Praise for Michaels

[Tampa Doll]

Well, I was out today (dare I say it?) looking for some Christmas Emblishments for some Toppers that I was making. Now I went to Joann's and they looked at me like I had three heads.

Dh asked if I wanted to go to Michaels and I said "What the Heck can't hurt." Went in the store and asked someone who was stocking shelves, if they had any Christmas stuff out. She said follow me. We went to the other side of the store and lo and behold , everything I was looking for was there. Little packages in bright colors, 3-D snowflakes, Christmas lights and candy canes. I wanted to do a jug. I got what I needed and as I was checking out, the woman behind me said "Christmas Stuff already?" Said yep, crocheting Christmas ball toppers. Can never start to soon.

So this is a Big Thank You and Praise for Michaels.

[birdlady1]

You could have gone to Michael's LAST month and seen Christmas stuff filling the aisles! They're the only ones who recognize the fact that crafters start thinking about Christmas in July, not in November!

[luckybmr]

Ohio Michael's are all Christmas'd out also. Only bad thing is they took away the clearance aisles to put more xmas stuff - waaaaaa. But that's okay, I am sure they will be back soon.

[WhiteElephant]

Okay i will admit I am a Joannes faithful follower, so to their credit, I went there last week and they had Xmas stuff... but that again I have one of those...like...superstores, its amazing! I dunno. Gotta love a craft store that has exactly what you want when you want it.

[CraftyShannon]

Hobby Lobby was the first to get Christmas stuff here. One store has it all out. The other, the one I go to all the time, has been putting it out for almost 2 months now. Given you always see at least 4 people there specifically to do the Christmas stuff, I don't understand what is taking them so long to get it out already. It's not like they are moving it all over the store, yet they are making very little progress. Still, they are having great sales on Christmas stuff already on top of the bi-weekly coupons, so I can't complain. You wouldn't think many people would be buying Christmas stuff already, but they are selling a lot of stuff already.

 

Michael's finally put two rows of Christmas stuff out last week. I've gone a bit crazy on paintable figurines and ornaments. Note to self: When you see a gingerbread house with very tiny details, this is not the time to think "Oh, I'll buy this and not have to make a real one each year." Yep, I'm already driving myself crazy with this thing. Thank goodness it's cute or I would have smashed it against the wall by now.

 

I went to Hancock and their selection is pitiful so far. I am currently boycotting Jo-Ann's until they stop their new system about how to get to the cash register, so I wouldn't know what they have.

 

Yet, why is it that when you don't need something, you see it all the time, yet the minute you decide you have to have it, all the sudden, it's no place to be found? I made these Christmas jar lid covers and wanted to put a gingerbread man button on the top. I know I've seen these things a million times, but of course I can't find them now. Okay, I found some microscopic sized ones, but not one large enough to be noticed. I'll find them eventually, but it's annoying that I can't find them now. Obviously, patience is not my greatest virtue.

[Natasha]

I am currently boycotting Jo-Ann's until they stop their new system about how to get to the cash register

 

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I have to ask what you mean by this.

[Tampa Doll]

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I have to ask what you mean by this.

 

When you go to Joann's now you have to stand in a line like you do at the theme parks or movies . Then when a register has no one in it, they call next also like the post office. You can not just get in like at any cash register. It's a pain, but in a way you are not stuck in a register with someone who has a lot of stuff or picked up something without a price.

Now as to Michaels having their Christmas stuff out last month, alls I can say in Not My Michaels. Seems like each store and area is different.

[CraftyShannon]

When you go to Joann's now you have to stand in a line like you do at the theme parks or movies . Then when a register has no one in it, they call next also like the post office. You can not just get in like at any cash register. It's a pain, but in a way you are not stuck in a register with someone who has a lot of stuff or picked up something without a price.

 

Yeah, that's what I was talking about. I thought maybe it was just our store, but sounds like it's a new company policy. Our store has taken the whole front main aisle, roped it off into a maze that you navigate just to get to the sign all the way down at the end of the line of registers, and you have to wait there. How this "helps", I don't have a clue, because you are stuck even more behind a customer with a loaded buggy than you were before. Used to, you could get in a faster line if the one you were in was slow, yet now you are at the mercy of the single line vs. how many registers are open. In our store, that's one or two registers, even when it's busy. Maybe you really aren't in line any longer, but it feels that way after the aggravation of trying to figure out the maze just to get in line.

 

Last time I was there, some poor man, who obviously does not visit craft stores often, went to the customer service counter to ask what aisle one item was on. The cashier pointed to the line and said he had to wait (yes, behind all the people buying stuff) to get his question answered. The man argued it would take seconds to tell him the aisle number, and it wasn't hindering the time it took for them to check people out, yet he'd be spending more time waiting in line to get his question answered than it would for him to find his needed item. Just crazy.

 

My mom politely complained to the cashier, and the girl said not only did she not like it but they were having "mixed reviews" from customers. A few liked it, but many found the ropes confusing and complained about the single line wait. Yet, for now, this is a fixed store policy. It just seems with all these promises Jo-Ann's has been making for months for store improvements, they are doing very little so far that has actually helped the customers. On a positive note, I will say locally, they have finally cleaned up the store and did a bit of restocking. Yet, there have been too many things lately that have bugged me, and since there are plenty of other craft buying options here, I chose to give my money to other places until things improve.

 

Sorry for the hi-jack, but wanted to answer the question given to me. Now back to the original topic....

[tezcatlipoca98]

So...Jo-Ann's employees look at you like you have 3 heads when you ask about xmas stuff in August?

 

Yeah, thats mainly because JAS hires kids who don't know whats going on most of the time. I haven't seen the line thing yet, but then again I hate JAS and only go there when I have to get fabric for other people. They would do a line thing.

 

I'm shocked that your local store didn't have xmas stuff out yet. Typically all the craft stores start wheeling it out mid June. By xmas it will all be Valentines day stuff.

[Sylviaf]

I don't really mind the single line, since I always end up getting in line behind someone who questions every price or needs price checks... It is really outrageous if they won't answer a simple question, though. I think maybe my local Joann's is better than most because we seem to have a mixture of kids who know nothing, art students who know something and always seem interested in what you are doing and adults who have been there for awhile.