retail and shopping stories

There's nothing quite like going to a Joann's and seeing obvious weebs.

>>9146372
As a cashier at Joann's I've checked out quite a few. They've been buying a lot of the cosplay patterns lately, natch.

But then I cosplay too so maybe I shouldn't really be judging.

Also, some general annoying things about working there that aren't really cgl related but eh:

-Parents letting their children knock over all the fabric bolts/items/etc.
-Customers coming in having no clue at all about what they're making/measurements.
-No one reads the fine print on coupons and then get annoyed when they won't work.
-Also when the fabric tickets won't scan and I have to type in the numbers/yardage for a dozen different fabrics. Same with phone coupons; half the time they won't scan so I have to punch them in manually.

I started working at Joann a few months ago and so far no weebs or Tumblrites despite it being con season in Maryland, but most of the cosplayers we get in our stores have the worst attitudes. Like why give me that dirty look because I wanna talk to you about your cosplay...I'm a 20-year-old girl, not a creepy old neckbeard or something.

Speaking of attitudes, it seems like every other person who comes in our store has a stick up their ass for whatever reason. Also, working here has made me hate muslims. Not muslims with American accents, no. They're fine. I had a nice conversation with an American muslim girl about making Hijabs. But every time a muslim with an accent comes to the cutting counter, I know it's going to be a death sentence. They're always the ones who unravel entire 25-yard bolts of tri-folded Muslin then ask for a single yard, walk away from the counter to get more fabric while huge lines pile up behind them, and do shit like have us cut 15 types of fabric and decide it's too expensive at the register. Just...why are they all so fucking difficult?

>>9146398
This. All of this.

I really wish people would stop coming to the counter and assuming I'm going to be able to read their mind and know the exact measurements of their couch or a living person who isn't even present. This one woman got frustrated when I had no idea how much fabric would be needed for a prom dress to fit her "plus size" daughter.

Also kids. Fucking kids. I actually caught one standing by the candy, snapping chocolate bars in half while her oblivious mother was at the register.

>>9146429
or the ones who try to return fabric that has been used as table clothes

>>9146460
Not chocolate bars, but we sell those round Lindt truffle things, and most of them will inevitably be flattened by the end of the day.

Also some people will try to do multiple transactions so they can use their 40% off coupons over and over, even if an item is $1. I'm probably not even allowed to do that but I don't get paid enough to argue with them.

More cgl-related, I have a large con coming up in town in a few weeks so I'll probably be seeing more people getting last minute stuff for that. It's also nice seeing the regular 'weeby' customers who are actually really nice and chill to talk to about their projects.

I always try to be as pleasant as I can when I go in, people working there get enough shit from stuck up soccer moms and grandmas just buying crap they try to return the next week. Though I do have to avoid the one by my house. They always put the two oldest ladies on the cutting and they are slow as hell, then get an attitude when a line starts forming. The last time I got something cut one bitched me out for bringing things right before her break.I apologized saying I'd not known and she just called me a good for nothing under her breath and did the worse possible ragged cut. From what I hear no one likes them but they are still there. But the one the next town over are always pretty nice.

>>9146744
For at least five years there was an incredibly rude elderly woman at my local jo-ann's who would always do a half ass job at the cutting table (jagged lines, diagonal cuts, folded things up sloppily, aggravated manner of speech). I found out a week ago that she had passed away. She literally worked there until she died. I feel bad for always getting annoyed with her but she was so rotten.

>>9146753
Someone dying doesn't make them any less of a bitch, anon. They're just a dead bitch now. If you didn't like them when they alive, you don't have to like them just because they're dead. Everyone dies. Including awful people.

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Cap from a while ago. Still love this story. We need more outrageous customer anecdotes.

>>9146744
Yeah, I can't blame retail workers for getting bitchy when it's hot as the ninth circle of Hell and there are lines full of God-fearing mothers dragging their screaming hellspawn along with seventy bolts of cloth... but shit, if it's a quiet shift and I'm being nice, there's no reason to act like I'm shit under your shoe.

On a cosplay-related note I always seem to find the funniest weebs at the market. They're the ones who go out in hideous wigs, think that buying tissue-thin cotton instead of decent fabric is a good idea, and loudly tell everyone around them about how they're making a costume ALL BY THEMSELVES for an anime that they had to watch online because it's not mainstream enough for our delicate sensibilities to handle seeing on tv.
It's absolutely hilarious.

>>9146429
>Maryland
Anon do you work at the greenbelt one? If so I am so sorry. I'd gladly talk to you about cosplay though.

>>9146790
the one with an anon working the cutting counter, the bleeding old person in line, and the incompetent boss is a favorite, but i cannot find it

>>9147183
>the bleeding old person in line
That one still haunts me, to this day.

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>>9147120
Reasons why I cringe when in the 'cosplay' aisle of joanns these days.

I like some of the new fabrics and most of the new patterns, but god some of the people I see hanging out in there.

Side note, just because a fabric has the cosplay label on it, does not mean its necessarily what you want.

>>9146790
I think my favorite is, I believe the big burly guy who comes in to buy stuff and it turns out his wife makes outfits for strippers.

>>9147208
ah man thats a good one

i think my favorite is the lolita that went to buy vynal at the ghetto shop, that was a fun one.

>>9147210
OH yeah. I remember that one. I think other anons were pretty certain that store was some kind of front.

>>9147205
Holy shit. This is a special kind of stupid
>>9147210
That one makes me laugh so hard, I don't care if it's real or not. It must have been an equally surreal experience for the guys in there.

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>>9147183
Here ya go, anon.

>>9147148
Gaithersburg.

>>9146753
>>9146786
When I worked at Hancocks, there was a regular who was a complete bitch. She would come in at the last minute on the day before the ad changed over, so she could get the stuff that would go on sale the next day, then she would have us hold it overnight and she would come back sometime within the next few days. We ended up having to postpone putting the new ad up til after we closed for the night because of her, which made corporate bitch about hours.

Two stories, one was after we started the new sale ad put-up because of her, she didn't listen that all of the sales ended tonight and threw a bitchfit because she couldn't come back the next day as usual (she would have gotten the stuff on sale that night, but she wasn't having any of that, idk). Sometimes she would wait til we remnanted out her cut stuff and then buy it too. The other noteworthy thing that happened was after corporate forced us to resume the sale ad change during store hours, she comes in as usual, fills her cart, same story as always at the register... and never comes back. The manager made her leave a phone number (b/c of the remnant thing), we tried to call for a week or so, a person said she had been taken to a hospital in another city and then no answer, she just disappeared. I never tried to look for an obit or anything, I mean she was a bitch, but I didn't want her to die.

>>9147241
This is an example of the most inept managerial staff and coworkers I have ever seen. This makes me so mad.

>>9147210
>>9147221
Fuck I remember that one! Anyone got a screen of it?

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>>9147264
This one is great.

>>9147245
hey anon i just started working at the joann in gaithersburg too, let's be salty with each other

>>9146398
>-Customers coming in having no clue at all about what they're making/measurements

Hate it when customers think we're a free consulting service for their home re-upholstering project that they're too cheap to pay a professional or buy new furniture for. Then they take up 20 min to upwards of 1 hour or more hemming and hawing over a roll of fabric + their meticulously made shitty pattern pieces trying to be "frugal" by buying the least amount needed + asking for individual pieces to be cut out. Holy shit, mock it up at home, that hour's worth of time spent standing around with you could've been spent on recovering and fixing up the bolts on the floor and a million other fixes the store needs.

>>9147245
>>9147326
Oh shit, That's my local Joann. I'd talk to you about cosplay, Maryland fabric anons!

>>9147329
Yeah, I'm glad I mostly get put behind the register sometimes so I don't have to deal with that aspect of customers.

I remember a specific annoying customer now.
>>Teen customer with her parents, apparently just starting to sew.
>>Came in shortly before close to pick up a sewing machine on hold. Seemed like it'll be quick.
>>But wait
>>Girl spends a /very/ long time asking coworkers what you need to start sewing. She had no idea coming in about any of that stuff. Also gets a load of fabric cut.
>>Makes a coworker unbox the machine and show her how to thread it. Like what even is a manual?
>>Heard later from another coworker that the girl had insulted her behind her back since she didn't know right away how to thread it. It's not like all machines work slightly differently amiright?
>>I end up having to check out her and her $300+ worth of merchandise and they finally leave at 30 minutes after close.

Fugg, I can't greentext right can I.

>>9147398
It's one >, but 4chan will still pick up any amount of >>>>s to greentext

>>9147329
I literally hate people like that. I get stuck behind people who've never used a pattern having the only person staffing the cutting counter hold their hand through buying materials. It doesn't help that the workers don't think to call for help when this happens, either.

This thread is reminding me how much I HATED working in customer service jobs. Enjoyed the coworkers, could not stand half the customers.

>perusing the craft aisle at my local goodwill
>you can find some dank shit in there man, I have like five rolls of patterning vellum I got for a buck each because of that aisle
>two teenagers walk down the aisle
>they start going through the old-ass patterns
>"this one would be good for your cosplay"
>pattern pile is mostly late 80's-early 90's womenswear
>the fuck kinda costume are these kids even making

To be fair I occasionally buy shit from the pattern pile at goodwill, but never to make cosplay.

>>9147183
>>9147241
>>9147188
I'm somehow amused that my story is someone's favorite.

about 3 months after this, I ended up quitting after being offered a great job designing children's wear. placed my 2 weeks notice (on daiso paper with embroidered strawberries), underneath my ten "a cut above" sheets to turn into corporate. I'm a customer there now and the manager that was on duty in the story was demoted to part time employee, the annoying coworker was fired for harassment outside of work and trying to bully coworkers out of money.

never really shook that one off, though. still have nightmares and flashbacks about it.

>>9146510
Fucking goddamn wedding people who return fabric with staples still in it, we are not a rental sevice

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>>9147479
>the manager that was on duty in the story was demoted to part time employee
>the annoying coworker was fired for harassment outside of work and trying to bully coworkers out of money
Fucking karma.
Glad you're doing better, anon.

>worked on a costume before AX this year that nearly murdered me
>kept having to go back to joanns to get materials, made more sense to just go back for small trips so i could reuse coupons since i live 5 minutes away
>kept getting same cashier, pretty sure she knew i was a cosplayer by the dead look in my eyes by the time i reached the register

fast forward to after AX...
>at joanns with friend, same cashier from before ringing up my purchase
>excitedly tell friend I'm hyped to start my current project
>"It'll be so nice working on something that doesn't make me wanna kill myself"
>hear cashier snort-chuckle

maybe I'm imagining it but I feel like any time I go to that joanns during con crunch she's got a sympathetic look in her eyes

>>9146429
+ Asian Indians, it's a crapshoot. 20% of them will be nice and perfectly normal, the rest will haggle over everything and not care about other people in line while they spend 10 minutes or more talking to each other, then ON THE PHONE over how much fabric to get all the while I'm standing there, waiting to know how much to cute.

>do shit like have us cut 15 types of fabric and decide it's too expensive at the register
I've learned to sense I'm getting customers like that and flat out tell them "This fabric is $30/yd, isn't it too expensive for you?" Usually this gets them to give up purchases right there and then, which is better than the eventual abandonment at the register or elsewhere. I've pulled yards and yards of tulle secretly tucked away behind merchandise MONTHS after it was cut...with the yellow slip and all.

>>9147479
This story and the vinyl story stick with me for different reasons. I'm glad you've moved on to a healthier work environment.

>>9147467
Your not the only one, I work online only in an office for a store that sells materials and I still get customers calling/emailing me on how to make stuff for them.
I had one person ask me what materials were needed to make a Dalek, not just the details but the whole bloody Dalek. I had to explain to them that we are a shop and we can't build it for him. He wasn't to happy.

>>9146429
I don't work at a retail store but spend a lot of time at my city's fashion district open-air fabric market and goddamn Muslim ladies are annoying in groups. For some reason they like to park their asses (and baby strollers) right in front of some poor sap's stall and spend like an hour just catching up on whatever while blocking all other customers' access and letting their children run rampant and put their snot-covered hands on everything. And you can't ask them to move because then they pretend not to understand the language. Or maybe they really don't, because I've seen plenty of women scream at vendors in Turkish(?) while the poor person just trying to do their job helplessly tries to communicate in a mixture of gestures and sign language, only to have the woman walk away after the fabric has already been cut because she decided she didn't want it anymore.
I normally get along fine with Muslim ladies and don't give a fuck what religion someone has, but something about open-air markets turns them into monsters.
Apparently I needed to get this off my chest. Sorry for the rant.

>>9147210
>>9147213
>>9147282
I love this one.
>Shut up, Malone!

>>9147477
I'm modifying a 90s women's suit jacket pattern for a Howl outfit.

For most cosplay though just get a pattern for a few bucks; there's a wide variety of specific patterns out now for different characters.

>>9147622
>>9146429
>>9147781
Indian, African, German and Muslim immigrants are the worst. Fucking Africans man, with their kids running around screaming and their sour as fuck attitudes, sucking their teeth if you don't cut fast enough for them and ignoring you with an eye roll when you politely tell them to have a good day.

Some of my favorite regular customers are American black women though. People always say Americans are obnoxious but they're FAR more polite than the soulless cretins who come from overseas.

>>9148194
They are shit people when it comes to being consumers at music venues/concerts, though. So are the French and Russians.

I frequent the local JoAnns and I've come to know one of the ladies at the cut counter. But every time she helps me out, I'm always making a dragon. For four years, whenever she asks what I'm working on, it's always "a dragon _____." I swear I make other things!! I just… happen to make a lot of dragon-related things. For the first time in ages, I have no dragon-related things on my docket, so I'm actually excited to tell her it's NOT a dragon next time she asks.

I feel bad for all you cut counter workers…
>Waiting in line with my fabric
>Not many people, cool
>Family in front of me goes up
>"How much do we need to make a flag?"
>"How big is your flag?"
>"It's pretty big."
>"…How big would that be?"
>"It's big," kinda waves arms, "like, this"
>Cut counter girl measures an area out on the counter. "This big?"
>"No," waves arms again "this big."
>It took 15min to decide how much fabric to get
>I could see the poor girl's soul draining out a little more with every minute that passed

I work at a JoAnns and even though I mostly work at the registers I'm the only person in that store that actually sews so I'm always being called to help customers figure out their projects. So many 14y.o. cosplay dweebs spend their parents' cash on YayaHan's fabric even though I'll always find them better fabric for a lot cheaper.

A story unrelated to sewing.
>Be at register
>Old man comes up with sharpies
>He's OLD. Probably 70+ y.o.
>Get him coupons for all the sharpies he was buying just because he looks like such a sweet old grandpa.
>Kid walks behind him and he flips out.
>"YOU'VE BEEN HELPED, YOUTH! ITS MY TURN!"
>Kid ignores him and leaves.
>He pays, I give him his change and receipt. I'm a bit freaked out but brush it off as old people being angry.
>All of the sudden he is LIVID
>"You're ripping me off with this markers!"
>"Oh, I'm sorry. I used as many coupons as I could"
>"Well, I guess I'm happy that everyone gets a raise by charging me for these sharpies!"
>I don't know what to say at this point.
>He walks out the store and I can still hear him complain about me benefiting from ripping him off with sharpies.


I have so many crazy customer stories.

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Some weird shit goes down at my store.
One time I was on the closing crew, and the store has been closed for about 40 minutes, with everything shut down, register cash put away etc. and we suddenly heard a voice coming from the ladies restroom. Apparently some crackhead had been in there sniffing (stolen) glue and god knows whatever else she had crammed down her bra and passed out in the corner of the handicapped stall for a good hour or so. Nobody had any idea she was there.
Another time one of the cashiers went into the restroom and found this old morbidly obese woman standing there buck naked trying to clean in between her fat folds or something. The same woman also stole our electric shopping cart and went for a joyride down the street until the battery died a block away. She tried to steal it again, but gave up when the manager threatened to call the cops.

>>9150021
>passed out in the corner of the handicapped stall for a good hour or so
This is why the bathroom is included in our store walk-abouts that happen within minutes of closing time. One time we've had to pound on the door and kick a heroin addict out.

We've also had homeless bums using the microwaves and restrooms in the store. A lock was installed on the staff break room door just for that, but unfortunately we couldn't do anything about the bathroom.

And
>people mistaking the yardage sticker for the price tag
>people getting upset that we no longer sell ribbon by the yard
>people upset that we can't cut the fabric in another direction or hem your pants or lend them our scissors
>"Why is this item cheaper on your website? Why can't I get this [Online Only] deal in stores?"

>>9149346
Oh god. Every time with the fucking arm waving.

Also
>people who think the red-tag fabric is priced per-bolt and not per-yard
Sorry lady, I am not giving you an entire bolt of vinyl for nine dollars please get out of my store.

As far as weebs go, we don't get a terrible many, though I work right across the street from a convention center so a bunch crop up when it's time for the annual con there. I actually met one of my best friends when I cut her fabric for a convention, so that's cool. Though sometimes we do get weebs like >>9147120 who just yell at me whenever I try to give suggestions that aren't broadcloth and crushed velvet. That's life, I guess.

>go get fabric cut
>about a foot left on the bolt after measuring
>"Almost the entire thing, I guess that will go to remnants. Do you want it?"
>sure, why not
>look at receipt and was charged regular price for the fabric instead of remnants price

I mean, I know it's technically not remnants (yet), but I only agreed to take the rest of it because I was kind of expecting I'd get the remnant fabric price and I felt bad about the scrap fabric. I guess I feel it's misleading. This has happened to me a couple times so now I just say no when asked.

Also a cute story:
>buying fabric for P4 Teddie's Miss Yasogami pageant outfit
>little old lady at counter exclaims, "Oh, I know what this is for! You're making Dorothy from Wizard of Oz!"
>she was so excited that I didn't have the heart to correct her
>tells me about how she played Dorothy when she was in high school
>her grandkid is dressing up as Dorothy for Halloween and has a little Toto in a basket as well
>calls me Dorothy every time she sees me now

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Visited Joann's for the first time after learning about them from this board.... There has always been one in my neighborhood and I've never seen it or heard about it before

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>>9150625

>>9150558
Did you tell the cashier that it was supposed to be a remnant? We have some new and dumb kids working at my Joann who charge full price for EoB, so I've found myself having to enter the remnant discount manually in the register.

>>9150659
>tell the cashier
Do you mean the cutting counter person? At the Joann stores where I live, they scan the fabric at the counter and print off a receipt that you take to the register up front. If you did mean the cashier then my receipts never indicate if X ft are supposed to be charged at normal price and the rest at remnant price - it just displays the total price for the amount of fabric cut and a barcode, which the cashier scans when I'm checking out.

>>9150625
It surprises me how many people don't know about Joann's but are into crafty things. I have an artsy friend that recently started cosplaying and she complained how hard it was to find brown suede. I asked why the ones at Joann's didn't cut it - turns out she was shopping at Linens-N-Things for her fabric needs.

>>9150685
The cutting counter ticket would say "end of bolt" and then the discount price if they actually gave you the discount, so if you pointed out to the cashier it was supposed to be there but isn't, they'd confirm it and put the discount in manually.

Joann's is terrible about training new employees so this type of shit happens all the time. If you notice a mistake, point it out. Don't let us overcharge you.

>worked Wal-Mart cutting counter despite being Electronics associate
>every day weebs come in and demand loads of fabric be cut for their extra special cosplays
>actively try to discourage this, offer opinions
>"Shut up, anon, we are experienced!!"
>do my goddamn job and sell them their terrible fraying fabric
>I hope your sewing machine jams

Also, lolitas were fucking annoying.
>stocking bolts of fabric
>girl walks up in a very pretty dress, some floral print
>smile, say hello and compliment her dress
>she gives me an ugly look and turns to her friends
>"See, I don't shop at Wal-Mart because the workers are all creepy and stupid. I bet she doesn't even know what lolita is."
>bitch, I know what it is and I also know that your wig's on crooked and your shitty dye job is showing
>say nothing and continue working
>I hate this fucking job

>>9150771
lel

>>9150771
I've used a few wal mart fabrics but only for really basic things like an underskirt. Mostly for my dog's halloween/pet contest stuff that's held around here. I always feel bad when no one's there and they pull some poor SOB from their job to cut. But I love the elderly woman at my local one. She always gets so excited and presses me to show off what I make from the fabrics.

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>getting embroidery thread at my local Joanns
>don't usually do this 'cause the quilting/embroidery specialty store down the road has way better prices per spool and the spools have 10x the yardage
>but it's after work and the specialty place is already closed
>get up to the cashier with my handful of spools
>cashier picks one spool up off the counter, looks at it
>"You don't want this thread."
>"uh wat"
>"This is rayon thread, you don't want that."
>She apparently thinks I grabbed it all on accident
>Very awkwardly have to go "This is embroidery thread. That I need for my embroidery machine."
>She gives me this really unimpressed look and sorta grinds out "Some people just don't know" between clenched teeth
>mfw

I get that nine times out of ten people that grab embroidery thread do it on accident, but man, she must have been having a hell of a day.

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Whenever someone comes in to get a lot of blue solid fabrics in different shades, it's almost always for that Steven Universe Lapis Lazuli character. Except the shopper is usually a teen who picked out all broadcloth/cheapest quilting cotton solids because "it had all of the right colors", never mind that they'll turn into a wrinkled mess quickly. At least cotton is easy to sew and they'll learn sewing skills that way.

Also Simplicity released their fall 2016 collection recently and it includes that inaccurate Ciel "ballgown" (it's a top + skirt in Simplicity's rendition). I've had girls excitedly clutching the pattern and trying to buy "polyester dupioni" for it, despite that it doesn't quite exist at JoAnn.

The Pokemon GO craze hit my store pretty hard. Every day there's someone calling or asking about Pokemon fabrics, of which we haven't received a single bolt of for the past 3 months and all were sold out before Pokemon GO was released publicly. All of the cotton fabrics are currently sold out online and there is absolutely none in the warehouse, either. After the umpteenth inquiry, I finally cracked and wrote down all of the Article #s for the Pokemon cottons and put the master list in the drawer if anyone asks again. (There are 6 total)
The only stores in the state that still have the fabrics are JoAnns in the middle of nowhere rural areas and we've had to get store transfers.

Lots of parents and their young children coming in to make Pokemon costumes -- It's very sweet, really. Usually the parent is the one being the trainer and their child wants to be a Pokemon, usually a Pikachu or Eevee evolution forms.

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>>9150914
>mfw I saw this and thought it was a Milanoo ad until I saw the name at the bottom
Why would you do this, Simplicity? Sailor Moon I can understand but a dress for a shota crossdressing to find a serial killer? Next they'll be making the outfit for Alois aka the shota whore who seduced pedophiles and made a deal with a demon to kill his rapist/owner.

>>9150941
I wonder how many people didn't actually watch Kuroshitsuji and just liked the cute boy dressing like a girl
And how many more didn't even know that was a boy

>>9150944
>>9150941
Pretty much this. I'm pretty sure this came about because a lot of grandmas were getting this requested from their 15 year old granddaughters. The horrifying part is thinking about how few of them could probably barely contain their giggles and probably tried to explain it to them.

And JFC the photohopped head on that model

>>9150944
>>9150946
Anon you quoted and I swear Kuroshitsuji (as much as I love it) brings out some weird situations.
I was staffing a convention once and worked the registration line and had a family come up. Mother, father, and their two pre-teen daughters dressed as Ciel and Alois. Most awkward moment of the entire con because I really wanted to ask why the hell they let their daughters wear those costumes.

>>9150914
>it's a top + skirt in Simplicity's rendition
To be fair a lot of Victorian gowns were separate bodices and skirts. Easier to care for that way and more versatile for cleaning and alterations

>>9150713
>Joann's is terrible about training new employees so this type of shit happens all the time

I got hired at a Joanns as a manager about a year ago and worked there for about 3 days then quit without saying anything because of how much a shit show it was. The training is nonexistant. They literally just throw you in there and say "okay go put the fabric away" and don't talk to you for the next 7 hours. Like it's bad. I'm really critical whenever I go in there now, and double check that everyone is doing their jobs right because I don't want them to overcharge me because nobody ever taught them otherwise.

I feel like a cunt, but Joanns is a disaster of a company.

>>9150914
>trying to buy "polyester dupioni" for it, despite that it doesn't quite exist at JoAnn
It does. It's scattered around the Casa/Special occasions fabric, only in specific colors.

>>9150914
>Hat and gloves accessories not included in pattern
>No mention of petticoats being needed
Marvelous. Can't wait for the influx of flat-skirted 'ballgowns' with people getting defensive over their mad cozplay skillz because the skirt doesn't puff out even though they followed the pattern exactly.

>>9151026
There is none termed "dupioni" other than the silk dupioni at JoAnn stores. Maybe you're thinking of the shantung that is on its way out?

>>9150914
Does anyone recognize what the "goth-loli" monstrosity on the right is based off of, if any?

>>9151028
"haha the outfit doesn't have a petite coat what are you saying"

>>9151034
that doesn't look so bad, does it?

>>9151016
perhaps they assume that eventually people will become acquainted with their business niche

... it is somewhat of a niche afterall

>>9151016
seeing as clothing and textiles are (in actuality) so cheap and plentiful everywhere in industrial countries (depending on whether or not you know where to look for 'em)

>>9151016
>quit without saying anything
Please don't do that. I know it's a hellhole in there, but ragequitting and not putting in a 2-week notice really screws over everyone else who is still there. My coworkers and I had to do 12-hours days at one point to cover someone who suddenly quit, and there was a stretch when a manager quit in tears and the remaining managers were stretched very exhausted and thin to cover that hole.

>>9147210
Ohh that one... The one were 90% of the thread including the op of that post thought the store was a front for a Mexican drug cartel.

>>9147393
When people do shit like that, is when I passive agressively repeat the closing announcement over the loud speaker.

>>9151069
Honestly, my manager forgot to tell me what day she wanted me to start, so after accepting my position, I expected a phone call to tell me when she wanted me to come in (that's what she told me would happen). I then get a phone call asking me why I didn't show up. After telling her that she didn't tell me, she was just like "oh yeah I forgot."

Then when I did come in I asked her what my schedule was. "Oh. Uhhhhmmmmm. I guess you can come in these times."

It didn't seem like I was actually filling a schedule position, but rather she just needed me in the store with someone who could "train"

I would never quit without a notice at any other job. But that store was so poorly managed that I seriously doubt it had any negative effect on anyone else.

>>9151016
They really are. Our registers have been crashing literally every other transaction for a long ass time but corporate refuses to upgrade the company's technology. My manager said the last time anything was upgraded was 6-7 years ago.

It's been driving everyone crazy, employees AND customers. When people are in a hurry they don't like to have to change registers twice because the stupid machine mistakenly declined their card or froze halfway through a transaction.

I work in paint at Home Depot, so around con time and Halloween I get a ton of questions about painting some piece of clothing or sealing something or what kind of glue to use on something, etc.

I had this customer super pissy with me because he asked me if this paint would work on his leather piece and my answer was no? Like you'd have it chiping assuming it stayed on the fabric on the first place? And then you'd just have a ruined piece of leather...

>>9150033
>hem your pants
What the hell. Why would they think employees would hem their pants!

People coming into Jo-Ann and asking for nice, ready-made tablecloth or rain ponchos happens way too often. I'm struggling to understand why people think we'd sell those, other than the random seasonal item every few months.

>>9151374
Because we sell fabric and offer sewing classes and obviously the logical next step is that we can sew your shit as well.
This gets asked very often, "Can you hem pants? Can you sew drapery?", followed up with "Well, I don't have a sewing machine so you've gotta do it for me..." Usually we just point them to the lovely classes we offer and tell them to do their stuff there. It's an easy $70 to be made per person per class, a good chunk of our client base is loaded but clueless, and probably the top reason why my store has the highest classes sales in the district.

>>9151291
>using house paint on fabric
Oh for fuck's sake

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>work at a clothing shop
>large amount of clothes end up on Doctor Who
>Casually likes Doctor Who
>New companion announced
>Queue the annoying and loud cosplayers who come in full costume and act IC
>mfw they ask me to help them track down long sold out items

>>9150002
You're the only one at your store who knows how to sew? Whoa…

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Hardware-store worker here. I deal with a lot of newbie cosplayers and stage parents.
The latter are surprisingly thankful - mainly because they're being forced to make 20+ props and they have no clue what they're doing.
Con season only brings a small influx of nerds to the store. But I did have one regular customer who always wore a replica Captain Jack Harkness coat even when it was hot as fuck outside.

>>9151398
I'm guessing you work at Topshop? pic related

>>9151467
I really don't get why Joann hires people who don't know shit about sewing or crafts. At Hancock, if you wanted to work there they had a requirement that you be able to sew.

>>9151383
Two of my local fabric stores actually sell stuff like ready-made tablecloths and curtains (and some handmade clothes that they've used as display items), and one of them has something like a tailor service. There's also a third store that sells rugs, bathrobes, bedlinen, pillows, mattresses, chairs and pretty much everything else that's even remotely related to fabrics...

>>9151741
does Joann's provide an opportunity to learn how to sew and do crafts and whatnot?

>>9151776
If they're small, it is possible they're just trying to have a broad customer base.

>>9151805
You can take their classes for free, as long as they're not full

>>9150002
Old white people are actually the worst

>>9150771
>Things that didn't happen

>>9151805
Some stores do, especially the really large ones. My store is medium-size and we don't. We always have to recommend nearby fabric stores.

Also about the people begging employees to do their projects...a lady got annoyed at me the other day because I wouldn't make pillow shams for her. Apparently, explaining the process and showing her patterns didn't cut it.

>>9151741
It's so they can pay them like shit. I applied to a Joann in college amd they said I was too skilled. They wanted generic retail peons for busy seasons. Not many people know how to sew anymore, so they want to focus on selling as much of their cheap craft shit as possible.

>Busy day at the cutting counter
>Spy a very grumpy-looking lady inching closer to the counter despite the line
>She's very well-dressed, the cut and silhouette of her dress are impeccable, endless high-end bangles and accessories adorn her
>She looks like 30 going on 60 with saggy tits, orange sunburnt leathery skin, bleached mangled hair though
>Finish with current customer
>That lady walks right up to the counter and asks for service
>Point out the ticket number system and ask her for her place in line
>She doesn't have a ticket
>She demands service
>We point out the number system again
>She needs the service and threatens to vomit in the "next 5 minutes"
>Coworker asks her if she would like to use our restroom
>She declines, threatens to vomit again
>Meekly accept her
>She slams down a bolt of Casa taffeta on the counter, "Will this match a $10,000 wedding dress?"
>Suggest to her it's unlikely, since it's merely a $9.99/yd taffeta vs. $10,000 dress
>She doesn't take the answer well
>Agree with her that the taffeta will be just fine
>Cut a few yards for her, mention the coupon offers we have (as we do to every customer)
>She asks for the coupons
>Tell her that the store doesn't carry physical coupons but she can easily access them online on the website
>She starts yelling about how the internet is full of viruses and porn
>Try to tell her that there's no need to sign up for anything, just visit our website for easy coupons for the cashier to scan and-
>She's still shrieking about VIRUSES AND PORN ON THE INTERNET as she's speeding away from the counter, fabric in hand

>Actual next person in line shows up
>She's pissed because she was inadvertently skipped
>Can't begin to explain what had happened

>>9152528
Later in the day
>Coworker shows up with stuff left at the cashier
>It's the taffeta cut for that lady earlier
>She wouldn't buy it without a coupon
>Forced to roll that piece back onto the bolt again

And even later in the day
>Check in with the cashiers on their day
>One of them produce a smartphone
>Apparently that $10,000 wedding dress taffeta lady left the phone when she was trying to find a coupon and gave up out of frustration and dumped everything she carried in the store, including her own phone
>Pass the phone to a manager for safekeeping

>>9152531
Next day
>Get a phone call to the store about a lost smartphone, we confirm having one
>The MOTHER of that lady shows up later to claim the phone
>She doesn't know what the phone looks like at all
>We can't release the item without any description
>She leaves

Later in the day
>The DAUGHTER of that lady shows up to claim the phone
>Ask her about what the phone looks like...color, model, anything unique
>"Ummmm, it's white...I think??"
>Answer is too vague and uncertain, manager couldn't release the phone

I think in the end, the original lady came back much later to pick up her phone.

>>9150969
>mfw my 10yo sisters favourite anime has been Kuroshitsuji for a few years

Nah really I don't think she fully understands the super messed bits and it's all good because she wants to cosplay Wendy from Fairy Tail not Ciel

>Is it bad that she watched SnK too?

>Went to Joanne yesterday
>Yaya's fabrics have been demoted from their own section to a few display cases
>Find amusing go to walk away hear "NYAAAAA"
>Hightail to bridal fabric slightly out of sight to see a complete weeb running up to the fabrics
>bright bad box color hair, anime shirt, very heavy and dragging an exhausted mom with her
>Gonna call her Lite Brite
>"MAAAA LOOK ITS COSPLAY FABRIC" She's yelling in the most shrill voice she can. Def trying to draw attention to herself
>The mom just sorta nods looking braindead while Lite Brite proceeds to unravel the 'cosplay trims'
>Clerk restocking visibly cringes don't envy her bat all
>Lite Brite proceeds to open the displayed patterns then shoves them back in proudly declaring to a shocked grandma type she's a "Cosplayer and her new costume needs BEST Fabrics
>Get the feeling Mommy braindead there is actually paying. Seriously the woman has shown little to no signs of life this entire time.
>Lite Brite picks what of cosplay fabric she wants and pulls out a pattern from the back of the display because not opened. Despite she was was the one that opened them
>Brings them to the cutting table telling the poor cutting woman all about her Sailor Moon cosplay inserting random 'anime' noises during the cutting "Kya!" and such
>She finally takes the cut fabric and buggers off to registers step out Instantly gag

This fat little shit stood around the cosplay fabric display stuff farting while shrieking to any that was near about how special she was.

>>9152528
What a bitch. I can't stand entitled customers. When I worked at an electronics store as a cashier we had a customer like that one, but it was a cranky old man.

>There's a very visible line that customers need to wait in to be checked out.
>Cue old cranky ass man that comes up from the other side to bypass the line, and walks right up to the register next to mine and plops his stuff on the counter.
>The person tells him that there's a line to wait in for checkout and points him to the line behind him where there's already around 15 people waiting.
>Old man proceeds to throw a fit and start bitching about being told that he needs to wait in line and how the cashier is "refusing" to serve him.
>The cashier tells him that she'll will go ahead and do him a favor and check him out.
>He's still an ass the rest of the time he's at the register.
>Thinking in my head thank god I wasn't the cashier that had to deal with him.

The girl told one of the supervisors about it later and the supervisor said that she should have gotten her because she would have made him go wait in that line. That particular supervisor was kind of a bitch herself and COULD NOT stand rude customers. She would not go out of her way to help any customer that was demanding or rude, even if it was something she could help them with. She'd just say "sorry can't do it"

>>9153185
And not CGL related, but when I worked at a movie theater this happened to another cashier at the concession area. I couldn't believe it happened
> Customer goes up to person at the register and orders a large popcorn, drink, and a pizza
>Cashier brings them their drink and popcorn but tells them that we don't have any pizza made right now, but they can take this number and tell us which theater number they're in, and we'll bring the pizza to them when it's done
>Apparently that's not good enough for this customer, and they proceed to grab the large bucket of popcorn and throw all the popcorn in it all over the cashier and they leave their stuff there and storm off to their movie.
>Cashier is calm about it and just dusts themselves off and wipes the popcorn on the counter to the floor.
>One of the managers eventually gets told about it, and talks to the cashier about it
>Cashier never did get what movie the person was going to see because if she had the manager said they would have grabbed that person out of their movie, made them clean up the mess they made, and kicked them out without a refund.

Told my friend about it after it happened and he was surprised at how the cashier didn't jump over that counter at that customer.

>>9153185
I work at an automotive store and I have so many rude entitled customers. It is almost always old men.

>Answer phones to look up price and availabilty of car parts
>You ask the year, make, model and engine size of car
>Guy wants brake pads
>Ask for engine size because it's a big ass industrial van. Guy starts belittling me
>"You must me new here if you don't know that doesn't matter"
>Explain to him that sometimes the engine size affects the brake pad size. Know this especially well since I used to deliver to garages and not being told the proper engine size was the number one cause for wrong parts being delivered.
>Guy gets pissy with me when I just narrow it down to "is it diesel or not"
>I've been putting up with this shit for 5 years so I keep up the retail voice and cheer
>He starts mimicking my voice and making fun of me for acting nice on the phone?

I hate crotchety old men. Automotive retail has some of the most sexist customers I have ever encountered. I am being paid to act nice and to use a happy retail tone at all times. I am also required to ask for all basic car info unless it's like light bulbs or wiper blades, to cover our asses against customer complaints on the chance the part is wrong. There is always entitled people who complain at the price of parts, as if I have any control over this, and men who flat out skip over me and look for a male employee, and then come to my department to check out, despite the cashier being a guy and there being a giant sign above him that says CHECK OUT. Insults are almost always infantalizing "oh you must be new here if you don't know x" which is almost always in response to me telling them something they don't like. Which is when I order their part from a local warehouse for an inflated price rather than simply bringing it in from a sister store for free.

On a /cgl/ note, we sometimes get young cosplayers coming in to buy bondo and stuff for props.

I get nervous when people ask me what I'm making. I rarely say, "Alba from Senyu.," or anything, I usually just give a vague description and add "it's from a comic/video game/anime/etc." But sometimes they push me for more and it gets awkward.

>"Oh, black and white stretch knit? What are you making? A costume?"
>Yeah… From a comic. It's a hero who keeps getting thrown in jail, so I'm making his prison costume.
>"…What? Why's he in prison?"
>Well… the first time he accidentally…attacked… a child?
>"……….what?"
>But he's a good guy! It was an accident!
>"And he's a hero?"
>Yes?
>"This sounds really weird."

Another time:
>"These are interesting colors."
>Yeah, usually I wouldn't put them together, but it's for a costume.
>"Oh! A costume! From what?"
>An older anime/manga series about monsters helping people, I guess?
>"Oh! I love anime! Maybe I've seen it before! It sounds familiar."
>Awesome! Not many people know it because it's maybe kinda niche.
>"Show me a picture of the character!!"
>Okay, here… I'm doing this version…
>"…what the hell is this? I've never seen this before…"
>(awkward silence)
>Well… it's originally from like the 60s, so…
>(more awkward silence)
>Okay, I'm just gonna go now.

>>9152533
This just got better and better…

>>9154012
>Senyu
Aw anon I love Senyu. What a cute series. If I ever saw you in your cosplay I would get really hype and want photos.

>>9153185
Ugh.
>Line at my nearby JoAnns seems kinda weird…but only if you can't read the signs that say "line starts here"
>Waiting in short line
>Women in front of me finishes, I walk towards counter
>Lady comes from exit area and plops items on counter
>I stop a few feet away, worker at register freezes, looks at me questioningly
>I stand there cause I don't know what to do
>Worker doesn't know what to do
>Lady sees me and says, "EXCUSE ME, I WAS IN LINE."
>It's an easy opening for the worker: "Sorry ma'am, the line actually starts over there."
>"WHAT? Why did no one tell me that? It should be OBVIOUS where the line starts."
>She glares at me and starts up again
>"I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL THIS TIME" (note: maybe 2min max) "TO CHECK OUT AND NO ONE TOLD ME I WAS IN THE WRONG AREA?"
>Orrrrrrr you could read the signs that point out where the line is?
>I look behind me where the line actually is, and there are a couple people there. They all look how I feel
>Whatever, I tell her she can go ahead, let's not drag this out anymore
>"Well, thank-you, but of course I can, I waited until my turn."

>>9154012
Yeah I never go into too much detail about my costumes because of shit like this. Usually it's just "Oh what's this for?" "A coat."

>>9150941
>>9150944
>>9150946
>>9150969
Gunna be honest here, when I was 19 I had my mom help me alter the boots for my Clear cosplay (because who wants to spend an evening hand sewing pleather by themselves). I just told her Dramatical Murder was a scifi series about a false utopian society and mind control. Not actually a lie. And then my best friend told her it's a kink-heavy porn game, because he's an asshole.

My bet is that they just told their parents it was a Victorian story about a butler with super powers and his ward, and leave out the weird details. Not actually a lie, and they can show youtube clips to support that if their parents want to see something.

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>>9154028
>"Well, thank-you, but of course I can, I waited until my turn."

>>9154043
To be fair in this case the anime is completely clean.

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>>9154159
Thank you for the vote of confidence, but the anime hadn't been released at the time.

>>9153240
Are you me? I work at SuperCheap Auto in Aus and get this shit all the time, plus the strange shirtless men walking in and shouting parts they want to buy without so much as alluding to what car they're for. Then you get the old farts coming in looking for stuff we either haven't had for a decade or stuff no auto shop would ever stock (had people come in for full size TVs, fridges and curtains to name a few). Seriously, in my area it's half drug addicts and half retirees, all of which can't tell their ass from their elbow.

Do get some cool people through sometimes and they usually know their stuff or are willing to listen. No /cgl/ stuff though, which sucks.

>>9153240
>I've been putting up with this shit for 5 years so I keep up the retail voice and cheer
>He starts mimicking my voice and making fun of me for acting nice on the phone?
A lot of guys don't seem to be aware that girls have that customer service voice. They *always* think it's your natural voice.

>>9154159
>the anime is completely clean

did you not watch the ova?

>>9152861

>Lite Brite picks what of cosplay fabric she wants and pulls out a pattern from the back of the display because not opened. Despite she was was the one that opened them

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Augh people who open shit and then put it back to grab an unopened item piss me off.

>>9154012

Are you making a Gegege no Kitaro costume?

>>9154448
Yeah but the anime series that aired on TV and the OVA aren't really the same thing.

>>9154028
I thought in my head that she needed to be punched in the fucking face, and >>9154107 expressed that same desire.

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New merchandise signage arrived and now Yaya Han's Cosplay Fabrics line will expand to include things "$7.99-$39.99/yd". I don't know what the $7.99 thing is, it could be ugly satin or trim.

>>9154024
We had a whole group planned out, but it fell through so I still haven't gotten to wear it, alas. Hopefully next con season! I'm hoping to finish his regular outfit too.

>>9154503
Yup, I'm making a Kitaro costume! But it's a bit of a cheater version, kinda a bit more modern-day than it should be… Years ago I was going to make this costume with a friend doing a more modern Neko Musume, but we never got around to it and I just wanted to finally finish it. It'll be inaccurate, but it'll be super comfy, perfect for the Sunday of a con or something.

>>9154444
I never let it get to me when I worked in cs, since I'd figured out that being extremely chipper and keeping a massive grin plastered on my face when my boss was around let me get away with being incredibly condescending and rude. Those idiots sperged out hilariously hard when I didn't submit to their bullshit demands, and because we didn't record calls for some reason I managed to get away with it.
I would rather cut my hand off than work in cs again, but it made shitty shifts bearable.