Wrong is WRONG and I am a firm believer of that; therefore, I try very hard to avoid negativity, even when it’s dropped in my lap.
28 days since I have set foot in a yarn store, 28 days since I got my feelings hurt, 28 days ago it all went wrong.
I didn’t realize how this situation bothered me, until I looked at the calendar. When I looked at the calendar I saw that it has almost been a month since I have been in a yarn store. WHY? Well, I am no punk, but I was afraid if that happened again, I wouldn’t be able to NOT react. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to simply walk away. I was afraid to give life to the “angry black woman” stereotype. I WAS afraid, but I am no more, I say this from the bottom of my heart…their loss.
If you have followed me for sometime you know I have a child-like fascination with yarn. Click To Tweet I am so much more than any black woman stereotype and I swear on EVERY thing I believe is Holy, THAT is why this yarn store visit went wrong.
Come with me back to April 16th. I got up early all excited because I was going to Four Purls (post about my visit coming soon I COULD LIVE IN THIS STORE! I LOVE IT HERE!) AFTER I LEFT HEAVEN, I went to another store that will remain nameless. I jumped in the rental car armed with my credit card and hit the road. My fiber friends on my Facebook page had given me a list of stores I should visit and I was checking my list off.
When I walk into a yarn store or anywhere for that matter I say hello. My hello is always partnered with a big ole smile, I mean why not, smiling is contagious….normally. Well for the first time ever my smile didn’t help me. My smile was met with a dry hello from a group of knitters sitting at a table. Now here go me, in my head
Head: this is not a store for you GG, they don’t want you here
Heart: no they said hello, this will be fine
Head: ok I won’t say I told you so
Unfortunately, my head won that battle. I walked in, started to look around and taking pictures. The store was well stocked and my Yarnho senses were tingling..but I was COMPLETELY and thoroughly ignored. I am a lot of things, but small and insignificant I am not. If you don’t see anything you will see these 2 humans that live on my chest. I am blessed in the chest hahahahahahahaa! Translation they saw my me!! But my head says they saw a “Black woman” and not the slightly insane yarnlover that I am. They didn’t see the balance of my account or know that I spend MONEEEE on yarn!!
I should have stopped there, but I continued, I went up near the cash register on purpose and started picking up items and looking them over. This is the one time that I would felt better being followed because of course I came in to steal. BUT all they did was IGNORE me. Did I get a “hi can I help you?” or “are you looking for something in particular?” No, no and NOPE!
I was shocked and my instinct was to go off, but I didn’t. I put the orange button, big ole orange button down and walked out. But did you read that the button was orange? Yea, I didn’t buy it, although I haven’t seen it anywhere else, I didn’t purchase it. I couldn’t. I wanted to do a Pretty Woman on them
How do the young people say it “this could have been us” but instead, I walked out with this conversation going on in my head.
Head: I know what I said, but…I told you
Heart: o(
Head: I told you as soon as you walked in
Heart: o/
I posted on my Facebook fan page, that I was confused by the visit and I love my fiber friends. When I tell you they rallied around me to make me feel better, because clearly I was/am bothered. I can’t believe how long it has been since I have set foot in search of a yarn store; but I will not stop being me. I am going to find a new store this weekend.
Have you ever had a yarn store visit go wrong? Let’s discuss
Knit on my fiber friends….knit on
GG
That is simply appalling. What a bunch of losers.
Yay for you, for trying! I hope telling us about this and airing it gets it out of you mind and gives you the ability to let it go.
Have no doubt that the owner of that store AND that narrow-minded group of snobs will see this post and hopefully understand they need to change that crap behavior.
You go to your yarn shop Gigi, and melt that credit card on orange EVERYTHING!!!!
I swear I didn’t realize it hurt me so much. But nothing like retail therapy 😋😘
Wow. I am so sorry that happened to you. I do believe that store should be reported so everyone can boycott. That had to be an awful feeling, and should Never Happen! I love your work. I look forward to s seeing you on knit and Chat…now I know you have a blog, I am in…
Hope you are feeling a bit better… This is a crazy world.
Debbie
It is a crazy world and I am knitting away
Sadly, I don’t believe it was only because you’re black. (At least, i pray not!!) It happened to me also & I’m white. I guess they figured I was white trash since I had jeans & a t-shirt on! Too bad for them, as I went across the state to Historic Cocoa Village and checked out Knit & Stitch. The ladies were super friendly and made me feel like we were old friends.
That is what I experienced at Four Purls. I love that place and should have just stayed there instead of driving to the other place
Gaye, I’m SOOOO sorry to hear this report about Four Purls. You may or may not remember that I go near there on may way to visit my grandchildren. II haven’t been in the store, but I do receive their extensive newsletter. It is a large store and I was waiting for your review before I went for a visit. Yes, I have had similar experiences in a few yarn stores. They just were totally unfriendly to this white woman and I left abruptly. I will email Four Purls and tell them t remove me from their newsletter and that I will never shop there. At my age 70 I don’t need to give my money to unfriendly stores regardless of their reason for ignoring customers.
No it wasn’t Four Purls! I love that place!!
Carol Krup Four Purls is a dream this happened after I left them
Oh, I misunderstood! Great. Can’t wait to visit. I haven’t unsubscribed yet and now I won’t. Waiting for a sale. Thank you for the correction!
Anytime you will love it there!
Yes! Never purchase at yarn stores that don’t make you feel welcome! It’s not your job to change their preconceived minds. I have two yarn stores very local to me that just are not welcoming. I generally try a couple of times before I commit to my decision never to go back. I end up traveling much further to visit places that I actually enjoy. I’m glad you at least got to visit Four Purls while you were there. **hugs**
Four Purls is a dream! I should have just stayed there. I should get up now and go there this morning.
Oh yes! I think you should. It will make you feel much better!
Bri..I agree..It is usually a good idea to give a shop a few chances before totally writing them off..bad days…terrible employee choices…and a like do happen. For me, a bad experience does accomplish no money spent that day though..one of the stores I had a terrible experience with is no longer IN business..so my thinking is..I wasn’t the only one that was treated poorly…
In this case because I don’t live here I won’t be able to do another try. Honestly, I don’t know that I could go back without being ugly
Understood…some times that’s a really big risk business owners take…for some folks there is no second chance… If I owned a fiber house..you would be treated like a queen…I wouldn’t care if you were purple, orange, yellow, black or white…your money is green and that should be all that matters. AND..I WOULD be a very happy lady if I were a fiber house owner….!! I got it..lets go into business together…lol…we can show them how to run a successful business….lol. Oh wait..we’d be buying all our own products….maybe not a good idea…lol
Hahahahahahahaaaaa exactly! Hiding yarn to keep for ourselves
I’ve had a few bad yarn store visits. I’m a pretty young (as far as most knitters are concerned), so I think the assumption is that I don’t know anything about knitting and yarn and/or that I won’t buy anything. I’ve had really bad customer service in quite a few places….Sorry you had a bad experience.
Yes that is wrong too!
Yes sweetie…I have..had the same conversation.. head and heart thing happening…I felt like I was invisible…maybe I wasn’t wearing a big enough diamond ring or the right designer cloths that day..I walked out thinking..as you just said “Your loss” … I was looking to buy fiber to make an afghan for a wedding gift…plans to spend at least $250.00/$300.00 on the fiber and needed some size size 19 skacel circulars. Both they had in their shop. Found the perfect fiber and they had a few of the circular needles I needed…I walked out of that store with nothing in my hands and have never been back since and managed to tell all my fiber friends who will never shop there either… In business you have to figure that everyone that walks in your store is going to spend thousands of dollars a month and treat them as if this is a fact…Shame on them if not…their loss…
see you get me, I pay for what I want and they could have had such a sale
I know the feeling, I have two stores that are fairly local, but I always go to the furthest one because of the owner, she is so sweet! The other store is much closer, but not welcoming at all. I also experience this same thing with quilting, people assume I know nothing, or I’m not buying. I agree with you, their loss. Glad you will be getting back into visiting stores! 🙌🏽
Yes I am gonna go visit another that was recommended
I like to believe that this type of behavior doesn’t exist but truth is, it does and it has happened to me more than once. I love to visit new yarn stores when I travel and in two states in particular I remember being treated as though I didn’t even exist. I mean, I know they heard the bell ding when I walked in and I know that my physical presence is large enough to notice but nope, nothing. I tried to chalk it up to them not hearing me say hello, the shop attendant being busy when I walked in, the glare from the sun coming in the front window, anything but the fact that I am black. Yarn should be what unites us in a yarn store. It shouldn’t be about color or size or gender… None of that. I struggle with just walking out though when this happens and I’m in my feels. I believe that every situation is an opportunity for a lesson; for them and for me. Even when the lesson doesn’t stick I still feel compelled to teach it and engage the ignorance in a conversation that says hey, I see you not seeing me and it’s not ok. I don’t bite, I have money and I’m a nice person. Your life is actually more empty than full because of your behavior and I want you to know that I know that about you. Then I smile, wave and walk out the door without purchasing anything. In my head I’m full on Julia Roberts with a mic drop. On to the next shop! Don’t let them keep you from shopping and doing what you love. Your life is so much bigger than their ignorance!
You are right! I have struggled with reaching out to the owners but I have to get the nasty taste out of my mouth first.
I have been on the receiving end of being ignored at more than one yarn store- and at a local store where I was a regular customer. ( was as in no longer). I have also heard many stories from other knitters who have had the same experience, at multiple yarn stores. No one is sure why this happens, but we believe that not all people who love yarn make good small business owners. in other words, it’s not us, it’s them. If you truly believe your treatment was racially motivated, and you are the only judge of that, it is unconscionable and let us know the name of the store so we can choose whether we want to spend our hard earned money there. If it is the personality of the store……do the same please.
I think it’s time to go back to your favorite yarn store……
Yes I am gonna go back to Four Purls before I leave. I pray it was merely rudeness and not racially motivated
You should’ve called them and spoke with the owner and let them know that you have quite a following and you will be sure to mention the service or lack of service you received when you visited. Also, whether you were Black, blessed in the chest, kissed by an orange, looked like a purple people eater, there was no reason for how they treated you. You should absolutely say the name of the store because none of us should support that store.
Oh GG I had that situation in one of the suburban stores of Atlanta. My friend and I were out yarn store hopping and took the 45 minute ride to Peachtree City. Like you I entered with my big ole cheesy smile and was greeted with nothing. The store was packed with both knitters and shoppers. My head told me one thing my heart another. My friend who is younger than I wasn’t paying attention, she was having a love affair at the time. After perusing the store I told her that they would not get one thin dime of my money and we left. We traveled to another store an hour north and had the most marvelous time.
Yarn comes in many colors and price points and so does its followers.
Amen!! You better preach!! That part!
I’ve had the same thing happen to me – I’m white, but I’m chunky, so I always tend to think that’s it. Whatever it was, this was the most unfriendly yarn shop I’ve ever visited. I don’t get it. I fondled numerous items, but decided that if they weren’t excited to take my money, I wasn’t excited to give it to them. I don’t care if they’re on the yarn crawl this year. I won’t be seeing them.
Yes being friendly is free! I just don’t get it! Especially when the goal is to make money!
There’s a yarn store here in NYC that I used to shop at but no longer. I went in one cold winter afternoon with my daughter, and we were asked to remove our coats, and leave them, and our bags in a front room by the door, under the guise that it’s really warm in there. I really didn’t plan on staying long, (I knew I just wanted sock yarn, but I probably would have bought more, too!), so I told them that wouldn’t be necessary. They insisted. I didn’t think anything of it and figured, eh, it might get too warm and I’ll wish I had put my stuff down.
A few minutes later, two white women came in, separately, and NEITHER of them were ‘invited’ to leave their belongings in the front. I told the sales person I wasn’t happy that THEY weren’t asked to leave their stuff behind, told her I wasn’t buying anything and that I wouldn’t be back. That was ohh, 8,9 years ago? Screw ’em!
Wow!!! That was blatant! The nerve!!
OMG! That was horrible! If I was in the store and saw that happened I would of screamed at them for doing that and believe me, what would of come out of this white mouth would not of been pleasant. I do not care if you are black, white, orange or purple you treat everyone with respect. Do not judge a book by its cover!! that is my saying all the time.
Love you Maureen 😘
I’m so sorry you had this painful experience. I had a similar one with a local yarn store but went back several times because at the time, it was the only one in town and I wanted to support a local indie yarn store. But even after I’d bought a bunch of yarn and needles, and paid for a class (which in itself was miserable), the owner still treated me like dirt. So, I don’t go back and I tell everyone about it.
If it were racially motivated (Everyone involved is white), it would be even worse to bear. I just want to hug you and make the hurt go away. But think about it this way: Do you *really* want to give that store and those people even one more second of free rent in your head? They are not worth it. And you are so right: It’s THEIR loss.
Knit on, lady! You deserve good feelings!
THAT PART! They can’t afford space in my head. I say this all the time thanks for the reminder
She’s so right…not worth the time spent…just try to wash your hands of it and move on..(Easy said…not so easy done..) Lets all do that..wash that junk off..and move on…we are fiber lovers and we are worthy of the best treatment…upward..onward..and forward…!
Gigi, what’s possibly rise than such treatment when you’re traveling is when this halogens in your home town. A new shop opened and I visited them several times in the first 6 months they were open, making decent purchases. The store and owner had that snobby vibe, but I disowned disbelief. After the 4th visit when the woman greeter me as a Friday stranger, I was through with them. I *know* she didn’t get a lot of traffic from my demographic, and I’ve got, let’s say, a bit of an engaging personality. We little people just didn’t register to her. I’m sure she felt it when she sat alone at a local fiber fest and no one came to her table. Like you, I’m sure there’s a racial element involved, but I also think it’s a class thing. I’m my little middling town, people kid themselves all the time about their high status. She can kid herself all the way to the bank, for all I care!
Amen!! I don’t get how that behavior exist in retail? You NEED your customers
This has happened to me more than once, and I’m white, but overweight. Of course I attribute it to that, just as you attribute it to being black. But, although my heart feels this I believe that we are both wrong. It’s just because some shop owners are rude. Also, it’s wonderful that there are customers sitting and knitting but this can be very intimidating when no one is friendly. I’ve been to a knitting class where the owner/teacher made a woman cry. Needless to say, I’ve never been back.
I pray they are simply rude, I swear I do
Such a unsettling experience, but even more so when it’s a store that inspires our love of yarn. I had a similar experience about 2 years ago in Annapolis. I was so turned off I just walked away. Like you, I can take my money elsewhere. Regardless, your blog continues to inspire me!
Thank you for reading and responding Stephanie
My mom lives near there and I’ve been to Four Purls. It’s a great shop. Not sure what the other shop might be. I know I went to one in Orlando that did not impress me. There was a great one on the way to Tampa, but it closed. I’m going down end of June, so I’ll be visiting Four Purls again.
It happened to me twice, and both times, I left the stores, named names, and never went back. Both times, I am quite certain my race played a factor, and anyone who has an issue with me stating that, can read something else. There are plenty of places to buy yarn and LYSs often complain about losing business to online companies, but they refuse to do anything to make ALL their customers feel welcome.
I am so sorry this happened to you, but I’m way happier that there are so many other places you can buy yarn. If you don’t feeel like naming names, I totally understand, but part of me would like to know, in advance, who to avoid, so that I can continue spending it on businesses which deserve it.
Hey thanks for reading and responding. I tagged the store on the day it actually happened. I plan to reach out when I can remain level headed. I am still annoyed
There was a yarn store in our town . Beautiful store and yarn selection. When ever I was there I did not feel valued . The owner was cold and condescending . Needless to say the store closed after a few years. There are some who are not good at retailing and understanding what to do to make a customer feel wanted. This can pass on to their regulars who become insulated like the owner. Carry on and spend your money where it and you are treasured.
Thank you Barb! Yes I spend my money where I am welcome
Yes I remember it well…the day you posted it. It broke my heart but could so relate for it has happened to me…Like I said, I remember it well and I remember well the name of the shop I will never go to.
😘😘😘
I just want to hug you! You are one of the most fun people I’ve found on the Internet, really truly. I have had a similar experience – the first yarn shop I ever went to after I learned to knit was run by a warm, caring couple…who then sold it to someone very cliquey. Who used it as her personal knitting club. I was not only ignored when I went in, but when I asked for help (you know how hard that was for me to ask for help after being ignored…) I was told they wouldn’t help me find yarn for my pattern because I didn’t purchase the pattern there. I never, ever went back.
Instead I found a beautiful shop run by an amazing woman who is helpful, friendly, and offers you tea when you come in. We just have to surround ourselves with the amazing and wonderful, because life is too short. You are amazing and wonderful, and that’s why I wrote this long comment. 😉
Aww I’m sorry that happened! It appears so many have had bad experiences and that is sad! Thank you for responding
😱 That’s so terrible GG. I hope I never make the mistake of going into that store. I’ve had that happen to me before, but never in a yarn store. I’m so sorry that happened to you. 😕 It is truly their loss.
Thank you Belinda
I had that happen to me at a LYS in North Carolina. I always buy something, anything when visiting a yarn store for the first time, especially out of town, ’cause I think that I may not return that way. At this store, I was completely ignored, and so I left. There is cold and not particularly helpful and there is people who barely acknowledge your existence or unwelcome you. I know the difference. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen often. but it does sting. Keep up your good work.
thank you for reading and sharing your story.
Hi Gaye.. And yes it has happen to me as well, for sometime I too was in my feelings, But then , I chopped it up as the culture of African American women knitting is so farfetched, so we are looked at as we are lost when we do enter yarn stores. The history of African Americans knitting goes way back… but sadly in today society mothers are not teaching this craft to their daughters, or sons for that matter, just like canning and true baking as gone by the waste side, everything is quick with a touch of a button . For a long time I shy away from yarn shops and knitting in public place (closet knitter ) because of feeling like an outcast. I learned to embrace my craft …and Love it .
Thanks for reading and sharing
Sorry, but I’d have to disagree – I know SO many of us who knit. Second of all, we have the right to take up any craft/skill/hobby/profession we choose, without somebody else getting all in their feelings over it. Customer service is just that – service, and if I walk into a store, whether or not the staff has ever seen a Black person, I expect to be treated with respect. They do not get a pass for bad behavior, and as long as we keep making excuses for them, they’ll continue to feel justified for acting like they don’t have one bit of common sense.
They don’t get a pass or my money! #walkawayqueen
Amen to that!
I agree my mother has dealt with this several times over her knitting life. She has been a knitter since she was 13 and she is 76. She has passed the art to me and my oldest daughter. My youngest is a crocheter as I love crochet as well. I find that the small amount of African American yarn enthusiasts makes some store owners a little uneasy.
Hey GG😊 I’m from Canada where our visible minorities come in every colour of the rainbow. I TRULY believe we should be colourblind when we look at people!!! FOR SOME REASON IT SEEMS TO BE EASIER TO ACCOMPLISH WHERE I LIVE! 🇨🇦 Please don’t give up! As I told my daughters as they grew up, if I ever appear to be prejudiced, it is not a reaction to colour, it is a reaction to A**holes and unfortunately they come in every colour of the rainbow!😳 (As your recent visit to Florida will attest) Please, if you ever come to the GTA, Montreal or Ottawa, give us a holler…and we’ll arrange a good old meet-up! PS I’ll try to find you an awesome orange button! Will PM you when it jumps into my hands!!!
You are the bestest! And I pray life throws us together! Knit on my fiber friend, knit on!
Canada…where Lily white me, is the visible minority in the GTA… My brother is Metis…(the norm as you head north) Colour should have been ignored…since forever…we all bleed red! Just pisses me off… Come on up for a visit to the great white north!….as in SNOW,❄️,but don’t bring your skis in July …we actually get a few weeks of summer!
😘😘
Gaye – most of the yarn stores I’ve been to are welcoming, helpful, and love indulging yarn enthusiasts. However, I have been to a couple, as a well-educated white woman, who couldn’t be bothered to give me the time of day. Or, when they did, it was in a way that expressed “You don’t belong.” These were stores in white neighborhoods and I should have been their target customer. I wasn’t. I didn’t live in their community and they didn’t know me. I didn’t fit their mold in how I looked and dressed. Or, I wasn’t knowledgable enough. One store, that I heard numerous glowing reviews of, acted like I was the plague for asking questions as a newbie. Thankfully, there have been many, many more stores who treated me with enthusiasm and respect. Don’t let those jerks ruin all the good stores for you.
Now, I do hope you will write to the owner of the store and let them know about your experience and how many people you reach with your yarn store reviews. Also, that you have the grace and class not to bad-mouth them or name them, but you also aren’t promoting them.
Thank you for sharing! I am going to find there email address and send them the link to this post. It is absolutely not about bashing anyone as I refuse to match ugly with more ugly. I will however scream to the rooftops about the places I love. Thank you for reminding me that ugly comes in every race and this could have simply been THAT. 😘
This thought is so a ray of sunshine..and yes..ugly comes in all sizes, shapes and races..Personally my race is the human race and in my world there are no sizes, shapes or colors…only the feeling of love and respect. Please do share this post..hopefully it will educate them to present them selves in a more positive light and just possibly have a more successful business, which in the end will benefit all interested in the fine craft of fiber art.
Gigi, I appreciate you. The white washing and racism that happens in the art and making world are one of the reasons I started The Yarn Mission. These experiences are harmful and carry with us.. then the gas lighting from others and ourselves it’s traumatizing. I just want you to know that I hear you and have been there too (and in a variety of spaces because we are always Black). Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading and responding. I truly believe it is the yarn that connects us all and IT comes in ALL colors.
GG… you are so right and truer words have NEVER been spoken…Looks like we all have experienced this terrible issue of feeling unwanted…lets face it..unfortunately some people are angels sent to us to show us our worth and want to service us, no matter our financial status, color or stature….and others just SUCK…. Like has been stated a few times here..wanting to have their very own private club…so be it..So we spend our green cash elsewhere…with those that know who it is that will keep their business breathing and alive….that is our power and we need to use it…bless every one of us and lets grow and “FIBER ON my friends FIBER ON” Love to us all…thank goodness for the fiber that binds us together…
Amen my friend AMEN!
My friend dresses fairly conservatively, nice but nothing flashy…she could not get a clerk to help her. Me… they are all over, asking how they can help me. Lol…she has the money, me not so much. Such snobs. As I recall we have not visited that bead store again.
Isn’t it great that there are so many other stores out there?
See that part! I can’t stand it! Thanks for sharing
#stopstereotyping
Oh GG that is so horrible! Definitely their loss
Yes it was but life goes on and other stores are welcoming
That race is still an issue (that it was ever an issue) just burns me up. Racism is simply evil. No holds barred. The burden should not be on you to call out that business, but oh, I so wish I knew its name. I’d write every yarn magazine, company, and organization and say, enough is enough. Life is too short and too precious to allow such behavior in our midst.
Thank you for reading and responding
GG, I hate that this happened to you. As a 60 year old white woman with a middle-class style, I get treated with respect whenever I walk into any LYS. Sometimes, the shopkeepers aren’t “friendly” but never have I been ignored or dissed, or subtly (or not so subtly) treated as potential shoplifter as had been reported here by some African American responders. I am not surprised given our country’s legacy of racism, but I am saddened, that white supremacy attitudes extend into our beautiful world of crafting and fibers. To my sisters with white privilege like me – when we are in an LYS, and see/hear this behavior – let’s speak up as allies! And then all of us squeeze that gorgeous big yarn together!
Kathy! Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough to express my gratitude. You didn’t have to type any of that yet you did! You Rock!
No one can tell you for sure if you were racially profiled. I’m a white suburban female who always looked like the girl next door until, at age 16, I got a huge curly perm; salespeople at stores that I’d easily shopped at before suddenly ignored me. I’m much older now, in my 50s, and I recently had a similar experience at a LYS. No one was rude but the few people in the store, staff and a regular customer, did not greet or engage me at all. I didn’t like the knitted samples or decor of the store and thought the place had a cold vibe. I didn’t think to take it personally; I just left without buying anything.
Thanks for sharing your story. A white woman came after me and she was asked if she needed help.
Wow GG I’m so angry for you. I can’t believe I missed this blog.
They have no idea who they snubbed.
Love you mean it!
Holy crap. I just discovered GG’s blog so now I’m catching up and as outraged as you all were when this happened.
I’m so very sorry that ANYbody ANYplace is treated rudely, but ESPECIALLY you and ESPECIALLY in FLORIDA where I freaking live! GAH! (but I also bet I can guess which shop)
The worst experience I ever had in a yarn shop had more to do with the pesky retired husband of the owner who can’t seem to leave the shoppers alone. He doesn’t have enough to do, clearly, so he’s determined to “help” his wife with their new business venture. He followed me around, making suggestions, until finally a voice rang out from the back of the store — “You have to let her look around, (his name)! Leave her alone and let her shop in peace!” Which made me laugh because clearly his bothersome-ness (?) had already been noted.
When/if you come to Florida again — please let me take you to lunch to apologize on behalf of all us nice Florida knitters (of which there are a ton) — how does a business expect to stay in business treating people badly??? WTF. I’m so sorry.
Hi Claire I’ll be in Florida this weekend at Four Purls! Thank you for your kind words
I have experienced this type of behaviour because I of the way I dress. I don’t fit the typical knitting female. It is heartbreaking and stays with me for a long time. I understand some of what you went through that day. Pick a store where you know you will be welcome and enjoy your time there.
GG, so sorry this happened, and I appreciate you highlighting how, once you are recognized, they suddenly can and often do, change their attitudes, further evidence of how much people can totally suck. I have this experience EVERY time I walk into my LYS! I have dropped thousands there and yet everytime I walk in I am ignored. I gave up going, buy online now. It breaks my heart. No one should be ignored.
I am so sorry you had this experience. My heart goes out to you and I hope it has been the exception and not the rule. Thank you for sharing, it helps me understand how I can help. Although not a shop owner/employee I will make sure to share my fiber love & happiness with all (and not in a pushy way – but maybe pushy is good 😉
PS. You’re allowed to be angry, stereotype or not.
I had a similar experience because the owner who was the only one working had to get up from her knitting to ring me out. Karma works because that store was closed within six months
That’s happened to me. I frequented a great yarn shop I miss. That’s actually where I saw you first. I’d go weeks to hang out and knit. I’d never leave without dropping 100-400 a week there. I stopped going because it seemed week to week they didn’t know me at all. Too many other friendly places to shop.