Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft

I came in today looking for a specific fabric for my business, and I ended up working with Laticia on a special order from another store. I usually get really good service every time I go to any Joann’s, but Laticia was super thorough with all of my questions and helped me out so much. I couldn’t be more grateful! And during the huge memorial day weekend sale, no less! I don’t get down to the San Jose area terribly often but I definitely look forward to working with the amazing employees at this Joann’s in the future!

Any location is probably better than this Cupertino store. The staff is not friendly, uninformed and not helpful. The good thing is that I don’t go to the store for customer service, I go for craft materials. Unfortunately this store has a MAJOR stocking problem and the shelves are empty a lot on the craft side of the store and many times I leave empty handed (even worse the staff doesn’t know what they stock, how to look up inventory or know when the next shipment will come)
Update: i visited this location with my grandma to pick up a few yards of fabric and the lady at the cutting counter is so rude its unbelievable. Yes– the older lady who I believe is named Jeanie? We asked her name but couldn’t really understand her past all the sarcasm. The manager really needs to do something about her, or at least just have her stock in the back because the sales floor is no place for her. Ended up just leaving because this lady was impossible to deal with.

This place is the worst. After waiting an interminable amount of time at the cutting counter and having my fabric cut, I looked at the slip only to see they didn’t include the 40% discount. I brought this to the attention of the cutter (who seems to be in a struggle with power and the people), her brilliant response was, «it’s not on sale in the computer.» And with that she called the next victim. I was shocked. The signs above the fabric I purchased loud and clearly announced it to be 40% off. I gave up on the cutter people and went to the cashier up front. She was alone, shocker, and called someone up. No one came. After 30 minutes I finally found someone on my own to deal with the problem. She was lovely. She knew the fabric was on sale, she double checked and said it should have come up, but no problem I’ll fix it for you. So she did. So many things wrong with that store there are too many to count. My favorite part though, was as I was looking at fabric, a customer put her fabric on the counter to be cut. The cutter with the power struggle snapped at her «what’s your number»? There was not a soul in line. She said, «number»? Power person said «yes, get a number and then you can be helped». She pulled a number, the power person yelled out the number, the customer is standing there like, is this for real? But instead says, «that’s me». Then power person proceeded to cut fabric. No joke.

This is my first time going to Jo Ann’s. I use to think this was where the old people shopped for fabric, but today really changed my head around. They don’t just carry fabric, they also have a wide variety of arts and crafts materials. The store itself looks really welcoming. Everything was well stocked and organized. Although customer service is indeed very slow, the workers here are patient and respectful. You can actually see that they are trying their best to maintain a positively strong attitude even during difficult situations.

Customer service is not only just too bad but this lady in her 70s at the counter has the audacity to call me ‘not so fit’ ‚‘not in good shape’ etc.
Due to my shoulder surgery, that was still healing I wasn’t able to lift anything more than 5 pounds and when I asked if someone could help me, this lady in her 70’s at the counter kept telling me that she is so fit being in her 70’s and me not so etc…
Never went back there again.

The customer service here is just appalling. I asked them where they kept a certain type of fabric and the ladies at the back counter looked at me like I had the nerve to ask them a question! They just looked at each other and shrugged dismissively. Later when I was trying to see if a fabric that I had liked was working out with the rest of the outfit that I had already, the lady who seemed to be the shift manager came by and was super rude again. The customers around me were also startled that she was this rude for no reason! I just took my stuff and walked out. Never coming back…

This is my favorite Jo-​Ann store ever. I have been in several from coast to coast. While the store may be an older building, I always find it well stocked and organized.
I have always found everyone in the store to be very helpful. I don’t understand all the bad Unilocal reviews about waiting in line to get fabric cut. The people at the cut counter are always very helpful and make sure you leave the store with everything you need for your project.
Sometimes there is a wait at the checkout counter but that happens at most stores in the bay area. I alway have been helped by a friendly person when checking out.

Worst customer service I have ever experienced. I was returning an item which I bought 1 day back and they were refusing stating that one of the pieces that item contained doesn’t belong to that item and it is sold separately. I went inside the store and got the same item and showed it to the lady at counter. The item that I was returning had exactly same contents as the item that their store had (I was lucky to have found same item in the store). Now, the lady got confused and she again refused to return it saying «I don’t know how to do it». I insisted that she call her manager and get some support. She calls manager who doesn’t show up for 20 minutes (I waited there for 20 minutes). After the manager shows up (Gwynn), she gave me looks as if she owns the shop and she will kill me. Her eyes were blood red and she was very very rude. Instead of saying «Sorry to keep you waiting, I will take care of this», she said «This time I am returning it, be careful next time». Now what is that supposed to mean? It was not worth returning that item. I should have simply thrown it in trash.
Since my experience about this shop was so bad, I haven’t gone back to this shop again. Will never ever go back.
If somebody from Jo Ann is reading this review, please change your staff completely. Replace the managers first.

The old women at the fabric cutting counter remind me of the Soup Nazi. Way to dish out some old lady attitude, barking at customers who are perfectly polite. Hello! Fabric stores are supposed to be a happy place! Y’all definitely harshed my mellow.

Worst customer service ever. I’ve been going to this store for years but no more.
I agree with the other customer’s comment, if you want to be miserable or be in a bad mood just make a trip to the Joannes in Cupertino.
I’ve tried over and over again to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Prepare to wait In the cutting line for a very long time.
I went there one weeknight evening. Long wait as usual with one person at the cut counter. Another customer proceeded to go to the front cashier area to ask for help at the cut counter but apparently they we’re under staffed, same old response.
It was finally my turn at the cut counter and a Gwen was helping me. First off she didn’t look like she even wanted to be at work. At first I was being very polite because she was by herself but when she started to measure my fleece I attempted to help flatten out the fabric on the cutting table and she rudely told me to not touch the material so I said oh, excuse me for trying to help. After the first bolt of fleece was measured I proceeded to put my remaining three bolts on the cutting table and Gwen just looked at me and sighed then asked me to put them back in my cart until she was done cutting each bolt. At this point I was so mad about her being rude to me so I literally threw the 3 bolts of fleece back in to my shopping cart. Also when I asked for 2 yards and 6 inches I was told she couldn’t cut that but she could cut 2 yards and 4 inches or 2 yards and 9 inches. After going to Joannes in Mountain View one of their employees said I could get whatever measurement I wanted but it had to be more than 2 inches.
Also while I was in line another customer came over to me and asked me if everything was okay and I said no, Gwen was very rude and has no people skills. The same customer said she hates going to the Cupertino store too and Gwen was the worst for customer service. She said she tries avoid her.
Unfortunately Gwen is a Manager! I’ve also noticed on occasion while waiting in their long cut lines there is another manager who lacks good people skills. I’ve worked in a large retail store Customer Service department and it it really doesn’t require much to treat people nice.
There is one very nice lady at the cut counter name Jenny so if you do have to make a trip to the Cupertino store she’s the one to help you.
Unfortunately I now drive further to the Joannes in Mountain View. Much nicer staff there!

If I want to find a way to ruin my day next time, I’ll just visit Joanne.
Long waits no matter where you are in this store: waiting to talk to a staff member, waiting to cut fabric, waiting to check out. Expect no less than 5 customers ahead of you, inevitably each with 20 items, staffed by all of ONE Joanne clerk.
I believe now it is Joanne’s philosophy to minimize how many people work in their stores, just to be extra infuriating in classic Joanne style. The same 3 individuals work here at all hours of the day; it is evident they make no adjustments with regards to clientele traffic.
If you’re not frazzled and agitated by the time you leave Joanne, you’re not doing it right.

There are some… some employees which plainly put are RUDE!
I boycotted this place years ago after a cashier stole money from my wallet. I accidently left it while paying and when I went to claim it, $ 100 was missing. I say this with certainty because I went to an ATM right before going to this store. I had $ 200 in my wallet. When I claimed it, there was $ 100. I didn’t shop here for almost 5 years after that.
When I took my aunt there, she walked right up to the register to pay without going through the check out isle. The clerk rudely told us we didn’t use the check-​out isle. Really? There was no one in line. What difference does it make it we bypassed the check out isle at that point. The clerk could have informed us of this in a nicer attitude then what she presented.
I have several other complaints by the last one was my final straw. I went a few weeks ago and brought a large bolt to the cutting table. I asked the clerk if she could measure the fabric as I want around 8 yards but could settle for around 7. Instead of rolling out the fabric, she counted how many times it was rolled around the bolt and told me it contained 4 to 4.5 yards, maybe 5 at the most. I asked again if she would measure it. She didn’t, but proceeded to tell me she knew how many yards by the number of times it was rolled. She did offer to check with another store but I asked a third time for her to measure it. She still wouldn’t. Finally I said I’ll probably buy it. Then and only then did she roll it out and measure. The fabric was exactly 7 yards. She was off by over 2.5 yards.
Maybe if she measured it out at the start instead of me asking FOUR Times, I wouldn’t have wasted 10 minutes on the cutting table.
From now on I’ll go to the Fremont location. They treat their customers better!

20 people in line, and one person at the register. Ridiculous.
There are three people cutting fabric and others walking around the store, but they won’t call anyone to the register to ring? And the one girl at the register is also answering the phone. Where is the manager here? It turns a 5 minute errand into an hour long wait. Avoid this location.

This afternoon on Sept. 19. Upon checking out with an obviously annoyed cashier, I was waiting for my coupons to load (trying to get a signal) and the cashier decided that she needed my phone to personally look at my coupon to see if an email was attached! I don’t know what kind of business let’s their employees tell the customers they need to see the phone and scan their email! This is an INVASION OF PRIVACY and it needs to to stop! I do not appreciate the cashier (Laticia) holding on to my phone while scrolling through my email! If I have a coupon, scan it! Do not ask to see my email, you don’t need it! What horrible service!
I honestly think this Joann’s only hires grumpy-​azz people, so in return, customers get horrible, terrible service.

Awesome service, advise and had the products we needed. Gwen was especially helpful with our project and even helped save us money at the register with the right e-​coupons. Very knowledgeable about our canopy fabric and how to change its color. Thanks for the help Gwen!

I have been shopping here since I was in high school when it was New York Fabrics. Since becoming Jo-Ann’s the customer service has gotten progressively worse over the years. Every time I shop here I swear it will be my last time. However, because there are no other fabric stores in the vicinity I find myself coming back because of its convenient location, and I constantly need fabrics and notions for my manufacturing business and can’t always wait for them to arrive by mail. I spend thousands of dollars with this company every year; all I ask for is even the slightest improvement in customer service, but it never happens, even with the numerous horrible reviews this store gets here on Unilocal.I guess corporate management never checks these reviews or just doesn’t care.
What concerns me the most is that the people who work there have no empathy for customers who have to stand in line for long periods of time. When there is only one person cutting fabric and the other employees are restocking bolts and can see that there is a line of people waiting to have their fabric cut, they don’t think: «you know, when I have to wait in line at the bank, the DMV, the grocery store (or wherever) and I see employees shuffling around doing things they could be doing later, that is really annoying and shows bad customer service. In the interest of helping these customers (people whose continued patronage pays my wage), I think I’ll cut their fabric so they can get out of here in a timely manner and go on with their lives.»
I really don’t get it. It really frightens me, it seems so simple: I mean isn’t it just common sense? Isn’t it rule number one in customer service: «serve the customer»?
Often, after standing there awhile, I’ll politely ask the one person cutting fabric while a line is forming: «Hi, do you think you could call someone to help you cut?» *smiling, not being demanding in any way*. The response from the girl with the long blond hair (I believe her name is Gwen but I’m not 100% sure) is usually disdain, the opposite of helpful/​friendly. Grudgingly she calls on the microphone and sometimes someone will stop shelving bolts to help out. I really don’t think it is the customer’s job to ask if someone can come cut fabric for a line of 5 customers who are waiting. Even one customer waiting is one too many. The bolts can be shelved later.
If this had only happened to me a few times I would not be writing this review; but it happens nearly every time I shop there.
I had a phone conversation with the gentleman who oversees all of the bay area stores after leaving feedback on the company website. He assured me that my input was valuable and thanked me for sharing my experience with him. However, a year later nothing has changed.
I do want to say that I have had some very friendly girls help me at the register. Not every experience I have had here has been bad. And the coupons of course are the main reason I buy so many big ticket items here. The reason I am leaving one star is to try again to get someone’s attention, I mean how many one star reviews will it take before improved customer service becomes priority for this store, or at the very least something they can try to improve?
The Almaden location is a much better store. If you can go to that one instead you will have a much better experience.

Variety of fabrics
Prices are decent
Doesn’t have the variety or prices of fabrics r us but it’s much closer and convenient.
Cashier friendly
Person measuring and pricing out fabric not so friendly.

There was literally 1 lady at the cash wrap, 1 lady at the sales floor and like 2 ladies working at the fabric cutting place. I felt so bad for that lady because her other co worker called out sick and she was the only one ringing up a crap ton of people in line.
This is like any other Jo-​anns, not that organized, over priced stuff; BUT! I did get a no sew blanket for under $ 15. They had limited supplies of their $ 1 ribbons *SOBS* Overall, I wouldn’t come back to this specific Jo-​anns since it’s kinda small and they seem very under staff so it would be impossible to get much customer service here

This place has the rudest staff and is one of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve had in any retail store. This goes from the lady at the cutting table all the way to the cashier who was on the phone, finger pointing for me to come forward while speaking on the phone the whole time. They have no idea what customer service really means. Avoid this location!

I think I’m being generous with 3*. The customer service here was really bad.
I was there minding my own business waiting for my girlfriends fabric to be cut. I accidentally gave her a store item instead of the ticket number, and she was really rude about it. I apologized and stood off to the side. Next thing I hear from her is «You gotta get out of here dude!» Super rude. I’m not sure what her problem was. Maybe she had a bad day, but KIMBERLY was extremely rude.

First off, I was pleasantly surprised that I FELL IN LOVE with the color, texture & overall look of this fabric I bought samples of for my wedding table runners. And I’m VERY picky in the sense that I like nice, high quality stuff that tends to be expensive taste.
Aside from the product, the lady at the cutting station blew me away! I didn’t catch her name– she was middle aged with short hair & high energy. Extremely helpful and gracious. She suggested how much of a sample to purchase to get a good idea of what my table runners would look like. 4 long swatches were $ 1.00 each. She was also able to estimate how much fabric I would need based on the table dimensions I gave her, and how I could stretch my yardage to get the most bang for my buck (i.e. Cut the width in thirds to make 3 runners). She also told me to keep an eye out for 50% off coupons before placing my order, and how long it would take. She was SO helpful, and as a DIY bride who isn’t very crafty– this meant so much to me!
Joann’s is definitely worth scoping out even if you tend to have fancy tastes– it isn’t all cartoon felt and cheesy-​looking craft supplies– there’s some expensive-​looking stuff (at a low price!) — you just have to look for a few minutes to find it. And it’s definitely worth visiting for the customer service at the cutting station. I can’t wait to order my wedding table runner fabric as soon as I get my hands on a 50% off coupon!

I’ve been coming to this JoAnn’s for a while now. Mainly to get fabrics to make blankets as gifts or for family. Their prices are very reasonable and they fabric I use is usually on sale for like 40% or 50% off. More recently I have noticed they have been getting more licensed/​character prints which are great for kids or making something for a specific sports team. On weekends the cutting line to get your fabrics cut can be long so be sure to grab a number first then your fabric so you don’t have to wait so long. But early on the weekdays is usually much calmer and not really any lines. The employees are always happy to help you find something and everyone I’ve asked usually knows where the different types or prints of fabrics are! This is a great location!

The first time I came here it was OK. The sales associate didn’t know where the cellophane was, but OK, that’s fine. I’ll look for it myself.
Ended up finding it during my second visit. Different employee this time and she was not my cup of tea. I was trying to use up my coins and I just happened to be 5 cents short, which I said aloud and she literally looks at me with disdain and says, «Are you serious?» umm no, I have more cash, but if you really hate your job, why are you even here?
Rude.

Unfortunately Joann fabrics of the only fabric store in town. The store is gross and in dire need of an update. Only good thing about it is that they accept Michael’s coupons.
Product — two stars out of five. They have a lot of random crafting materials and an adequate amount of fabric. A lot of the fabric is super dated, however. Nothing is new and fun.
Service — if I could give it a zero stars I would. Lots of attitude and extremely slow. I swear I can feel myself dying as I waited in line. Seriously, the slowest line I’ve ever been in.
UNfortunately, I’ll be back. If only Cupertino had another fabric store…

Gwinnefer… just because you’re a GM doesn’t mean you can be rude and self righteous! Plus you’re a GM of a FABRIC STORE so don’t let your rudeness be justified by your ridiculous title! So unhappy with the customer service here based on her actions alone. If a product is clearly labeled as Joanns, is unopened, and I have a receipt… don’t argue over $ 3.00! Seriously?! Due to this bad experience and the «I would never do that» attitude, I won’t be back especially since their very own GM doesn’t have the skill set to make decisions based on keeping customers happy. GWINNEFER, would rather argue than do what’s right! I’d rather wait in a line 10 deep at Michaels than deal with her nonsense!
Oh and if you DO buy something opened or not sealed, make sure you don’t plan to return it because they won’t take it back. But they’ll surely sell it to you that way! Just another horrible experience with this store!

I love Joanns and this location specifically. They always seem to have the fabric I need and the girls who measure and cut are always so friendly.
The coupons can be tricky which is a little irritating, but overall the prices are pretty reasonable. I do however only try and buy my fabric when there is a 50% off sale.
On busy sale weekends, if you’re getting fabric cut, my advice would be to go straight to the cutting counter and grab a number, then shop. If you wait to grab your cutting number, you’ll be standing around for a while.

For starters, I don’t write reviews. For two, being a shy and conforming Asian immigrant, I don’t wanna get involved in someone else’s business, at all. But I got quite upset to have witnessed racism and rudeness today. So much so, I had to email the company and let them know what happened. The following is the email that I had to send the company…
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Hello,
I have been a frequent customer of yours for years. The coupons that your company sends out offer attractive deals and I like the selection of fabrics you carry so I only shop at Joann’s despite numerous other fabric stores in town. The Joann branch in Cupertino, CA is the one I always go to because it was close to my old place and I am used to the layout of the store, even though now I live further away and there’s another bigger branch as close as the Cupertino one. But I sadly have to report a case of racism and rudeness that I witnessed today.
I went to the Cupertino store today, ⁶⁄₂₉ 6:30pm, to pick up a couple bolts of fusible fleece and fabric. As soon as I went to the interfacing isle, I heard someone yelling ‘No! Don’t touch the fabric!’ and looked over to the other side of the store. There were a young Indian mother and a son, looked like under the age of 5, and a Caucasian female clerk (lady A after this) yelling at the kid to not to touch the fabric. She said ‘He’s the one with sticky hands. Keep him with you and don’t let him touch the fabric.’ The kid was scared and in tears and the mother was upset. She told another lady at the cutting counter (lady B) and lady B called over lady A. They were telling the mother that they were only doing their best to protect the fabric and they are also mothers (which I think is irrelevant). The mother did not get proper apologies and just left the store with the kid. The ladies A and B moved on to returning the bolts of fabric to the shelves. So I thought it was over like that.
But what happened after that is what’s upsetting me enough to email you. Please note that I am not a nosy person at all and I wasn’t eavesdropping. I actually moved a few isles away from where it happened and the lady A and B started talking to each other a few feet away from me. At first it seemed that lady B was telling lady A that there are nicer ways to tell the parents to keep their kids under control. Lady A complained that she wasn’t being bad and lady B agreed with her. It was very obvious lady A was being rude but I wasn’t surprised because she has been rude on a few occasions before and I recognized her. She is not a pleasant person to ask anything while shopping and she always seems very unhappy to be there. Then lady A continued on and said ‘that’s the kind of kid that ends up in an orange suit. Not following rules and no discipline.’ I thought that was harsh for a kid just touching stuff at a store and I was taken aback to hear that. Then lady B said ‘Or maybe they will leave the country.’ I just left all the stuff I picked out and left the store at the moment.
This is obviously none of my business. I am a single woman who also gets annoyed by unruly kids. And I understand that customers can be plain irritating and the employees can have bad days and be cranky. But being another Asian immigrant myself, I was quite personally offended, surprisingly so. Now that was in Cupertino, California. The heart of silicon valley and it is as ethnically mixed as it gets. It’s such an Asian dominant community and I really thought there’s no racism in this area or at least people are nice enough not to show that. Cursing someone else’s child to grow up to be an imprisoned criminal is offensive enough for any race, gender or age. Then it was followed by that kind of blunt racism. And it is also offensive that they would talk of such things while knowing that I was practically right next to them and can hear what they were saying. I am very disgusted and horrified to have witnessed such an incident and I swear I will never go back to that store unless improvements are made.
Your employees represent the company’s values and ethics. If this is what you stand for, I will be eternally mortified to have been your customer. This branch obviously needs to be looked at. Please take notice and take steps to improve the situation.
Thank you.
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