Michaels

Let me preface this review by saying I do not often shop at Michaels anymore, as I find Joann down the road has a much larger selection and includes fabric, something Michaels does not offer. However, there are times when I am looking for a particular item and Michaels might be the better bet in terms of tracking it down.
My most recent trip to the store in Geneva with just one of those occasions when I was looking for particular wood letters so I could paint them and hang them with our Christmas stockings. I found the letter section easily enough, but as has often been my experience at the store, they were missing the ones I needed. When I say often, I really do mean it, as I have never been to this store and gotten exactly what I came for.
In addition to what seems to be a chronic lack of merchandise, Michaels’ prices always seem to be much higher than Hobby Lobby or Joann’s, and that bothers me. Why should I have to pay more for the same items? True, they do accept coupons, and even competitors’ coupons, but if you have to pay more for the items in the first place, a coupon does not really benefit you.
The store itself always seems cramped, and displays in the middle of the aisle make it difficult to navigate. Perhaps they should think about expanding, as they clearly do not have enough room for the little merchandise they offer.

I recently moved to the area and was happy to have a Michaels so close to my new house. I am a teacher, a quilter and a knitter, and my children go through art supplies like water. Every time I step into Michaels — previously at least once a week — I never spend less than $ 50 and it’s usually more like $ 75 or $ 80.
However, I find that I am going to Michaels less and less now. The store on Randall road is SO poorly managed and so disorganized that I often wind up leaving with nothing because they didn’t stock what I needed or I just plain couldn’t find it.
The employees are not helpful. A couple of weeks ago I needed blue painter’s tape. I walked up to two employees who were having an animated conversation while stocking shelves. I walked up to them purposefully, while saying aloud to my daughter, «I bet these ladies can help us!» but they were so deep in conversation that they didn’t see or hear me and I felt so irritated I left the store. This was after I had already spent a good 10 minutes hunting for it aisle by aisle. On a later trip, I did stumble upon the exact item I needed — after having purchased it at another store. How frustrating to know that the item I wanted was stocked there, but nobody would help me find it.
The checkout counter is extremely small and so full of merchandise that one time I got home to see that I had a few items in my bag I hadn’t purchased — the employee had thought that these «last minute impulse buy» items stored on the checkout counter were part of my order and I hadn’t caught it. I was very unhappy to have to make an extra trip back to the store to return them. When I did, I didn’t even receive a cursory apology for the mistake.
I have lived here for just a few months and have already had enough negative experiences (basically every time I go in the store I come out frustrated) that I have started to plan my craft shopping for times when I know I will be in the vicinity of another Michaels location. Despite the fact that this one is less than a mile from my home. That says a LOT about how unpleasant it is to shop there.