Fabricland

This is my favourite of the three locations in London. Many of the staff have made the move from when this was located on Wellington near the 401. They are always so helpful. It’s a challenge to get into the parking lot if you are approaching on Fanshawe Park Rd from the east because you can’t turn left into the parking lot.
Prices are reasonable, especially if you wait for a sale and use their discount card. If you sew frequently, the discount card is worth the cost ($ 20) because it saves you either 25% or 50% off of regularly priced fabric, notions and décor plus there are membership appreciation sales and other promotions.
The one thing that I don’t like about Fabricland are the ridiculous policies. It’s silly what management puts the customer and the staff through just to make a sale. Everything has to be written out by hand, then added up, then the various papers sorted and stapled… this is 2012, get with the program! A DECADE ago Walmart sold fabric using UPC codes so it only needed to be scanned at the counter. The cash counter is littered with disclaimers, exclusionary statements, and warnings. What is the point? Don’t get me started on trying to look at a pattern! You can only get one at a time, and they won’t give you the pattern pieces, just the envelope, which makes it exceedingly difficult to find finished measurements, establish lay-​out, etc. Attention Fabricland management/​owners: making every customer feel like a criminal on every trip is bad business. I honestly wonder how many cases per year they have of shoplifters fleeing the store, pattern in hand. Could the number of thefts possibly merit this kind of treatment? I doubt it. Seems more like a «pink ghetto» situation — the men (mostly) who run things have little appreciation for the women (mostly) who comprise the staff and have to enforce these policies that have questionable efficacy.
I like the fabric selection, I like the prices, I like the service, but I don’t like the feeling that management views every customer as a potential thief.