Uh...Really?? Arrogance from a kid!

[sewhappy]

So I was at Joanns last nite to get special fabric my daughter liked  for her quilt back.  I was doing the math for the yardage I needed as she chose a wider fabric than we had originally decided on~The clerk took it upon herself to CORRECT me with a tone of "you don't know what you are doing" complete with a sigh and roll of the eyes...  I was doing math for the 59" (what my daughter had chosen) She was doing it for 42" Now it will be the same amount to purchase but I was thinking to use it for another project as well and granted she did not know this but to treat a customer like that is completly unacceptable!!! When I (nicley)explained that I was going to get more for something else she became upset I said I should have told her that when I asked her for her help after all she HAS been doing this for quite awhile! I said "HONEY I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP AND I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN!!!

I left without buying anything!! Guess what manager is gonna get a phone call from me today!!

[witha'K'quilting]

I had a bad experience at joanns as well let time I was out of town. i wanted to buy a roll of warm and white batting. The manager said they only had one roll to sell by the yard. The roll was a full 40 yards! I had a 50% off coupon for the roll which was regular price. He told me I would have to buy it by the yard, which sells for more, and was on sale for 30%, and could use a 15% off sale coupon to make up the difference. The math did not add up, and I started to walk out. He became very upset that 'i made him carry the roll to the cutting table'. Poor baby, I would have purchased the whole roll and carried it ti the car myself had he been fair.

[lisae]

I don't buy from JoAnn very much any more. I get sick of them always questioning coupons. Once I was there and had a coupon for 20% off all notions. I had Velcro in my cart. The clerk argued with me that Velcro is not a notion. Then what is it???? She ended up calling the manager, who confirmed Velcro IS a notion.

 

Also beware of their fabric. I made a really cute flannel quilt for a friend's new granddaughter. The flannel was every bit as expensive as quilt store flannel. When I washed the quilt, it pilled and faded horribly. No more JoAnn fabric for me!

[dancingraisin]

I avoid Joann whenever I can.  The fabric quality is mixed, but often poor.  But mostly, I do not like dealing with the chain stores that set prices crazy high so they can have coupons and sales.  (Kohls is another one that comes to mind.)  Fifty per cent off is crazy if that is really only a little less than the item sells for elsewhere!  I'd rather shop places that consistently have reasonable prices and don't make me plan my purchases--especially the major ones!

[LisaC]

More than once I've taken fabric to the counter  - and had it cut once -only to discover the sale sign next to or above it did not mean that bolt. I didn't take it! I've also read items are on sale in their catalog and when you get to the store they are not; or only a couple bolts of that type are. It is very frustrating to say the least. You definitely have to be a very savvy shopper to make sure you are getting the correct price. We no longer have a quilt shop in our town so are stuck shopping there periodically but save major fabric purchases for out of town shops.

[Bonnie H]

Our Joann's as well has a problem with their pricing of batting. I usually buy rolls of W&N there and then they started carrying 15 yard rolls of Hobbs 80/20, so I was buying rolls of both with my 50% off coupons. I always check the price marked on the roll to make sure I'm paying what I think I'm paying for it, but lo and behold, their system will have it priced at a dollar more a yard. So do you think they tell me? Oh, no. They rip off the price tag, put it in their pocket and charge me what their system says it is, never saying a word. The first time this happened I didn't realize it until I was up at the counter to pay for it. After paying I realized it was $80 more than it should have been. I paid for it with my debit card and they refused to issue me a refund at first and I finally got them to issue the refund but it was only a store credit. So be ware, their prices as marked may not be what comes up in the computer!!

 

Having said that, I do appreciate some of the great deals I get there, I just know now to be more cautious.

[JustSewSimple]

I know you know that is not legal and they can be turned in for baiting.  I took to task McRae's back when they were in business and I got my product at the advertised price and 1/2 off my next purchase as well.  The biggest problem is that the folks you deal with are just paid by the hr and don't care one way or the other.  I understand that Hancock's takes Joann's coupons but their fabric is not that good anymore either.  I find Hobby Lobby fabric to be good quality.  What about you?

[Bonnie H]

Sylvia, you are right, it is illegal, and when I pointed it out to them over and over they finally agreed to give me a store credit. I felt so bad for the poor girl at the pay counter. I was nice but insistent on a refund. She kept saying over and over that they can get fired for giving refunds, and she was the manager. I didn't know what to think -- I didn't want her to lose her job over someone else ripping off and hiding a price tag. 

 

I've quilted some quilts made with Hobby Lobby fabric and they were quite nice fabrics!

[Zora]

Another trick JoAnn's likes to use....the coupons for percentages off are only good on items that are not on sale.  I wanted some Gingher scissors, and they were perpetually on sale for 15% off so that you couldn't use your 40-50% off coupons.  When I asked if I could pay full price, and take the coupon instead, they said no. 

 

Once, I got some 108 inch white muslin for a quilt back.  I was irritated in the first place because they had NO help working and a long line at the measuring counter.  I had an appointment and couldn't wait, so took it to the home-dec fabric table and insisted they cut it for me there, since the clerk was doing absolutely nothing. (And why wasn't she either helping at the other counter, or volunteering to cut at her work station in the first place.)

 

I didn't use it for a month or so, and when I opened the piece, it had a big crooked seam running across it, and  she folded it so I couldn't see it.  You would think the clerk would have said " There's a big seam running through this. Does that matter???"  Yes, in fact it DOES matter.  I was able to barely miss the seam and not use it in the finished quilt back.  I live 40 miles away and no longer had the receipt, but to say the least, I was ticked. 

 

Yes, you have to watch people all the time.  They don't get paid enough to care, and probably have zero benefits.  But RUDE??? Yeah, the manager needs a call. 

[GrandmaLKB]

Many times the online "sale" items are Out Of Stock, too.    I don't use JoAnn's much any more.  Maybe when I have a 50% coupon and I will get rotary cutter blades.........rarely do I buy fabric any more.   I bought a case of batting once in bags.   When I opened the first one, it had been sliced through, so I had had several pieces instead of one large piece.   I thought maybe it was just one of those things, but when I checked the bags, they were all the same.   The bag wasn't cut, but the batting inside was.    I wrote a complaint to JoAnn's and never heard a peep out of them.   I no longer buy ANY batting from them.   They are terrible about cutting right for online orders, too.   I bought fleece one time and it was just hacked off and not straight.  By the time I straightened it, I didn't have enough for what I wanted.  Don't buy fleece from them any more either !

[CindyT]

I buy from different JoAnn's in totally different parts of the state. The ones nearest to me (over an hour away) will only honor one coupon per transaction. They had me trained to bring in my husband or a friend to get what I needed with more than one coupon. Then when I went to another JoAnn's even another hour plus away, I was doing what I normally do and was up at the counter splitting up my purchase so hubby could use a 2nd coupon on a different transaction, and the clerk asked me what I was doing. When I told her, she told me she could piggy back the coupons AND she even got another coupon out of their flyer that I didn't have and put that on top of the two that I had!  Am I going back?  You betcha.  Of course, though, I usually am buying thread, notions, or packaged batting there and not much material.  I haven't really had any bad experiences there although I ran into the same situation with a roll of batting that they wouldn't honor the 50% off coupon.  It wasn't the end of the world...I just didn't buy it there.

 

The clerk was wrong in being rude to you.

[jclark]

I purchased a bolt of JoAnn's  "premium" white muslin online--the bolt had several black marks at various places all through the bolt.  I contacted customer service to see about returning the bolt or exchanging it--here's what they told me:

 

I could not return it to a store, I had to write a letter justifying why I wanted to return the bolt and take photos to prove my point, they would review my letter and let me know IF I could return the defective bolt.  Oh, and by the way, we only do fabric review once a month!!!

 

Needless to say, I picked up the phone and called Moda ordering way more fabric that I should have but at least it is quality fabric and I don't get the runaround!!  

[ginnysnowden]

Well what goes around comes around! Joannes finally did the last straw! I have moved on. Writing letters to food processing people, and pharmacutical companies. The price increases have made me a little upset. It is the smaller containers, Got a Folgers 2 lb container of coffee. Now I am supposed to be an idiot! the can is a full 2 inches shorter than the other, contains less e.t.c.. The letters will begin, I am now in the process of detailing money lost because the new containers do not contain enough product to make a recipe, do not last like they should. The sheets I bought that lied about the thread count do not make good rags. I paid full price for them (70.00) I have had it, My Mama and Grandma knew how to do without. ME TOO.

 

Ginny

[piecrust]

I too have had many problems with Joann's. Spoke to the manager one time and while she was standing there, still had the problem with the check-out clerk. For several years now, one of my New Years Resolutions have been to not go to Joann's, not even with a coupon. I try to use the area quilt shops even though they are farther away and cost more, but in the long run, I am happer with the product and the service.

I have used the Joann's batting that sewhappy is referring to and I will never purchase it again. The batting has thick areas and thin areas. Obvioulsy, not a very good quality controlled product.

[Fastquilts]

I have also had problems with Joanns and when I do I call the Joann store and make them give me their district managers number and give it a call.  One time the district manager had me to go back for a return and store didnt want to do it until I told them the district managers name and that I could call him again.  Were they ever upset but I got what I wanted which was right.  I think all of their stores train their staff how to be mean and nasty!

[Liam]

I stopped shopping at Joann's several years ago, I got tired of their rude and nasty comments. They were always questioning my purchases; treating me as if I was a complete idiot because I was a man buying fabric.  The last time I was there I had taken several bolts of fabric to the cutting table, the young woman at the table started questioning my purchase, I told her I was making a quilt.  She then said "Oh your one of those kind of guys", then she gave me a limp wrist jesture. That ticked me off!!! I proceeded to tell her where she could put the fabric; I walked out and haven't been back since!

[RitaR]

Just as a tip, I ordered 5 yards of each of 6 fabrics from Thousands of Bolts.. to check the quality

 

It was 4 different manufacturers, and the quality is terrific.  Fabric feels like butter, and a beautiful

print in each.  Only paid $3.00 a yard.  Hope they have another sale like that when I get rich!  

[Bonnie H]

Rita, Thousands of Bolts is a great place to buy online! When I'm looking for a particular backer fabric to match a print line I'm using, I always check there first and sometimes get lucky. Apparently I missed their recent sale. 

[Jess]

I haven't always had good luck at every Joann's that I've visited, but I haven't had a problem with the one that we have in our town. Maybe because there is enough competition to make them think twice ( Joann's, Hancock, & several quilts shops within 5-20 minutes), or maybe just a good management team for that store.  They've always let me buy rolls at the roll price, gone out of their way to tell me if it's part of an "online only" sale if it will be less and they've split my transactions at the checkout the few times that I had 2 coupons that I wanted to use, but that couldn't be used as part of one purchase.  But to be honest I don't buy a lot of fabric from them since I prefer to purchase from our local non-chain shops more, even when prices are higher because I'd just rather support local vendors.  But I'm not one to shop around unless it's online. If I'm going to a store then I'm going to get whatever I can that I need from one location vs drive to 10 different places to pick up whatever is on sale at each one, so sometimes I just buy something there becuase I'm there for some other item anyway.