

[Empress Busy Bee]

You should have asked her why.

Good luck in finding it.

[Stacey]

Oh boy. She probably heard "hairpin" and "lace" and thought you were looking for some sort of esoteric bridal hair thing

 

I'm pretty sure Susan Bates makes a hairpin lace loom, and I think Herrschner's sells it...

[Alosha]

I would expect that kind of answer in a store that happens to have a craft dept., their sales people get moved around a lot. But, in a CRAFT store? Our Micael's also doesn't have the....how shall I say this...most experienced personnel either.

Have you checked Walmart? I saw hairpin lace looms there when picking up some knitting accesssories for my dtr.

:)Alosha

[kellyv]

Sometimes you just have to wonder??? They really should have people who know something about crafting. Thats funny though. LOL

[Kathleen]

:rofl Poor thing, she didn't have a clue, did she?

[diamond]

I've had similar things happen to me. When I was in computer engineering school a couple of years ago, I went to CompUSA to get a non-magnetic screwdriver to work on a system I was building. I couldn't find any that were non-magnetic (magnetic tools can blow a a motherboard faster than an electrical shock can) so I asked a sales person in that department. He actually asked me why I wanted a non-magnetic one. Said the magnetic ones will hold the screws for me so I don't drop them. DUH! I explained to him how magnetic tools will destroy a motherboard and he said he had never heard that before! I was totally amazed and walked out of the store!

 

Re: hairpin lace looms, I had looked all over town for one and ended up buying one online as not one LYS had one and most of the sales people had no idea what I was asking about either. Although most had pamplets/booklets/books for just Hairpin Lace patterns! Go figure!

[Sabra]

I think I've seen them at Wal-Mart as well. I know the first one I got, I ordered from Annie's Attic online. The kidlets scattered the pieces of that one, but I found another at an AC Moore store.

[fruggs]

ac moore has them i think joanns does too

[jenf1676]

Wait a minute, I have to defend us. First I work at a Michaels. Second I have no idea what a hair pin lace loom is. The only looms we sell are beading looms and hand held looms for knitting. In our defense also we are never shown new products when they come in and coporate constantly has us replanning the store so its hard to even remember where things are because they are always getting moved around. I work in the office 95% of the time but occassionally I do work on the floor and its hard for me to have the exact answer for the customers . I do my best to help them or I send them off to someone who can.By the way what is a hair pin lace loom.

[wendyb532]

I haven't seen a hairpin lace loom in any stores near me. The only place I find them is online.

Wendyb532

[diamond]

Wait a minute, I have to defend us. First I work at a Michaels. Second I have no idea what a hair pin lace loom is. The only looms we sell are beading looms and hand held looms for knitting. In our defense also we are never shown new products when they come in and coporate constantly has us replanning the store so its hard to even remember where things are because they are always getting moved around. I work in the office 95% of the time but occassionally I do work on the floor and its hard for me to have the exact answer for the customers . I do my best to help them or I send them off to someone who can.By the way what is a hair pin lace loom.

Hairpin lace looms aren't new products. They've been around for centuries. I have some books dating back to the early 1900s and there are pictures of hairpin lace looms in them.

[butterfly_girl]

http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=EDJE06

 

This is a hairpin lace loom. :-) And I've found one! I got it on the weekend, at a Lewis Craft, figures, out of town! :-) I had to go pick up my BIL, and we went to a couple of malls while waiting! Yay! So I started practicing last night.

 

Mine isn't so fancy though, as the ones pictured! Mine is a regular Susan Bates one! Does the job though!!! :-) Takes getting used to! Tension, and getting the stitches to stay in the middle!

[Tampa Doll]

I know what you mean. I have trouble finding things is certain stores.

 

 

I hate to say this, as we have some Michael workers here, but in the one near me, I have trouble finding yarn. Yes I did say yarn. They have one aisle of yarn and it is mostly specality yarns. Fun Fur, eyelash, baby yarn and bulky. Come on, they are a craft store. We crocheters deserve more than one aisle of yarn. Granted it is both sides of the aisle, but only one????? Their thread is also a joke. I am down to almost buying everything on line.

 

I would give my left, (need my right:) ) arm for a good and I mean a good yarn shop with everything in it. Yarn, hooks, needles, thread and anything else a knitter or crocheter needs.

 

Oh what a dream.

[Shellbaby]

Well, I must admit that I didn't know what a hairpin lace loom was, but now that I do I am very interested!! Thanks for the info

[crochetingfool]

I went into Michael's once and asked about something and the gal told me "I don't know I just work here"

After that I never ask I just look and find it for myself...

crochetingfool

Linda Ü

[Stacey]

"I don't know I just work here"

Oh, no. That is so wrong. I would've been all about reporting that to the manager. Not to be a mean about it, but that's such an incredibly poor attitude. I've spend a lot of years working in retail, both as a clerk and as a manager, and you know, I've always tended to be thought of as the "nice" manager, the one people wanted to transfer to when they were working at a store that was being managed by a tyrant, but there is no way I'd tolerate that kind of thing. First time is a warning, second time they're out of a job (and my suggestion would be to get out of retail/service industry altogether with an attitude like that!)

[mamaoso]

I know the feeling, now, when I ask and get that blank stare I just say never mind..

 

I was in Hobby Lobby and asked for Blackboard spray paint. The guy said I think we have some. I was standing in front of the locked up spray can cabinet, which I thought that where it would be....He came back and said no. I went to the next isle just looking around and here on the bottom shelf was 5 cans of Blackboard paint.

[donnalynn2]

Take it from someone who worked at a Michaels store. Most of the employees don't know (and don't care) about crafts. At my local store, most of the people that work there are rude and don't do a darn thing to help you. (One of the reasons I quit) The only person who cares seems to be the store manager. And is it just me or does it seem like they never have enough registers open? Everytime I go in there I have to wait in line for at least 30 mins and there's usually only one checkout open.

 

I actually took all the Wilton Cake Classes there and ended up having to buy most of the class supplies at Rag Shop and Wal-Mart because Michaels never had all the things I needed. It's a shame that they've gotten so big that they don't care to hire people who craft anymore.

[soozun]

I've seen hairpin lace looms (I didn't realize that's what they are called though!) almost every time that I am in a craft store. They keep them by the knitting needles and crochet hooks. There is usually a small section nearby with things such as stitch markers, pom pom makers, stitch holders, etc. That is where I have seen the hairpin lace looms. I do live in an area that probably caters to knitters and crocheters though. One time I stopped in at a Joanns in a different area that they didn't hardly have anything for knitting and crocheting except the basic hooks. I was so surprised! But every store in the chain seems to be very different in what they stock. My local Joanns even stocks double pointed needles for knitting which is really cool.

[Stitchinpick]

Just an odd note to add to the hairpin lace discussion. I have not done the hairpin lace, but a guy (yes guy) who did hairpin lace told me once that he cut his hook smaller to work on it, so it worked more efficiently. I have always been a little puzzled at that.

 

Just thought you guys might want to know his "secret".

 

Stitchinpick

[origami]

Take it from someone who worked at a Michaels store. Most of the employees don't know (and don't care) about crafts. At my local store, most of the people that work there are rude and don't do a darn thing to help you. (One of the reasons I quit) The only person who cares seems to be the store manager. And is it just me or does it seem like they never have enough registers open? Everytime I go in there I have to wait in line for at least 30 mins and there's usually only one checkout open.

 

We've got a good JoAnn's and a good Michael's. The ladies who work in the yarn section of our JoAnn's are knitters and crocheters and run the yarn social. We had my daughter's birthday party at Michael's and the staff was great. It was pretty much the first birthday party they'd done -- it's a new service -- but all the ladies who work there were so nice and it went well. All those ladies work in the classroom area and so know about various crafts -- maybe not everything about all of them but they seem to care.

 

I've seen the hairpin lace loom at Ben Franklin's.

 

The store I hate, hate, hate going to is Best Buy. We had to buy a computer monitor a week or two ago -- mind you, not a computer, but a monitor. We didn't want a fancy one either because we could just see our kids breaking it. We wanted an old fashioned crt type. Well, of course, because we weren't there to buy a computer system and more important to Best Buy salesmen the ridiculous 3 year warranty, no one would wait on us.

For the most part, I don't think those guys know much about computers at all. Oh well.

 

Good luck on figuring out the lace loom!

[dhaunae]

The problem is stores like Best Buy and Office Max only give employees commission on the warranties, NOT on the products; that's why they're all ho-hum about selling you stuff but once they know you're buying they swarm you and try to shove that warranty down your throat. Tells you where they're making the big bucks, doesn't it? Add to that that at least in the case of Office Max they pay their salesmen like $.25 over minimum wage and you see the problem ... if you actually DO know about computers, you aren't working there for sure!

 

As for Michaels, one of the ones near me is a yarn wasteland a little fun fur and novelty yarn and very little of anything else, and on top of that their yarn section is never really stocked. The Michael's a little further away, though, has a very nice selection of yarns and their manager seems to keep on top of stock, if they're low or out of a color they restock it quickly. Neither of them have thread, though 5 colors total at the "good" Michaels! And the JoAnns around here are just as bad, half an aisle of yarn

 

HOWEVER! I'm off work today and after hearing about the Hancock sale I decided to see if there was one near me (never heard of them before ... none where I come from!) and not only is there one, but they have CLASSES ... knitting AND crocheting classes ... scheduled every month ... this has promise! Guess where I'm going???

[donnalynn2]

You know what's sad? Between Michael's, Jo-Ann's and Rag Shop, I can get a much better selection of yarn from my Super Wal-Mart! The prices are usually exactly the same as well. In fact, my local Rag Shop didn't even carry the regular old Red Heart Super Saver WW yarn until a couple months ago! Worst part is that everytime I go into any of these stores looking for a color they were out of (or didn't have enough of) the last time I was there, the spaces are still empty. The best store in my area for filling up empty spaces is Jo-Ann's but it's really hard to find the right colors. No joke, I am working on the American Flag Afghan and got all my colors at the Rag Shop. I need another skein of gold and guess what? Can't find it anywhere! Rag Shop hasn't seen fit to order more and nobody else has that color (will have to go online). Same thing for an afghan I recently made. Regular Red Heart Super Saver in 2 colors. Lt Blue and Windsor Blue. I could get the Lt Blue anywhere but I was 1 skein short of Windsor Blue and couldn't find it anywhere! None of the craft stores even carried it and the Wal-Mart I bought it from had it on order. Took me over a month just to finish because I didn't have the yarn. (Can you tell I am annoyed? LOL)

 

We do have a "yarn" shop here in town but oh my gosh! Who can afford $6 a skein to start for Red Heart yarn? It's insane how much money this lady charges. Hmmm, maybe I should look into opening up a yarn shop. Wonder if I'd have better luck!

[Empress Busy Bee]

Second I have no idea what a hair pin lace loom is. The only looms we sell are beading looms and hand held looms for knitting. In our defense also we are never shown new products when they come in and coporate constantly has us replanning the store so its hard to even remember where things are because they are always getting moved around. I work in the office 95% of the time but occassionally I do work on the floor and its hard for me to have the exact answer for the customers . I do my best to help them or I send them off to someone who can.By the way what is a hair pin lace loom.

 

 

the gal told me "I don't know I just work here"

 

 

Take it from someone who worked at a Michaels store. Most of the employees don't know (and don't care) about crafts. At my local store, most of the people that work there are rude and don't do a darn thing to help you.

 

 

My husband and I discuss this all the time, especially after leaving a store; any store.

Customer service is crappy these days. It's just not taught to new employees and they're allowed to have an "I don't care" attitude because someone new can always be hired.

I was taught that "I don't know" is NOT an answer. If you work with people it should be "I'll find out for you" and then you FIND out.

Not knowing where or what a loom isn't a good excuse. You (generic you) work there, it's your job. Why would you send someone to a bridal shop for a loom? Because she mentioned lace? That's stupid logic. At the very least the gal should have asked what it was exactly so she could help her better.

 

Earlier this year I was in JoAnn's looking for Star Wars cotton fabric that'd just come out. I'd seen it at Hancock online. I asked the girl where it was since they had the matching fleece. She had no idea and said they didn't have it yet (they didn't) however she suggested I go on line and eBay for it. I told her I don't eBay. After another few minutes of discussing it, which included her telling me to go to the competor's (Hancock, which didn't have it in store yet either); she again told me to eBay it.

Hello, I just said I don't eBay.