Pardon me while I blow off some steam.
This week, I decided it’s finally time to invest in a pair of applique scissors. None of my local quilt shops had any in stock, so yesterday morning I went online to Joanns.com to see what they had. Bingo! A pair of Ginger scissors, and on sale, no less!
I gleefully sailed over to Joann’s, happy with the thought that it would soon be easier to trim behind my applique, and I could quit poking holes everywhere. But when I got there, I saw no signs on the applique scissors. Instead, they had the entire stock of Fiskars on sale. And, of course, the only pair of applique scissors in the store were the Gingher ones. Heart sinking, I asked an employee and was told I must have been looking at last week’s ad. I told her no, I was looking online that very morning, so the prices were current. She heard the word “online” and immediately told me it was an online only price.
Do you see the words “online only” anywhere in this ad?
Me either.
You DO see the words “online only” in the product next to the Gingers, but NOT on the Gingher. Which means I SHOULD be able to get the sale price on the same item in the store. Right? And what’s with the price difference between the two pages? One page says it’s $21.69, the other page says it’s $18.59. Which is it???
I am so tired of Joann’s shenanigans with their coupons and bait-n-switch pricing. You go in the store, 40% off coupon in hand, only to discover that what you were going to purchase is already on sale, except it’s only 10% or 20% off, and they won’t let you use the coupon, even if you ask them to charge you the regular, full price. Every other retailer is happy to do this, no matter what industry they’re in. I’m tired of trying to communicate with employees who hide behind “Sorry, it’s Corporate Policy, there’s nothing we can do”. And I’m tired of the never-ending line at the registers – why do they only have one person working a cash register when there’s 10, 11, 12 people in line? Yet another thing you won’t see another retailer doing!
Who was Joann, and where has she gone? Was she a quilter? A seamstress? A designer? I know I’m not alone in my frustration with this company. Would she be horrified at how her name is spoken with disdain and disgust in many circles? Would she be saddened by how many people say “I hate Joann’s and refuse to shop there”? Or did she sell out to a big corporation? Take the money and run? Did she ever exist?
I was very tempted to print out both of these pages and go back to Joann’s, waving them indignantly at the employee who said I was wrong. But what good would it do? I was POSITIVE I’d only hear “Sorry, it’s Corporate Policy” or “There’s nothing I can do” yet again.
So I went to Hancock’s instead, where they were very happy to sell me a pair of applique scissors for $18.89, AND I didn’t have to stand in a freakin’ line to pay for them. Plus, while I was there, I purchased several yards of Kona cotton.
Take that, Joann.
Peggi, I feel your pain! I was standing in line earlier this month with 9 other people (and one cashier!) and heard someone call JoAnn’s the “Walmart of fabric stores”, and not in a good way. The only good thing about JoAnn’s is that it reinforces the necessity of LQS’s and the need to frequent them to keep them alive!
