Yikes. I'll never step foot into this place again and will join the existing ranks of those who boycott this chain. Let me tell you why.
Once I found out what was under construction in this poorly conceived commercial area, I had to wonder why a craft store chain would choose to build a brand new, oversized big box type building
- during a depressed economy
- in a perpetually depressed area
- in the immediate vicinity of three other big box craft stores.
Their answer to this question? Their invisible sky wizard told them to. Seriously. It says so in their mission statement.
I didn't know this ahead of time, and curiosity (and their cutesy name) got the best of me, so I recently went to check this place out. I already had the notion that they were insane to think that the Scranton area could support a *fourth* big box craft store.
Here are the basics:
- the store is clean (new) and enormous
- Hobby Lobby tries to be the jack-of-all-crafts by virtue of size and selection, yet fails to excel in any particular area (except for one)
- That one area in which they excel? Here's a hint: the date of my visit was September 25 and I did not take notice of any Halloween merchandise
- The three nearby competitors (JoAnn Fabric, A.C. Moore and Michaels) each excel in specific departments
- Checkout is poorly marked and crammed into a smallish area (given the size of the store) with tallish walls and no indication of who is available to ring you up
- The bare fluorescent lights that run the full length of the ceiling are harsh and unappealing
- Even though the store literally just opened, there is already a clearance section... huh?
- While walking around, plenty of zombie-like employees shuffled around looking pretty miserable
Furthermore:
- The name "Hobby Lobby" sounds like a store that should carry things that appeal to more than just the church lady/cat lady/holiday-sweater-wearing crowd. For example, there is no model train merchandise.
- The selection of fabric - across the board - is pathetic. Maybe 10% of what JoAnn offers, at best.
- On the other hand, the selection of home accessories and decor is excessive; there is nothing especially distinctive one couldn't already find at Pier 1, Target, Burlington Coat Factory, TJ Maxx/Marshall's, etc.
Finally:
- They are closed on Sundays with a sign near the door proclaiming that this allows their employees to "worship." Brilliant. Closed for 50% of the weekend. This is a small market with 3 major competitors all of which are open for at least 9 hours on Sundays.
- Not only did they lack Halloween merchandise (their website yields just 53 items when searching for "Halloween," most of which are listed under "scrapbooking"), they have a huge selection of religious items. Did you need a bible verse doormat, an entire aisle of religious greeting cards or maybe feel the need to update your collection of crosses (127 different crosses to choose from, but only 53 Halloween related items)? This is the place to go.
- Hobby Lobby is suing the federal government over the Affordable Care Act, even in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, because it feels it has the right to shove its twisted agenda down its employees' throats. I find this reprehensible. It is not, under any circumstances, the place of an employer to dictate the private medical choices of an employee.
Thankfully, Scranton consumers have a choice, even if Hobby Lobby is anti-choice. My choices:
The highest quality and best selection of silk flowers with stellar service and decades of arrangement experience? Visit Keen's Floral in Greenridge (seriously).
A vast selection of fabrics in every texture, density, pattern, color or application you can think of? JoAnn, naturally.
Framing? Michaels or any independent framer.
Baking, candy or t-shirts? A.C. Moore.
Anything else? Anywhere but Hobby Lobby. read more
