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goneisland2
Warming Up
USA
67 Posts |
 Posted - 04/26/2004 : 10:00:10 AM
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Ah, my chance to say something about customer service at LYS. One would think the owner of a LYS would be the epitome of customer service wouldn't you. Although our LYSO is an excellent teacher, etc some of her comments hurt and you don't want to go back, but what do you do when it is the ONLY LYS in town (with the exception of Michaels, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby).
Recently I took a pattern ( a sarong) into the LYS which I wanted to make and purchase the yarn from her. When she asked who I was making it for, I replied "my daughter," at which point she started virtually belly laughing. (She knows one of my daughters has become very overweight after starting her depression medication -- and the LYSO knows this fact). I stated I was making for a different daughter. Now, regardless of if I was making it for a size 40 or a size 6, it should make no difference to the LYSO -- especially if I were purchasing yarn for a size 40. I was going into the store for guidance on yarn and to purchase the yarn. Needless to say I purchased a set of needles I wanted -- No yarn and left the store and haven't been back yet.
Others I know who knit and frequent the store have stories of their own. Other times the LYSO is quite nice. Perhaps she needs depression meds herself. I don't know. Now some of us try to time our visits to the store when we don't see her vehicle out from and have her "help" wait on us.
Are we being overly sensitive? Any suggestions? I only cited one incident. Consequently I do more ordering of yarn on line now.
Admiral Annie
Aboard S/V Island Thyme
Island Trader 38
Dog River AL USA |
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myshelle10
Permanent Resident
USA
2749 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2004 : 10:35:38 AM
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I think that while everyone has a different idea of customer service, some things are universal. I once had someone at an LYS take my yarn off the needles and frog it *without* my permission -- b/c it was too loose. Sometimes people are seriously lacking in common sense. Knitters just don't frog one another's work-- especially without being asked (I'm imagining needing to frog something one day but being afriad to do it LOL... but that's an aside). WHATEVER size your daughter is really isn't anyone's business. Certainly not to *laugh* at the idea of you making it. (If you ask someone whether they believe it would look good on your daughter, it may be fair to suggest something else, or indicate a concern... but still not to laugh) :P
Sorry you had such a bad experience. Is anything else near by? Otherwise, Viva Elann.com! :)
myshelle |
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kimkrafty
Permanent Resident
USA
2145 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2004 : 10:49:20 AM
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I don't think you are being overly sensitive. Your daughter is free to wear whatever you and she together feel is appropriate.
I think her (LYSO's) reaction was rude, insensitive, and tacky.
She may not have realized that she was being rude, as some people don't. (I have said someting inappropriate once or twice in my life, although I constantly try to use tact, compassion, and pleasantries.)
If I thought she was intentionally being rude, I'd avoid the shop like the plague. If I thought she just lacked a certain ability to be compassionate, I'd just avoid her.
Kimberly, kniting in VA
FO for 2004: 1/2 :) |
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A10CO
Gabber Extraordinaire
577 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2004 : 11:14:51 AM
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| I think what your LYSO did was terrible! It was rude and disrespectful in a general sense, let alone from the proprietor of a business. I would avoid that place - hopefully you have some other options. |
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rorosity@aol.com
Seriously Hooked
696 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2004 : 1:31:46 PM
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The bottom line is that there are some really mean, evil jerks in this world. You'll find them everywhere. Just because the woman knits doesn't make her a good person. She sounds hideous and I'd lay into her if she ever said anything like that to me. People like that get away with being nasty and mean, because people either are too afraid to tell her off or people excuse bad behavior with the response "they are just that way, they just have a sarcastic personality"....blah, blah, blah....I hate that excuse. There is NO excuse for hurtful, mean behavior. She was probably a bully in school. This bully just happened to open a yarn shop. I would not spend a penny in her store.
Can you tell I can't stand people like that? LOL!
Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that your surrounded by a whole lot of jerks in this world. Just try your best to stay far away from them. |
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diana.enky
Permanent Resident
Australia
1092 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2004 : 7:14:04 PM
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What an awful person. Ditto what rorosity said - I bet she was a bully too. There is just no excuse to treat people that way.
Do not spend a cent there and warn everyone else you know about how mean the owner is. Don't even go in there if she is not there, she is still the owner and does not deserve your patronage. You're right she may need her own meds - I've read that bullies behave that way because of their own deep-seated insecurities and fear of failure. The only way they can feel better about themselves is to belittle and criticise others. Very sad. You don't need the aggravation - stay away from people like that and surround yourself with warm, happy and supportive friends - like us at KR 
Remember if you have any knitting questions - ask us, meanwhile go wild online or take a trip to another LYS, if possible. Make it an outing with your friends with the mission to discover a 'friendly' other LYS. Good luck and best wishes for your daughter as well.
Diana
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fillyjonk
Permanent Resident
1127 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2004 : 08:02:57 AM
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See, I would have been taken aback and would have said something like "I'm sorry, did I say something funny?" Hopefully a comment like that would make her realize she was being rude.
Normally I can chalk rudeness (or inattention) up to someone having a bad day, but out and out laughing at a clothing choice for someone who is large - and who is large because of a medical side effect - really can't be. It's just plain rude and mean. (I'm glad your daughter wasn't with you)
I don't know, it seems like many days the rude people far outnumber the kind ones. The more I know people, the more I like dogs and cats... |
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knittykat
Seriously Hooked
USA
710 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2004 : 08:10:20 AM
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I'm so sorry! What a terrible thing to say to someone! I am honestly saddened that someone could be so mean. I would have probably said something along the lines of "What, is there a problem with that?" If I could get over the shock and pick my jaw up off the floor.
I've gotten rude LYS treatment but never like that. That woman doesn't deserve a penny of your business.
Kat in Illinois |
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HoJo
Permanent Resident
USA
1474 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 10:10:37 AM
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Hey goneisland2:
I read this and thought: A Sarong pattern! Where did you get it?? I'd love to make a sarong. I'm not exactly petite either, but I bet I can alter it to fit me.
HoJo
"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels." Faith Whittesley |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 12:19:33 PM
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If sarongs are only for the thin, someone should email that info to Tahiti and Togo! The owner was rude, plain and simple. If she's said it tome, I'd have looked her straight in the eye and said "Since it bothers you that much I'll buy the supplies elsewhere." Then I'd probably have Weight Watchers stage a knit in at her shop!
Monika
"There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness." Gandhi |
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goneisland2
Warming Up
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 1:15:10 PM
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Tonight I will get the pattern out and bring to work with me tomorrow so I can give you the details.
quote:
Originally posted by HoJo
Hey goneisland2:
I read this and thought: A Sarong pattern! Where did you get it?? I'd love to make a sarong. I'm not exactly petite either, but I bet I can alter it to fit me.
HoJo
"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels." Faith Whittesley
Admiral Annie
Aboard S/V Island Thyme
Island Trader 38
Dog River AL USA |
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goneisland2
Warming Up
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 1:20:34 PM
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Thanks y'all for your support. I guess I was taken aback so much that I could not respond with anything clever --
A co-worker and I discussed our mutual "experiences" with this LYSO and have concluded she doesn't like this area too well. Originally she is from NYC -- and Mobile AL is a far cry from that. The LYSO is always saying well I can't sell yarn like that here, but then she doesn't sell what we really want either.
I hear there are WONDERFUL stores in nearby (if you call 2.5 hrs nearby!) in NO (New Orleans). So I think I will save my pennies and travel over there for an outing one day before it gets too hot -- visit the French Quarter, yarn shops and have lunch at Emeril Lagasse's and continue to patronize on-line yarn shoppes.
Admiral Annie
Aboard S/V Island Thyme
Island Trader 38
Dog River AL USA |
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PamS
Seriously Hooked
USA
943 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 1:34:38 PM
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Admiral Annie:
After reading your last post--that figures--she's from NY--the land of some of the rudest, meanest, and most obnoxious LYSOs on this planet. Don't get me wrong here, there a number of great LYOS here too. It reminds me of going to a certain NYC LYS with a "woman of color" (please, I don't mean any disrespect here) and while I was being helped (actually it felt like the salesperson was helping herself to my wallet), another sales person was eying my friend wondering if she would be shoplifting. Usually, this friend just shrugs it off, but this time she said, see you back at the office. That should have been my cue to leave as well. I left a few minutes later, lighter by $115, but I will never return there, and I'll never let myself be intimidated by shop owners, sales staff, or even Internet stores. There's lots of great merchants out there--let's use them and leave the bullies to themselves!
--Pam |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 2:03:06 PM
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Good gracious! A LYS in NYC that doesn't welcome people of darker colours will never get my lighter coloured money. You'd think that someone in NYC would be used to people of all colours, shapes, etc.
Monika
"There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness." Gandhi |
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GaiaDea
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2004 : 8:31:09 PM
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I'll say it again:
In MY opinion, rudeness has NO place in a service-oriented industry.
I would (being me) make it clear to the LYSO why I prefer shopping hours away, and online rather than enter HER den of iniquity. I would also remind her that discrimination, even in the south, is illegal, and ALWAYS in bad taste--whether that discrimination is against someone's weight, color, or religious habits. If she wants to be rude regarding someone's appearance, perhaps she is in the wrong industry and should be filling cartons in a warehouse where she won't be offended at the sight of a potetial customer who isn't a clone of herself.
I am a southern native, and have visited NYC for an extended stay. This taught me that people are pretty much the same everywhere, and their area of origin is no excuse for bad behavior. I found New Yorkers to be polite and helpful, even on the subway when I got turned around with directions. I also was addressed rudely in a shop as a potential customer in NYC. So, IMHO, this retailer should be educated to the fact that folks in Mobile do like to knit with the same yarns as New York folks, and that rudeness is offensive anywhere. I'm sorry for her in a way, that her parents did not raise her to respect herself enough to be polite in public.
Woops, I guess I got ranty again. Sorry if I offended anyone.
Trish |
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KnitRedSox
Chatty Knitter
170 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2004 : 05:56:42 AM
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Hello all,
This is my very first post and I can't believe I am wasting it talking about "snooty" or "snobby" yarn stores that I have encountered. But this demonstrates the depth of my frustration! (I originally posted this message as its own topic, but then I deleted it because I saw it fit well here).
I first began knitting in Pennsylvania and I am now in Massachusetts. I am a grad student with a minimal budget and started taking lessons at store X... My classmates and I nicknamed our teacher "the Knit Nazi" because she had an uncanny ability to make us feel incredibly stupid and useless. I always felt like I was being watched. I couldn't look for yarn or a needle type without being asked if I needed help...in a very condescending way. When they didn't see me for awhile they would say, "I bet you're buying crap yarn!" Does it occur to some people that not everyone can afford designer yarn? I bought $100 worth of good yarn from them and then asked them a question (on the same day) about a project I was making with Lion's Brand...and they would not help me if I was using that "crap yarn." They said I deserved the problems I was having because it was such bad quality. I figured this was one bad experience, but since then I have moved home to MA and have encountered a similar situation in a yarn store near me.
So my ideal yarn store? Of course it's spacious and has a great selection, but above all it has kind people who understand the needs of the beginning and the advanced knitter. The yarn store that I frequent now has a very poor selection compared to the other places, but the people are nice and helpful and seem to enjoy their customers.
A previous poster is absolutely correct... though everyone has their own style of selling and running a store, some things are universal!!!!
Thanks for listening to me vent. |
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sallyjo
Permanent Resident
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2004 : 08:48:27 AM
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Good grief! You deserve it because you're using "crap" yarn? Apparently their yarn has magic pixie dust mixed in so it magically knits itself. "Bite me" springs to mind.
Venting is good.
happiness is highly underrated |
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purlewe
Permanent Resident
1865 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2004 : 07:19:54 AM
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I believe that you get what you give.. hopefully people who call your yarn "crap" and won't help you after spending 100$ (even if it is on another pattern) will wake up suddenly one day with their needles switched in the middle of the night.
What I love about my favorite LYS is that she loves what you make. She knows we all have stashes and we make things slowly. She asks after our projects. She (and her staff) helps when she can. I might buy yarn from her, but I might have a line of projects to get through before that one is on the needles. She doesn't expect me to only bring the projects I bought from her in to the knit-ins. And she has always helped me when I ask a question. No matter how dumb it sounds to my own ears.
Cats always feel underestimated, underappreciated and underfed. ~Jon Carroll
http://www.livejournal.com/users/purlewe/ |
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Spinnerella
Permanent Resident
1040 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2004 : 08:12:09 AM
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Oh, my! This topic wants to go off in a dozen different directions! At first, I was going to say that yarn shop owners are no different from shop owners in general, and different people can have different experiences with the same owner, but then I had to agree that I hate people like that and tend not to go back to stores owned by people like that unless DESPERATE. I am fortunate to live in an area where there are now SIX wonderful yarn shops within a 40 minute radius. The farthest away, and newest, is also the prettiest and the ride is delightful if you go the long way through the country, so I go there willingly. For the most part, the owners/managers/sales staff are all fantastically pleasant and helpful...the one shop that EVERYONE complained about closed recently. That says it all. Maybe you ought to tune this woman up with a nicely worded note expressing your hurt and distress at her ill-advised comments....I'd paraphrase the parting words of American Airlines flight crew as their planes land and say "you know we have a choice when it comes to yarn purchase, so please don't be surprised if I choose to shop elsewhere."
As for the attitude that you deserve problems if you knit with "crap" yarn.....I am not entirely convinced that there isn't the tiniest bit of merit to the sentiment. I realize that money is an issue for many, and yarn IS expensive, but I would rather not knit than waste my time on inferior materials, quite aside from the fact that I hate the feel of many of the inexpensive yarns. That's me. By the way, my new favorite yarn shop owner told me the other day that she is NOT carrying brands X, Y and Z because they are now going to be discounted. So those of you who feel you have no choice than to use the L brand, start looking at craft shops for some of the "better" brands that are now being discounted.
As for lunch at Emeril's....there are MUCH better choices in New Orleans! My son went to college in NOLA and for five years I tried to get hubby to take me to Emeril's on Tchoupitoulas St. Our last trip, for graduation, we finally got reservations for lunch. We had to wait so long (and it is one of the noisiest restaurants ever!) that I was "overserved" on Kir Royals, so, with a bit too much alcohol on an empty stomach, I all but passed out in my entree and had to be carted back to the hotel! My family said I didn't miss that much! Better choices are Irene's Cuisine in the Fr. Quarter, Commander's Palace in the Garden District, Upperline (also GD), Brennan's on Royal, or, where all the other restaurant owners go to eat, Susan Spicer's Bayona! By the way, Emeril now has three restaurants in New Orleans, and now that he is such a TV star, none of them gets very good reviews any more. |
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imamshua
Chatty Knitter
USA
300 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2004 : 09:22:37 AM
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Let me start by saying I do not work in a LYS but I imagine at times it can be quite frustrating.
I do not agree that a store should ever call yarn you are working on "crap", but I also would never presume that because I purchased yarn from my LYS, they should help me fix something I'm working on with yarn purchased elsewhere. I would, however, offer to pay a nominal fee for some help with the other project. If you make the offer and the store is not busy at the moment, most yarn stores will help and not charge.
I have been to some shops that have a specific time and a nominal fee where you can bring WIP's for help. |
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spin_or_knit
Permanent Resident
USA
1203 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2004 : 10:54:06 AM
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quote:
As for lunch at Emeril's....there are MUCH better choices in New Orleans!
Some friends and I ate at Emeril's Delmonico in November and it was FABULOUS! The restaurant was not noisy at all and the service was stellar. The food was absolutely delicious! I could not have asked for a better dining out experience.
We also ate at Brennan's and it was good, too. I liked Emeril's Bananas Foster better, though.
There was another little place--Courtyard of the Seven Sisters or something like that--that was also very good. The atmosphere in that place was amazing, the food was good, and the service was not bad, though nothing to compare to the service at Delmonico or Brennans. |
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