Letter to Joann's

To JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store,

Yesterday, Saturday, my MIL and I went to your store in New Braunfels. I will never return to that store again and I will seriously consider whether or not it is worth it to me to go to the store that is closer to my home on 410 in San Antonio when I have two closer Hancock Fabrics closer to where I live.

First I had a number of bolts of fabric in my cart. I had number 76 and my MIL had 75. When she was called, I helped her put her fabrics on the counter and in the mean time, the clerk skipped passed 76 and attended the next lady without calling my number and pushing the electronic number to 77. I assumed that I hadn't heard the number while I was helping my MIL, but the other customers and the other clerk assured me that she did not call my number and just chose to help the other customer without going through the numbers.

That same lady that had skipped past me attended me and she was not cutting the fabrics straight, which was clear because my first fabric was a plaid. When I tried to straighten it out, she said that I couldn't and that she had to go by the lower end of the fabric. I figured that it was enough extra that I had asked for that I didn't make a big deal about it and let her cut it askew.

My next fabric bolt was the yellow flowers on white bottom weight that you have in your stores. I asked for a yard and when it was apparent that there wasn't much of the fabric left after that I waited for her to offer it to me at a discount which she did not do. It wasn't a big deal to me, but I figured I could use the extra amount and said I would take it. She measured it at 3/8 of a yard and went to cut the edge, which was less than 1/2 inch (probably because she had cut it unevenly for the previous customer). I asked what she was doing and she said it was store policy to straighten it off at the exact amount and she was going to cut it. I decided not to get the extra amount. The next fabric was drastically cut unevenly and I had asked for 2 1/2 yards. Before she was going to cut it she wanted to cut off the uneven amount to throw away again citing store policy and I asked to speak with a manager and she called Julie. Julie rudely said that it was store policy to prevent shrinkage, and I decided not to get any of the other bolts and had I to do it again, I would have left the two pieces that had been cut and not purchased anything from the store.

Changing shrinkage from a minuscule amount of fabric to a customer to just going in the trash does not decrease it. Not only that, it is increased by wasting the time to cut the fabric and if, like this clerk, it is not being cut evenly it is an increased amount that is being created. As I have said when I started this diatribe, I will never return to that location and really you may have lost me completely as a customer, and I am a frequent shopper. Additionally, my MIL rarely goes fabric shopping without me and when she does go, she tends to spend a great deal of her discretionary income on fabric. I'm sure Hancock is grateful for any business that you send their way, but unless you want to file bankruptcy like they did, I suggest that you do something to address this sort of occurrence, esp. in management.