Recent Quilt Shop experience: The undervalued customer

So I signed up for a monthly quilt block doobedoo at a not so local quilt shop about 30 minutes away. I shall keep them unnamed, for the time being. The deal is, you sign up for a flat $10 for 12 months of block kits which you take home and assemble. That blew my mind since they provide the fabric bits, all precut and neatly packaged into a zip-lock bag with printed instructions for assembly. If you miss a month, or you don't get the block made in time to show off at the next month's "meeting", then the next months block will be $5 instead of free. Seemed like a good deal at the time, and I always buy something when I visit because I'm a good customer like that.

A friend and I both signed up for this, and unfortunately we had to miss last months block due to other obligations.

So we made it out there yesterday. The thing is, they ran out of background fabric that they had put with the batik blocks and so they did some substituting. When they got the original background fabric back in stock, instead of replacing the sub fabric, they instead were charging $3 extra for a fat quarter.

Now I didn't think anything of it at the time because I was so elated to even be there. I even bought a scrap bag of fabric that was SO pretty.

But as the day wore on I began to wonder why they would charge for something that is supposed to be INCLUDED with the block and the $5 late block fee. So this month's block ended up costing me $8 instead.

I'm pretty miffed about this. It would not have taken much to lay the fat quarter out and measure out what is supposed to be in the block kit, and swapped the two fabrics out. Next time I will not be buying the extra fat quarter for the additional cost. It's simply ridiculous to me.

Not only this but they had a really cute demo piece in the window with fabric that I dearly wanted to take some home with me. When I couldn't find it and asked...oh, they are out of that fabric. Sooooo, why is the demo still in the window?? When I asked if they were getting more in, they didn't know. When I asked if there was an online source I could look into, they were "not sure". Well, that's so helpful. NOT.

 I ended up spending $20 there, but I was treated like an undervalued customer because I didn't drop hundreds in one stop. My other quilter friend has said that her local quilt shop also has this mentality towards small time shoppers and treats the ones who drop hundreds in one stop like royalty, doing just about anything to please them.

This mentality will lose future business from miffed customers like myself. Take note shop owners. EVERY customer should be treated as a valuable source of shop income, even the small time shoppers who only spend $20 at a time. That's $20 more coming in that you would have had that day. That's also my hard earned money that I can very easily go elsewhere with.

 You never know when a small time shopper will come into some money, and let me tell you....after yesterdays experience I may just take it elsewhere or shop online instead. I would think that shopping in a physical store, vs online, would prove to be a more positive experience. I love to walk around, see all the beautiful fabric and dream about owning some of it some day or taking some with me the very day I visit. They have a beautiful and HUGE selection of batiks...more than I have ever seen before in one shop. I love taking home a fat quarter of it, or more, when I visit that one time a month.

But, if you treat me like I don't matter because my purchase is small...I will STOP buying ANYTHING. If I have this experience again with them, I will surely reveal the store name and take my business elsewhere.

Don't treat your customers like they don't matter because they don't spend hundreds at one time.

This is BAD.

This will get you bad reviews.

That will lead to a loss in business and profits.

And that, sucks ass.






Until next time...
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Ramblings...

Yesterday we went to Meineke, made an appointment for a front end alignment and three new tires (front tires and spare) for 11 AM, we get there someone ahead of us said they were there for their 11AM alignment appointment. They double booked!! We ended up waiting an HOUR AND A HALF before they got to us because they "only have one alignment machine" and the folks that got there the same time we did were also getting an alignment. *FUMMING!* We were there a total of THREE HOURS because the alignment takes an hour and a half by itself! I was not and am not happy about this. What is the flippin use of making an appointment if they double book the time slots?! I thought the point of making an appointment was to AVOID this kind of wait because they do take walk-ins on a first come basis. We should have received some sort of discount for their incompetence and making us sit around for three hours when we both had plans.

I ended up not getting to go to the sporting goods store to look for boxing gloves and hand wraps because Mike had plans for 2PM. So I was stuck home all fuckin day and it was just too hot and humid for me to go biking. I was not happy. So I went shopping online, which is bad because I ended up buying a pound of white Merino roving to dye. *sigh*

Sunday we went to the farmers market and bought some cheese curds which happen to be on special! YAY! Then I took the BF with me shopping for boxing gloves and hand wraps. I ended up buying premium full grain deer hide gloves from Home Depot because the boxing gloves at the sporting goods store were either to small or too big! The deer skin work gloves were juuuust right. LOL While we were there I also found a heavy spring to add to the eye-hook for the punching bag. We stopped at Harbor Freight Tools as well and I found some interlocking foam "work" mat squares that can easily do double duty as a yoga mat. That was cheap and a lot cheaper than any yoga mat I have seen yet! Great cushioning for sit-ups as well. I also found some watering stakes that fit onto one or two liter bottles. Sweet!

I broke down and turned on the air conditioning for the first time this summer. The night was so hot and humid that I did not sleep well and I needed a shower. That's bad when you need a shower just from sleeping!! The air outside is so heavy....blah, my lungs arn't likin it too well. They say the humidity is going to go away...well they have also been saying we are supposed to get storms, but they keep pushing that prediction further ahead. Friday they said Saterday evening. Saterday they said Sunday evening. And now here it is Sunday and they are saying Monday or Tuesday. Lets just say it's gonna rain SOMETIME but we are really unsure as to WHEN. LMAO!!

Until next time...






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New Wheel, new roving, SHEEP!

While I was out and about Saterday afternoon, I stopped at Susan's Fiber Shop in Columbus. Someone had mentioned in one of my groups that her new room was lookin very nice. Indeed it is! Her new addition is very homey and welcoming with sheep at the back doors to boot!! I love how it is set up now. There is a place to sit and watch the sheep if you are so inclined too. Most of Susans sheep have dropped thier lambs and this cuttie was sittin right at the back door. It was a wonderful day to travel out there.












And while I was out there, Susan helped to fix that darned clankity that was happenin on my Kiwi. Seems that when I oiled the treedle hindges that the oil seeped into the wood around the the screws and softened the wood so that the action of treddling stripped the wood around the screws! That was causing the hindges to be loose and make noise. She also noted that the metel peice conneting the wheel to the treddle arms may need replaced sometime. Thanks for fixing it!

Susan also told me you should NEVER oil the ball barings in the center! I did not know that and of course the spinning wheel manufactures don't tell you these things so that you end up ruining the wheel and buying a new one. HUMPH! Ashfords manuals are all pictorial so there is no mention of this.

But I did end up buying a second wheel, a Louet s51 DT. I went in intent on getting a s10 ST but it was not as smooth running as the 51, and I am more than ready for an upgrade! The only thing I am not liking about it is the tension is not adjustable other than having to lace the flyer OR buy the $77 hi-speed flyer which I will do eventually. I cannot spin the Yak down an aquantence sent me to spin up for her (Nice lady too. She is just as dorky as I am! She told me if I would spin up the fiber for her I could keep half the yarn I get from it. WOW. But I have ordered yak down for myself so I will probably end up just sending it all back to her when it is all spun and plied.) The flyers hold a lot more than the kiwi which is a plus and it is sooooooo much more quiet when spinning! I brought it home and started spinning on it and the BF was amazed at how much more quiet it was. LOL
Susan is great with layaway. We were able to work out a deal where I could take the wheel home while still paying on it!! Susan, you made my weekend!!! She is one in a million!
(PS I am so loving this autosave feature on Blogger!!!)

In the last picture is what I am spinning on the Louet. It is a merino and silk blend hand painted/dyed roving. There was a lot in the braid I bought and it was cheap!! Twenty bucks for a whole lotta roving! I am loving it too...OOOOo it sparkles and is soooooooo soft! I think I will knit it into the candle-flame stole that is on knitpicks.com (free pattern BTW). I told Susan I am so gonna wanna buy more of this and she said she will be getting more inthe future. I rarely buy handpainted rovings because I can make them on my own, but merino and silk is a nice blend that I cannot do on my own without a drum carder. Of which I will eventually get the same way we arranged to pay for the louet. In this way, I will be able to afford all the spinning equipment I could ever need!!

I bought a few more progressive and hard house music off Beatport.com and now that I am broker than broke (LMAO) I will go spin some more!

Until next time...

Made a Lucet, SP10

I made a lucet today! I was in need of one to make a cord for my felted bag so I used some of the oak scraps I have from making my belt display. It reminds me of a goddess figure...of even a swim suit! Totally by accident! But it works great! Now if I were to purchase one of these...I'd be spending anywhere from $20-$40 for one. I have enough scraps left over to make 10 at about $4 each (after cutting, sanding, staining, and sealing)! I'm thinking of making another one for my SP10 pal-ee who BTW recieved her first box and she sounds thrilled to have the spindle and fiber! EEEEEEeeeeeee! *Warm fuzzies!*

I have been working on all sorts of things today. I cleaned Zar's cage and the same corner where he is located. There is a bookcase there and some of the books had fallen out and being the chaotic and scattered person I am, they were left on the floor. So those got picked up and tiddied. Zar's cage smells much better!

We went to community pharmancy today and I bought that jar of Lanolin. I attempted to waterproof my felted bag...but I think I may need to wash it some because it came out...sticky. HUmmm...that didn't work like I thought it would. Oh well. The only thing lost is time as I have to work on getting it not so sticky. Then while up on State Street I stopped by the local artist supply shop and purchased some salmon and purple dye. The BF had to stop in one of the metaphysical stores...the one I really don't care for (Shakti) because they are so materialistic and thier prices are high on those materialistic goods. I can do without all of it....BUT... I did find a new bumber sticker...a mini one that says "Religion is a journey...not a guilt trip." I LOVE IT!!! GODS! My coworker is always beating herself down...drives me NUTTY!!! The Womyn has no value or confidence in her own skills. And she is SO PSYCHIC! Shetold me about a dream that she had and she told me in that dream that we were trying to save a fish...and I was giving her a fish for her Bday!! PSYCHIC MAN!!!

BUT, what really has me peed this weekend about that subject is she really has been ungreatful for the gift. She talked and talked and talked about wanting to get a fish again and I thought I was gonna do a good thing. NO! She keeps COMPLAINING that she doesn't have TIME to take care of a FISH. *scratching head* WTF?!! It's a FISH, not a cat or dog or any other exotic animal....A FISH!!! For crying out loud, it won't keel over and die if it is not fed every stinkin day so go take your weekend trips!! *face-palm* GRrrrrrrrrrr. Then she said that she thought she was gonna have to give it away and I told her flat out-if you don't want the critter, give 'em back because he is GORGIOUS and has gorgious long blue fins. If she gives it away to someone, I will be very upset at her. All that effort to print out care sheets, purchase everything she needed to get started and keep 'em healthy and happy for several months if not longer and then WHAM...GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr, arrrrrrrrrrrrgh...That is the last time I get a gift for any coworker! The nerve!

Other than that, it's been a quite weekend. All the lists I am a member too are quite so it must be nice weather all around. CRAP...I just remembered that I need to bring the plants in because it is still getting below freezing at night. POOP....

I

Until next time...

I went bikin...and found it needs to be tweeked...

I went biking today...but I quickly found out that the chain wants to slip when I have it in first gear and I try to get up and go from stopping. Damned nearly ate the handlebars a couple times because of it!!

I went down for my coffee...and it was FREEZING! I cannot imagine trying to bike in the middle of winter with below zero temps. OWE! My ears are numb....but I did manage to rummage up a scarf. It's almost too small and it smelled bad so I spritzed it with some Frebreeze before heading out. I wrapped that around my face and neck, and bundled my hands up in mittens. I wore my boots with some wool socks and wore TWO t-shirts under my winter coat. WOW...I was just warm enough.

After that I walked over to the grocery store (in the same lot) and bought a poppy seed and almond muffin because they did not have my favorite of banana nut....NEVER AGAIN!! OOOooh that muffin did not agree with me and was soon making an unsightly appearance out the back side as I was trying to enjoy myself shopping at Hobby Lobby!! Not fun having to fast walk across the entire damned store to make it to the bathroom before you feel like you are gonna implode. Humph!! I'll get something else next time if my banana nut is all sold out.

You know, the mail went today and I thought it would not because of Good Friday...so I kept the mail in!!! *face-palm!!*

Then I biked down to Hobby Lobby after trying to sit and mind my business and eat the muffin. Can't a chubby gal sit on a public bench and eat without people gawking?! WTF is there to see!? I'M EATING-OUT IN PUBLIC-WITH NO SHAME-AND ENJOYING IT....GET OVER IT!! *big eye roll* Retards.

Anyways....I had to stop a couple of times because the hills around here are KILLER! Owe...my thighs...

I locked the bike up along with taking the front tire off because my coil wouldn't stretch as far as I needed it too and I had a hard time getting that damned sucker back on when I was ready to leave! I got it down though...just took some practice. It's an easy release thing.

I shopped in HL for about 2 hours...taking my time and looking at everything. I rarely have the pleasure to take my own damned time to shop. I bought enough wooden letters to spell out my name on the headpiece I will eventually make for my belt rack display. I also found a discontinued Lilac patterned, post-bound, photo album on the clearance shelf...with no price. That's always fun to deal with at the checkout. I got it for $8. Sweetness! I love Lilacs! They remind me of home and summer days of a house filled with the sweet scent of the giant lilac bush that grew right outside one of the living room windows. AHHHhhh....I miss those days. It has pages for slipping photos in but I can easily convert it into a scrapbook.

I also bought some cotton to knit a snood out of for my Pamperee in SP10. I need one too to keep my hair out of my face when I am biking.

I also bought some D rings and some overall snaps for the strap I will eventually make for the bike bag I just made. I need some buttons but they really didn't have a stupendous selection so I waited on those. They didn't have much for pre-cut wall plaques either which was a disappointment.

Then the frames were on half-off so I bought two document frames to frame my certificates in from karate. Lots of sales on things I need!

Next I headed down to Red Robin for some fish and chips...MMMMmmm good.

The last stop I made was at Menard's to buy 6 more oak slats for the belt display rack, some super fine sandpaper, and a straight heavy duty bike cable. Then I ended up walking more than I biked home because of the hills and then because there is no bike lane along Monona Dr. I don't feel safe enough to bike on the road and count on the people driving over the speed limit, yackin on the cell phone, to see and avoid me.

Whew! I feel like I do when I do a lot of walking only it was biking....a lot of it! WHEW! Tomorrow I will take my bike to the shop and have them take a look at the chain. I've got free adjustments for a year from the shop I bought it from. I got several "Nice Bike" comments from strangers as I was lockin it up or unlocking to leave. And the bank teller even asked about it. Wanted to know where to get one like it and what brand it was. I let her know it was a comfort bike so she would know what to ask for when she went shoppin for one. She complained they cost a lot, I agreed, but also said I feel it is worth it. You get what you pay for...something I have learned the hard way over and over again when I buy something cheaper than X brand and have it brake a short time later. HUMPH! I hear the Scwinn bike products are crap anymore because they have sacraficed quality for QUANTITY and cheaper material for cheaper products. Apparently it shows.

OOOOoo and I also got some fair trade coffee from the grocery store which I am so enthused about! Finally! A local source for organic fair trade coffee! I'm drinking some of that right now...MMMMmmmm....should be drinkin water. Oh well!

Until next time...

Doctor's Visit: GOOD NEWS!!!-farm visit, karate, Goodwill finds

Good news! My high blood pressure is under control-and without the use of drugs! YIPPIE!! My highest they have recorded had been 150 over 190...really high. This time I was 138 (I think...can't remember exactly) over 150 and I lost 2 more pounds!! KICK ASS...literally! I had the IUD removed as well while I was there but I am still spotting...damned it. I hope that this acne I have developed on my back will go away now and so will the severe cramps and spotting I get after intercourse. Doesn't make it all that fun when you have pain after such a wonderful thing...Humph!

According to the doc...I am perfectly healthy! She was concerned about the joint pain I am experiencing and wants me to see a regular doc (this was a gynecologist visit) about it. I guess. It is something I can just deal with. What are they gonna tell me? Loose wieght. Then I say, I'm workin on it. All that for how much money??? *face-palm* I can get federal assistance for the gynecologist because the state is concerned about the health of woman in that area...but when it comes to getting help for regular health care...forget it! What a screwed up place we live in.

I visited Windridge farm yesterday to see Lotti, the sheep I adopted. Her fleece has a fine and tight crimp to it. I cannot wait till I get it! I didn't get any pictures of her because all the sheep were weary of me. Stranger! Stranger! They all baaaed. She had goats too that were super friendly and loved to be petted like they were dogs or something! CUTENESS! One had a kid that was so bouncy...and what was his name? Grasshopper. LMAO! Because he is always hopping about full of energy!! Momma was always calling him and he would never come or return the calls. Little brat! LOL The sheep loved us like we were best friends after the lady got a bucket of grain out. *face-palm* I got to get friendly with a week old lamb...HOW CUTE!

Since I had to pick the BF from work at 3 yesterday I got back into town around 1:30 so I went to Archivers on the far west side in Middleton. I found a bunch of nice papers and stickers on half off-backgrounds for future karate pages I told myself. Then I went for some lunch at Macaroni Grill and got some ooOOOooo so delicious Chicken Cesar Calazone made with pizza crust...MMMMm OMG!!! It was soooooooooooo good!! It was $7 but they gave me a frickin plate full of it so I had plenty to share with the BF and for dinner later on. After getting up at 4AM yesterday morning, when I finally got home, I crashed. I took a nap and I slept sooooooo hard! Then I had to get up to get to Karate class...oye...not fun. I did get there and I was full of energy after warmed up. We did some different things, and it was really fun! We also learned the front round kick of which I need to practice on today.

This morning I went to the Goodwill on the east side and found more goodies! I found what looked like to be a brand spankin new dehydrater by Magic Cheif for 5.99, and a small coffee press for 3.99, and a latex kinda thang to bake muffins in for 1.49. I gotta stop going there! I always spend money!!

I am testing the dehydrater out today by drying out some organic apples I bought over a week ago now. They are starting to get soft so I want to dry them before they spoil. I love apple chips! I really love the store bought apple chips but they are really fatty. I want some banana's next so I can made banana chips!!

Until next time...

Goodwill Treasure Finds!!! And a little complaining...as usual

OMG look at what I found at Goodwill today!! I was able to make it to the east side store right after they opened and before the retiree's came through (antique hunters). I found EIGHT 50 gram skiens of some italian yarn in a beautiful hunter green priced at...brace yourself...$.69 each!!!!!! *SQUEELS* OH MY GOD(dess)!!! It is soft and shiney made from Bomull, Lin, and Akryl of which I have no idea what those are but the yarn is soft and shiney, plus I really can't complain at $.69 a skien!!

Then I found TWO Aquascene 2 tanks, one with a light, and the other without a light but with a lot of goodies. I got two new air pumps to boot-one with each. One I made into Skye's new home, and the other I am gonna set up for a betta for a friend for her birthday. She has been saying she's been wanting another one...so here I go to set it up for her! This tank is much bigger than what Skye was in...and I don't think he really knows what to do with all the space he has now!! LMAO!

Now for the complaining....

Must be nice to be rich. Argh! I saw today that the Woolee winder has gone up to $185!!! There is NO WAY I would pay that much for that little bit of equipment that may or may not work correctly. *faint* I had been wanting one, but even at the old price of $150 I was hesitant to purchase it. Sheez. I can do without it. I just need a jumbo kit for the kiwi...or a bigger wheel which I am seriously considering. That thunkita noise coming from the Kiwi is driving me up the wall!!

To end on a positive note...kinda...

I bought myself 4.5 pounds of raw white alpaca blanket fleece. What new years resolution?? LMAO!!! I cannot wait to get my hands in that! I won it from an Ebay auction so I paid a lot less than I would normally would have for so much fiber. NICE!!

Okay I have to get off this thing and practice my karate for tomorrows promotion!! I am trying my darndest to convience the BF to come with me so he can shoot some digital video of the session so that I can send it to Mum so she can see what I am learning. But I dunno if he will or not. I have to push and fight with him to do anything with me and I am really sick and tired of doing that. He really hasn't been too supportive of me lately...and I'm a tad paterved. Now I cannot sleep because he figgits all flippin night long! ARGH!!! I haven't slept well all week because of it! Sleeper sofa...here I come! He won't see a doctor about anything, even though he has health insurance. Now one side of his face is swollen because of a tooth absest ( he doesn't brush his teeth and his teeth look nasty-very nasty...and then he wonders why I won't french it with him....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwaaaah!!!!!!!).

MEN!!! *pulls hair out*

Until next time...

Redo!

We went to the Scrapbook superstore this afternoon and I found the black mulberry paper I was looking for. It has gold inclusions but that is fine I guess. I found some more inspirational stickers and made an addition to page two. Then the BF spoted a Karate rub on!! So I removed the print out of the work karate and placed this one on the same kind of paper, then added pop-dots to the back. WOW! What a difference!

While we were there at the super store, the BF dragged me to the checkout because I was taking too long. The place is HUGE!!! The lady in front of us...before a 15% discount had wracked up $246 in scrapbooking supplies!! HOLY SHIT! The stuff they sell is no where near cheap and you pay premium prices for it all. I found a bunch of half off papers and do-dads so I only wracked up just over $10. Thier frequent shopper program has changed too. When we I was into scrapbooking many-many moons ago (like 5 or so years ago), the program was buy $250 in murchandise and get 15% off. NOW, however...it is $600 get 5% off, up to $2000 get 10% off, over $3000 get 15%. HOLY WTF! I would never spend that much on scrapbooking supplies IN A YEARS TIME!! They have a great selection and all...but that "rewards" program is a ripoff!! And that is my humble opinion on that! HUMPH!

Yesterday I was watching Chris Angels Mind Freak disc 2, and the on the last episode the man wants to know what it feels like to get struck by lightening (WHAT?!) and then he apparently came to Baraboo Wisconsin to the US's largest tesla coil which puts out a max of 3 million volts. When he got to the point where he asked them to turn it all the way up, the noise was so unnerving that I had a full blown panic attack! I have never experienced anything like it before. I was hyperventalating while my throat felt like it was closing up on me! I laughed at myself because it was just TV...but here I am having a panic attack like my own life was in danger! LMAO! I get tense when a storm approaches anymore sense being shocked by the bolt that hit our apartment building last summer during on of the freakiest lightening storms I had ever experienced. I used to be in awe of lightening and thought it beautiful, while I am scared shitless of it now...I still think it is beautiful.

Until next time...

Running around...whew!

Oh man, am I tired now. I was walking home from the grocery when the BF zips by me on his way to the bank. Since I was only a block away, I met him there. He went back to work, and I got to take the truck so I could do my runnings. I went and bought some goodies for my SMAT pal to enclude with her undyed yarn that I spun up. Got some fushia dye to mix with the purple I have.

Went to half price books on the west side to see if there were any deals there....that was a waste of time and gas. They have the exact same stuff as the east side does!!

Went to menards to get some more energy saver bulbs, those new rayovac 2500 rechargable batteries, a little something to decorate the door with and, I bought three packages of gold tensil to use in my spun yarn. YES, I am so frugal. They sell it at a local fibe shop, but it is nearly $5 and ounce...I don't think it is worth it. Just go buy some tinsel around the holidays! I took the three packages that were left and they were....brace yourself....a whole $.24 each!! WOW, big spender!

I was also looking from some small diameter rubber or plastic to try and make circulars from. All they had was some rubber stripping for repairing screens. That might work, but I am sure I can find what I need somewhere. All I would have to do is melt the ends and stick them to some shorter needles with a tapered end. That is how the bamboo circulars are made.

I also added a new gadget to the side menu by twitter. com. Neato!

Whew, I am very tired now after all that. It is soooooooooo warm outside! It's unnatural for this time of year! SO now I am going to sit, relax, knit, and watch those netflix DVD's I got yesterday.

Until next time...