Jo-Ann Fabrics is sending out apology emails to people who write them in about a customer who was refused access to the bathroom even as she suffered diarrhea right in front of the employees.
We made a mistake. We re very sorry for any frustration and embarrassment that we caused our customer at the Logansport, Indiana, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store on Friday, June 29.
Many of our store restrooms are located in areas that are not readily accessible to customers and therefore our policy limits the access to the restrooms. However, we have immediately changed our policy to allow any customer to use our restrooms upon request.
Again, we acknowledge our mistake in handling this matter and sincerely hope that our customers will be pleased by our change in policy.
Darrell Webb
Chairman, President, and CEO
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores
We checked in with Catherine, the complainant, after posting this and she said she’s heard “not a peep” from the company, despite writing them a letter weeks ago. “Seems Jo-Ann’s is sending apologies to everyone but me,” she writes.
PREVIOUSLY: Jo-Ann Fabrics Refuses To Let Customer Use Bathroom, Even As She Suffers Diarrhea Right In Front Of Them
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I did not have diarrhea but had a similar run in with New York branch of Charles Schwab. They had 1.6 million dollars of my money invested and when I went in to help a friend open an account with them they delayed helping us so long that my bladder was about to burst. When I told them that I needed to use their bathroom they said that they did not have one and said that I would have to go to a neighboring building to find one which was sending me on a wild goose chase. By the time I got back to the their office I was in dire straights and afraid of wetting my pants in front of my friend. I went to a man at a desk and explained that if he did let me use a bathroom I would have an accident then and there. He called a security guard and tried to have me ejected from the office. Only when I asked him to call my Schwab team did he allow me to use the bathroom which I had been told didn’t exist.
After that I went to a barber in the same building directly across the hall from the Schwab office to get a 10 dollar haircut. While I was getting the haircut my friend said that she needed to use a bathroom and the barber said that there was a public restroom just down the hall. The point being that we got treated better by a 12 dollar barber than I did from Schwab who had over a million dollars of my business.
of course they apologized to everyone but her.
she’s never shopping there again. what good, monetarily speaking, would an apology do? now, all the people that heard her horrendous story, well. there’s still a chance that they might say “oh, ok, that’s reasonable, they’ve fixed it an apologized. i guess i’ll continue to buy needles and thread there.”
i live in this very small midwestern community. what makes this behavior doubly harsh is that Joann’s corporate office was thinking of closing this store. the community bonded together and deluged corporate with letters, calls, and emails. these very loyal customers came to the rescue and corporate decided to leave the store open. and then this is how they treat those customers. they won’t be getting my money, and i will be sure to spread the word.
@sylviat: Holy shit where was this? You should have totally asked to speak the the manager on duty and then ripped that chick a new butt-hole!
I would have given you that 50% sale price. Some stupid employee didn’t take down the sign ain’t your fault. And guess what, its the manager duty to make sure all the sale signs are down after the sale is over. Please let me know what store that was!!
Best of Luck to you!
I dont care what this moron CEO spouts. I own a business and I can tell you everything comes down from the top. If the company execs exude a customer friendly attitude and enforce it then all store managers and store employees will also exude this attitude and this kind of thing would never happen. This store manager needs to be fired and so does the stupid jerk CEO. I know I am telling my wife about this and making sure she agrees to never go into one of these stores. Now I am male and my wife does not sew so no lost biz from us but the buz is out and this company needs to go into the toilet until their top management is replaced with people instead off assholes.
Yesterday, I went to Jo-Ann and asked for a flyer. The sales person gave me a nasty look as if it’s a crime that I don’t have my own flyer with me. And when I pay at the register, I was appalled that same employee didn’t give me a pleasant greeting, no smile, “thank you”, nothing. I was employed by Jo-Ann 5 years ago at $6.10 an hour and it was never this bad. Their management sucks and I quit as soon as I found out that I make less than new employee. Since Jo-Ann bought Fabricland, Cloth World and other fabric stores they got a head up their ass. Don’t expect a good customer service, they don’t pay employees enough money anyway. Too bad that there are no competitors out there.
I work for JoAnn in a New Jersey suburban location. There has been a lot of controversy about the restroom policy, and some confrontations as well from assertive customers. There are as always two sides to this. Yes, it is courteous to allow our “guests” to use the facilities, and this may prompt them to shop longer. On the other side, many of our “guests” abuse the facilities, leaving messes too disgusting to describe that are hazardous for the employees to clean up. (the company does not employ an outside service for rest-room cleaning, which is shared by the employees)
However, the cost-savings projections(on water and supplies) may be important for a company that is up for sale.
Well it sounds to me like all of you live in some pretty crappy places. Every Joanns that I have been in has been clean, the customer service nice and the bathrooms readily available for customer use. I agree with Catherine that she should not sue, they didn’t do anything against company policy or against the law. The employee just didn’t use common sense. If anyone should write her an apology letter it is the employee. Lots of stores don’t have public restrooms, but if there’s an emergency a logical person will let you go pee, or whatever it is you have to do. They just need to teach their employees to think outside the box a little.
Jo Ann Fabrics has a policy called “insignificant inches”. If you want to buy 1 yard of material, they will cut no more than 1 yard, not even 1/4 inch longer. Some employees cut too short. They are so stingy about even 1/16 of an inch. I always measure the material that they cut before I pay at the cashier. Sometimes they stretch the material and measure. I don’t want to be so neurotic about 1/16 of an inch. But I’m the customer to pay for it. After all they sell remnants for 50% off anyway. Am I too crazy? Do anyone have some experiences that you have to go back to the store and complain about it?
I ran into this problem at the Lynchburg, VA store, where they seem to pride themselves on vile customer service. They told me my 4-year-old could use the bathroom at the store next door. “Oh. Where I’m NOT a customer?” Joann’s CS rep apologized and said I would get an apology from the manager. Of course it never came and when it happened the next time I was in there, I left my cart FULL of merchandise & never went back. Instead I discovered an independent fabric store whose better service and better product make it worth the extra $. What was I thinking shopping at the chain over the local guys anyway?
Not up to code. What did it mean. I’ll tell you what I think it means. They tell you right there in the “letter”.
They were unintelligent in how they “designed” their store layout. They tell us that most stores, the bathrooms are an afterthought, out in “hard to reach” places.
That is the first failure of customer service. What the CEO has told us is that they made sure the cash registers were readily available because they make sales, but customer convenience or decency is an afterthought.
I maintain that any place of business that people are in for more than a couple minutes on average is failing customer service 101 without proper facilities. Further, any business that fails to provide customer quality facilities to employees is telling their employees that they are an afterthought. A failure of leadership 101.
That the assistant manager did not feel empowered to do what she knew to be the right thing indicates a failure of leadership in the store and possibly corporate management chains. To the customer, the people they interface with ARE the company. they are the first line of defense of your reputation and bottom line. If your people can not be trusted to do the right thing, you hired wrong or failed to train well.
Worst Customer Service- as a long time customer I certainly am tired of being treated like I am an inconvenience when I ask for some customer service. These employees need to be reminded why they have a job!! If there was another fabric store around I certainly would not go to Jo-Anne Fabric.
I have just read several complaints regarding the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, because my husband and I have issues of our own. I thought I would just check them out first in order to find the President and CEO, and came across other distraught customers. Before I send Mr. Darrell Webb, Chairman, President and CEO of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, I want to document this so all of you will get in on the ground floor of our own complaints. I promise to get back to you with updates, good or bad or none at all. Several days ago, I went to Jo-Ann’s Fabric and Craft Store in Thousand Oaks, CA. I picked up enough ribbon to trim 4 of my blouses, along with a few rolls of sewing thread. There were 2 women at the counter and both were helping others at the time. I told them we were next when they finished with their customers, however, one clerk continued measuring and layering fabric. I thought the customer had gone to search for more items, and allowed her to continue layering the fabric. The busy clerk finally told the other clerk that she had a customer – 5 minutes later….and then she helped me. The total ribbon cost of the ribbon came to around $24., however when we checked out with this receipt and the few spools of thread, the young male clerk rang up $89!!!! I told him to re-check these items, because it was obviously incorrect, plus the thread was on sale for 40 percent off. He told me this was not the thread on sale, and I had to pay the $89.!!! I reached over for the receipt, and he told me I could NOT have it and ripped it up right in front of me. I told him I just wanted to look at it, and he held on to the torn pieces…. He finally called a supervisor because he did not know how to credit the incorrect amount. After being there and holding up a long line which now formed for about 10 minutes, he finally got it straightened out..because I refused to buy the thread; .no apology whatsoever…very rude. Then my husband suggested the next day, that I could use fabric glue rather than the tedious sewing. He went back to Jo-Ann’s the next day and was told by another saleswoman to get a certain brand of glue which they sold. She told him this was guaranteed to hold the trim to my blouses and was totally washable in the machine after drying for 48 hours. It took me many hours to glue the trim onto my blouses and I waited 3 days before washing in the gentle and cold cycle, inside out…. Guess what? Not only did the trim fall apart from the glue, but the glue ran onto my shirts, and now I am out the ribbon, but ruined 3 perfectly good tops.. One blouse remained to be done, and I am glad I ran out of time and didn’t do that one.
I am sending this complaint to Darrell Webb, Chairman, President and CEO and will let you all know if this problem gets resolved or if I need to complain to the Better Business Bureau, Fair Trade Commission, and the Attorney General’s Office with not only this complaint but all of yours’ as well.
THANK GOD, I DIDN’T HAVE DIARRHEA like poor Catherine. My heart goes out to her, AND ALL OF YOU WHOM HAVE SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF JO-ANN FABRIC AND CRAFTS STORES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
Joy Ray
the joann i worked at had a public bathroom. it was a rented retail space, so it wasn’t really decided by joann to have one, but after reading comments, i guess it is one of very few.
i see alot of employee bashing. in defense of some of the employees, it’s not always their fault. i spent endless evenings and weekends as the only cashier, and the manager would never come help, no matter how long the line. customers would get angry about having to wait, but i sure as hell didn’t decide to schedule only myself, during the busiest times of day.
not letting someone use the restroom that really needed to is inexcusable.
Nothing’s changed at the Jo-Ann in Burke, VA. They denied access to the bathroom for my four-year old daughter (and me).
The same thing happened to me at the Jo-anns in California. I didn’t go back for a year! Now I go their only for items that I can’t get at Wallmart. Today, Feb.05,09 I went to Jo-anns and waited in line to pay for 10 minutes while the cashier argued with a cusomer on the phone. Two people left the line. This Jo-anns in Oceanside should be closed down. It was the same lady that wouldn’t let me use the bathroom a year ago! The worst customer service I have ever had!
I think it’s so lame that this lady put up a show to get attention as she let loose slowly but surely a brown lake i her pant. If she really don’t want to experience a diarrhea dilemma
She could make a mad dash to other near by bathroom. maybe she might crapped as she ran toward another restroom but not fully loaded her pant.And certain not stood there and let it drip down her legs. Next to the hot puddin she made in her pant, she didnot have to talk to other and describe her situation so clearly as if it was a turn on to be heard.
I believed “this sorry we let you crapped your pant in our store “thing is unfair to the CEO and workers at Jo ann. I think JO ANN frabic should send her gift for her dilemma, such gifts include chocolate laced with extra strength industrial laxative, large quantity of dieter teas that act as a super laxative. this way the next time this lady went out or goes to get her hair done or goes to a meeting or shopping at a walmart, she can made sudden sad faces as she experience a nuclear explosive diarrhea in her pant. This type of diarrhea occur so sudden and so strong she wont have time to complaint to any walmart or macy worker about her hot fudge dilemma. She will be holding her stomach and as soon as she look around for a staff her butt will explode with massive hot shit bombing her pant, over and over again. she’ll be in no dilemma this time since this diarrhea is unstoppable by any moral . As she violently load up her pant, I think she’ll be honest this time when she search for a bathroom to get out of her hot fudge pant as it still filling.I hope she wear tight clothing the day this happen. I hope she wear tight pant and maybe a thong so her thong could melt off from the all hot shit that’s flowing in her pant. And I hope her tight pant change color and it’s tight enough to contain all that shitxplosion she made, this way non of it will drip to the floor or down her legs. it will be more than on the seat of her pant and down to her knee ,but she cant complaint about her legs being wet this time , since now this dilemma is very massive and uncontrollable . Hopefully this time if she is refuse a bathroom it’s because they dont want to know where all that diarrhea in her pant will goes when she once she took her pant off in their restroom, not because she’s about to shit on the spot.
Let’s just keep this simple- this was bad customer service from an employee. People are trying to make this about the big bad corporation, but really, if the customer truly has an emergency, or a questions, or needs help, you figure out a way to help them. If the bathrooms truly were unusable, give her other options, as quickly as possible. This should have been done by the first employee the customer came in contact with, and not have needed to be run up the chain of command to management! What would the first employee have said to another employee with the same problem? If you work in customer service, then that’s your job to answer, not your boss’s. The first emplyee she spoke to should have helped her. If he or she is incapapble of that level of service, it’s unsurprising that his or her manager was not able to quickly provide another option.
I work in a JoAnn’s in Florida, and, sadly enough, I know that there are emplyees in some of the stores that can’t seem to manage enough independent thought for them to clean up after themselves, or can’t be bothered to find out what their own store carries, let alone help someone else to find what they need. As an employee, be curious. If you don’t unerstand a policy, ask questions! I’ll be the first to admit it, it’s at a point with the manager in my store that as soon as new policies are posted that she immediately jokes that I’m not allowed to ask any questions about it. But I’ll tell you straight- I know the store I work in better than some of the managers! I know what we sell, where it is, and what it’s used for, and if I’m unfamiliar with something that a customer is buying, I’ll ask them questions about what it is, and how it’s used. Most customers are more than happy to tell you about what they’re making, especially if it gives them a chance to show off a new project. That way, when you see someone about to try to do something that won’t work, you can point them in a better direction.
FYI- if you want to put a trim on a blouse, I really DON’T recommend gluing it. Sewing it is the most secure way, but failing that, use something to fuse it, rather than glue- that way you won’t ruin your blouse. Just make sure you use a pressing cloth to protect the fabric and your iron. Anyone who knows their store’s products should be able to show you the best way to do something, as well as the alternatives if that doesn’t work for you. If the person you’re talking to doesn’t know the answer, don’t be afraid to ask someone else.
If you’re the customer, as soon as the employee needs to ask the manager for help with a bathroom question, start walking to the next store- you’re not going to get what you need quickly enough there. You don’t have time to wait for the emplyee and manager to get trained.
Find a trash can.
Pull down pants.
Sit.
Let it happen.
Every bit as embarrassing as walking around with $#it running down your legs, but with no actual mess on yourself.