Let me start by saying that this is going to be a bad review. But, I don't want it to be; the staff are very friendly, helpful, and willing to share their knowledge of leatherwork. I respect craftspeople and appreciate those who will talk shop about their art. If I were rating based on that, alone, this Tandy location would receive 5 stars.
But the store itself is, frankly, a chore to shop in. Other Tandy locations I have visited are organized and display their wares in a way that the products can be clearly found and seen. But, not here.
First, this Tandy leaves most of their product in the cardboard boxes they received them in and plop them down on a shelf. Whether you are looking for rivets, buckles, or other hardware, you are going to have to be squinting to read every little tag's fine print. Yes, that means you have to dig through hundreds of small cardboard boxes to view their selection. Most of the boxes have bundles of wrapped items that you have to open yourself because the staff can't be bothered to. It sort of works if you know exactly what you are looking for and ask for help finding your item.
And on that note . . .
Second, there is no rhyme or reason to how they organize their product. All of those little carboard boxes are just strewn any old place; random conchos are thrown in with the rivets, random buckles thrown in with the stamps, and random stamps are thrown in with the buckles 50 feet away. It makes no sense to the point of absurdity.
While it is understandable that this location may not have the space to display things as nicely as some other locations, there is no excuse for the chaotic disorganization. This is pure laziness on the part of the staff, who have time to play with their personal leather projects all day, yet have never taken a few hours to organize the place in a way that makes sense. Seriously, it's not that hard. The mess costs customers valuable time, and valuable aspirin to deal with the unnecessary headache.
I can only recommend this particular store because it is only physical store to carry these products within a couple hundred miles. But, if you have the time and inclination, save yourself the headache order online. read more
