I have been to Hobbit Hobby on two occasions in the last two months. First let me say that the store itself is a bit shabby, ridiculously cluttered and somewhat on the musty/dusty side. That aside, the shelves are crammed with all manner of merchandise as are the counters, walls and display cases. On the first visit I had my four year old daughter with me. She was very excited to see the unicorns, fairies and was enthralled with the giant dragon sitting on the top of the book shelf. Her excitement was the highlight of the visit. As I am not a rookie to the realm of parenting, I made sure that I held her hand (and in some cases both hands) to ensure that she "looked with her eyes not with her hands" and the remainder of the time I held her. While my daughter was in my arms, an employee actually stated, "be careful she doesn't grab anything" (Strike One). Clearly I am taking appropriate measures to keep my child in check, I am actively engaged with her and not letting her run wild in the store. The fact that the employee felt the need to advise me to "keep her in line" speaks volumes. However, I went ahead, made my purchase and left.
On my second visit to the store I opted to leave my daughter at home as I wanted to spend some time looking for particular items to add to my layout, specifically 28mm miniatures, which during my previous visit I was not able to view to my satisfaction. I had been in the store for roughly twenty minutes and had already accumulated a small stack of purchases, when the one employee exclaimed, "THOSE ARE IN NUMERICAL ORDER!" I could only conclude that she was referring to the miniatures as I was the only customer in the store at the time. I was stunned not only by her exclamation, but by the way she addressed me as if I was an employee or an unruly child as opposed to a paying customer. She then proceeded to launch into a rant to her co-worker that she had spent the "whole day Saturday" organizing that section. (Strike Two) While I appreciate hard work and attention to detail, but the fact that the other employee came over and asked me if the miniatures I had set aside where "the ones I was interested in" only served to make an already unpleasant situation even more awkward. (Strike Three) I stood there stunned for a couple of moments trying to decide how I should respond. I had planned on spending over a hundred dollars and had by my calculations already accumulated at least half that when I decided what to do. I quietly placed the miniatures back on the racks (In numerical order), and left the store.
The shop will continue to do well as they serve a niche audience and is the only store of its kind located in the greater Fayetteville area. I will not return to the store and while I typically try to support brick and mortar stores, I will make an exception in this case and shop online OR drive the hour out of my way to another brick and mortar store with a more professional staff, better environment and more reasonable pricing. read more