I was super excited when the Michael's signs first appeared in this shopping center. Since I live nearby, the closest Michael's was previously a few miles away in Burbank.
When it opened, the happiness slowly dimmed......
Yes this is a Michael's. Yay! It's close to where I live, so it's super convenient. Yay! There are bike racks outside of this shopping center. Yay! They also have price readers on the floor, which is useful when Michael's puts certain "categories" of items on sale, but you have no idea whether a particular item is really included or not.
So to the bad parts.
As others have said, it's pretty small. I'm constantly going there for specific items only to find out this particular Michael's doesn't carry them. After looking for a specific brand of clay over and over that every other Michael's and other craft store I've been to carries, I finally asked an employee about it at the register. The cashier called another employee on the floor about it and they said "yes, we have that!" I finished purchasing my current items and asked if they could show me where it was on the floor for next time. So I walk back into the store with the employee who led me straight to the aisle where I had looked and expected to see the clay. And the employee stared at the shelf for a while and came to my original conclusion, they don't carry it. Why did the employee think they carried it? Because every other Michael's SHE had been to had carried it. This has happened to me time and time again with even really basic things (like plastic canvas), although I stopped asking employees since it just wastes time. No, it's very likely this Michael's doesn't have what you want in stock, even if every other Michael's you've ever visited has it. So if you want something in particular, even if you call and ask, unless you ask them to go pick up the item from the shelf, well meaning employees might give you incorrect information. They will offer to special order items, but it takes 2 weeks to ship, so you're likely better off just going to another Michael's. The one in Burbank is about 6 miles from this location.
As others have stated, parking sucks here, especially in the middle of a weekend day. I'm glad I live close enough to walk, because you might end up driving around one of the most oddly shaped parking garages for 10 minutes trying to find a spot.
I've also been hassled for bringing my backpack into this Michael's, which has made me consider not spending my money here. I can't imagine that some of the employees don't recognize me since I seem to come into the store every week or 2 and how stupid it would be for me to steal from here as a result. Nevermind the fact that the crappy parking situation and close proximity to housing should encourage people to walk or bike here. If I'm walking or biking here, a backpack is really useful in carrying my purchases home.
The store location itself is a little odd and for some reason the floor is super shakey here. I've been freaked out thinking there was an earthquake a few times when they floor rattled. Not sure what the deal with that is.
I'm not sure if it was their holiday sales or a new staff, but there have been quite a few times when I noticed things labelled on sale on the shelves that were not ringing up as on sale at the register. Keep your eye on that if you're price sensitive.
It's nice to have another Michael's, but I'm frustrated by how often I end up going to the super old, somewhat chaotic Michaels' near my work because this one just didn't have what I needed in stock. I've written to Michael's and they pretty much said "yup, not all of our stores carry the same things."
You have been warned. read more