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Halloween Customers (Fun With Fabric!)

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  • Halloween Customers (Fun With Fabric!)

    As many of you know, I work in a fabric store, a well-known chain which shall remain nameless. I've spoken of the foolishness of some of my customers before, but when you add in a holiday in which people like to dress in weird clothes, that multiplies exponentially.

    Honestly, it's like some folks have no idea that clothing ought to be comfortable, or at least tolerable. And you're going to be wearing these items for several hours at a party (and likely more than once, as Halloween is on a weekend this year), so you'll want something you can bear to wear.

    One gal came in with her son, wanting to make a Robin Hood outfit to wear onstage. She brought up bolts of green and brown felt and wanted to make clothes out of it. While felt is fine for hats and decoration, you do not want to wear an entire outfit made of it, especially under stage lights; it's stiff, hot and a bit itchy. She wanted the felt because it was on sale cheap! Fortunately for her son's sake, I was able to talk her into broadcloth, also on sale cheap and a helluva lot more wearable.

    An older couple came in; the man was making a scarecrow costume and was thinking of using burlap for the mask! I've mentioned people considering burlap for clothing before, and trust me, it is an Extraordinarily Bad Idea™. I get splinters in my hands just cutting that damned stuff! Fortunately, I was able to talk him into the monkscloth instead; visible weave like burlap, but 100% cotton and much, much softer and infinitely more comfortable than burlap.

    Sadly, a woman and her young daughter came in the next day with a similar idea, and I could not talk them into the monkscloth (yes, the monkscloth is $9.99/yd while the burlap is $2.99/yd, but the treatment for the facial irritation from the burlap will more than make up the difference!). Hopefully, they'll figure it out before the Big Night.

    But even these folks were more intelligent than the ones who complained about having to stand in long lines. Wow, gosh, who'd've thought a fabric store would be busy before Halloween and Christmas?! And no, I can't cut your fabric at the register, it's for paying, not cutting. Those dozen people waiting behind you would not be happy with either of us. Besides, your 60" wide fabric won't fit across my 18" wide counter and I have neither yardstick to measure nor cutting guide to cut straight. Yes, I know the bolt label says "10 yards". That's how much was on the bolt when we received it two weeks ago. I can tell just by looking at it that there's not ten yards left on there (A. the edge is straight as it's been cut, and B. it's noticeably thinner than a typical full bolt). No, that is not false advertising, that is the nature of a fabric store! Sorry, you'll have to stand in that awful long line at the cutting counter.
    Last edited by XCashier; 10-19-2010, 12:53 PM.
    I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
    My LiveJournal
    A page we can all agree with!

  • #2
    I went into a fabric store just last night and had to leave. There were long lines at the cutting table like you say, and I certainly understood that, but they had nobody ringing anyone up. And they didn't seem to be taking breaks in the mountain of cutting to go ring people up, either.

    I stood and stood and stood and stood and stood. It became pretty obvious that I was going to continue to stand there until they were done cutting. And chatting. And they had a LOT of fabric bolts over there in the que.

    I didn't get mad about it, but I did have some other errands to run and wanted to get going before the stores starting getting close to closing time.

    Not surprised, actually, it's pretty hit or miss in that place.

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    • #3
      Years ago, I had a part time job as a cutter at Joann Fabrics, and Halloween brought out the crazies. Literally.

      One guy brought up about 5 bolts of black fabric: felt, muslin, leather, velour, and maybe even wool. So as I am cutting, I asked him what he was using it for (I figured, if not for a costume, then some display).

      He paused for a second, "Well, it's a little complicated." I smiled helpfully, and then he started telling me that black cloth blocked the radio waves that "they" were bombarding him with to read his brain. He was now going to experiment with different kinds of cloth now that he had established that black was the color. Now that he was past his initial reluctance, the flood gates opened and I heard how he was planning to cover not just the windows but also the walls where he lived.

      He spent about $100, and he was dressed very nicely, so I don't think he was in any mental health program (my full time job at that time was working in a mental health program) because once you are in the system they keep a tight rein on your finances.
      To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care;
      To pursue it with forks and hope;
      To threaten its life with a railway share;
      To charm it with forks and hope!

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      • #4
        when you add in a holiday in which people like to dress in weird clothes,
        There's a holiday for this?? I thought it was just me!

        It's great that you give people advice about fabric. If some of them choose not to listen, that's their problem.
        When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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        • #5
          Quoth RecoveringKinkoid View Post
          I went into a fabric store just last night and had to leave. There were long lines at the cutting table like you say, and I certainly understood that, but they had nobody ringing anyone up.
          Sounds like bad management there. At my store, someone has to be on the cash register at all times. That person can put away fabric in the front of the store (within view of the cash register) if there's nobody in line, and then run back to the register when a customer shows up, but there must always be at least one person on register and one on cutting counter at all times.
          Quoth patiokitty View Post
          It is amazing how some people will not listen when you try to give them fabric advice.
          Yeah, what do we know, we only work with the stuff every freaking day!
          Quoth MoonCat View Post
          It's great that you give people advice about fabric. If some of them choose not to listen, that's their problem.
          In a perfect world, it would be their problem, but as patiokitty pointed out, in real life someone will claim that the fabric made them break out or otherwise didn't work and pitch a fit. While I'm not a total expert, I pretty much know what fabrics work under stage lights, what's comfortable to wear, tolerable to wear for short periods, okay to decorate with but not to wear and what shouldn't be touched with a ten-meter cattle prod.

          I really, really, really hate the burlap and wouldn't wish burlap clothing on my worst enemy. I really don't want to see some young kid with welts and jute splinters on her face because she wanted her scarecrow costume to look authentic by using burlap.
          I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
          My LiveJournal
          A page we can all agree with!

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          • #6
            Oooo...Last year I was so mad at the lady (who was v e r y s l o w) at the cutting counter around this time of year! I'd waited patiently behind a group of 3 getting their fabric cut. I assume your counters have 2-sides and the employees work one side or the other so the line forms in-front of them? Well, just as she finished with those 3-customers, a lady walked-up to the other side of the counter, and when the employee finished, she turned right around and started helping that lady! Yes, that's the face that myself and EVERYBODY behind me made. And of course, other people started lining up behind that line cutting lady, and the employee helped them too. I just left my fabric and told the manager I saw up front why I was leaving (Ok, I was mad and was late to see a movie); at least they've improved the service since renovating!
            "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

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            • #7
              Ah...this was the one advantage to working at my fabric store back in the day: Halloween marked the beginning of the slow season! (My store was home decor fabric only and most people tried to get their home improvement projects done by then) So I never had to deal with these crazies! Just the desperate ones that didn't find what they were looking for at Joann's or wherever.
              Now, if you smell the roses but it doesn't lift your spirits, you're either allergic to rose pollen or you need medical intervention. ~ Seshat

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              • #8
                Quoth LillFilly View Post
                Oooo...Last year I was so mad at the lady (who was v e r y s l o w) at the cutting counter around this time of year! I'd waited patiently behind a group of 3 getting their fabric cut. I assume your counters have 2-sides and the employees work one side or the other so the line forms in-front of them? Well, just as she finished with those 3-customers, a lady walked-up to the other side of the counter, and when the employee finished, she turned right around and started helping that lady!
                We do have two sides at our cutting counter, though the majority of the fabric gets cut at the front side (three stations). The large fabric (the 54" rolls of batting or home dec stuff) gets cut on the large table on the back side of the counter, but those customers still have to get in line at the front.

                I'm glad you told the manager what had happened and why you were leaving.
                I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
                My LiveJournal
                A page we can all agree with!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth LillFilly View Post
                  Oooo...Last year I was so mad at the lady (who was v e r y s l o w) at the cutting counter around this time of year! I'd waited patiently behind a group of 3 getting their fabric cut. I assume your counters have 2-sides and the employees work one side or the other so the line forms in-front of them? Well, just as she finished with those 3-customers, a lady walked-up to the other side of the counter, and when the employee finished, she turned right around and started helping that lady! Yes, that's the face that myself and EVERYBODY behind me made. And of course, other people started lining up behind that line cutting lady, and the employee helped them too. I just left my fabric and told the manager I saw up front why I was leaving (Ok, I was mad and was late to see a movie); at least they've improved the service since renovating!

                  Where I lived before now had a lot of problems at that shop with the fabric counter backing up, so they finally went to a take a number system like a deli. It was great, you didn't even have to stand in line, you could look around the nearest aisles and still hear them call your number. No question of who was next, no complete clogging of areas with lines. Loved it.

                  Madness takes it's toll....
                  Please have exact change ready.

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                  • #10
                    The whole cutting table / register in front system is an improvement over the fabric store we used when I was growing up. They had the cash registers at the cutting tables. If you just popped in for a spool of thread you had to wait in line behind people getting fabric cut.
                    Women can do anything men can.
                    But we don't because lots of it's disgusting.
                    Maxine

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