I've been here twice in an effort to build a relationship with what would be my LYS in this area. The staff have been polite but terse, despite opportunities to help or be welcoming when we mentioned we were new to the area, wanted to discover a LYS, asked about knitting circles, and then shopped for buttons for projects that I'd brought with me.
My main disappointment: The staff really, really were not helpful or friendly. It's a local yarn store, and I feel lucky to be able to shop in person for knitting supplies. However, when the staff really don't seem to want to interact with you, it's a let down. Maybe I've been spoiled by other local craft stores that truly go above and beyond on service. At this store, I wouldn't say I was made to feel /un/comfortable, but I certainly wasn't made to feel comfortable either. For me, the quality of service was comparable to shopping online.
Here are some concrete examples:
1. On our first visit, we greet the front desk staff, and my husband mentions that we're excited to have a LYS in our community and were excited to start visiting the space. He asked if they had any knitting circles or community events. The staff answered yes, you can check our website. Polite, but terse. ...Yes, we /can/ check the website, but we came in person for a reason.
2. On our second visit, I approached the front desk with some buttons I was hoping to purchase and asked if all of the buttons in the tube represented their entire stock (the tubes on display were often empty or only had a few buttons inside). She said yes. I explained that I was asking because I needed more for my project than were in the tube, to which she shrugged and said that was all that was available. She gave no indication that they might order more (given the low stock) or could order more, nor did she engage in a conversation about what else they had in stock that might work for my project or anything of the sort. My experience was that she had no interest in the sale or helping me. I returned to the button selection by myself to look in vain for /any/ tube of buttons that contained 7 buttons. While doing this, I heard the clerk engage in a conversation with a couple who was leaving, asking what project the customer was working on, complementing the craftwork and encouraging them to keep at it (the customer spoke modestly about their skills). Having heard this warm engagement from the clerk with the other customer, I plucked up my courage to approach the desk again, asking if I could use something to measure the size of the button I had selected (there was no label indicating the size), hoping it might be an opportunity to get some help or some conversation from the clerk. While she allowed me to use a ruler, she again didn't appear to see any opportunity to engage or help me with the shopping experience.
I left with nothing both times despite being interested.
It's a cute LYS. I hope they have what you're looking for and you can locate it yourself, because I wouldn't say the staff are particularly friendly or helpful. read more