Hancock Fabrics Reviews

Pros

Discounts, working conditions were great

Cons

Shifts were bad.. Needed more hours

Advice to Senior Management

More time on the clock

Pros

Good customers wanting to make a product, fast paced environment. Ability to help the customer find the right product for there present needs. Ability to make a difference for the customer.

Cons

HARD work demanding more then you can give at times. Moving very heavy loads at frequently and continued strain on your body, hard flooring no mats to stand on to help your feet. Stress on the hours and pain verses the VERY LOW

PAY. Workers at this company give out the knowledge they have earned over a lifetime of sewing, crafting and quilting for minimum wage or little better. I have seen many employees come and go most of the complaints are not enough hours, too low pay , and or injuries that are not taken care of properly.

Stores are hot, or too cold in winter the sun blinds you in some locations in the evening.

Not enough consideration given to employees, they spend hours on there feet everyday. walking talking to customers fellow employees and managers. The work HARD for the customers, company and themselves. Many of the employees are working because they NEED the money not just for the fun of it.

Advice to Senior Management

A great many people in the job are very knowledgeable about a lot of different fields the the store handles. They do not get paid for that knowledge they impart.

Your getting SKILLED people and you offer nothing in return for that knowledge, yet you demand more and more.

 Rearrange the stores over and over with no logic behind the moves, not enough room for the current stock or the holiday stock coming in.

 Even so the employees are expected to get out a truck delivery with having to take care of customers, corporate visits, and district managers who come into the store and rearrange the store just for a corporate visit and tell the employees TO GET OVER IT! TERRIBLE.

Pros

it was easy to get the job, its easy to get time off, some people are fun to talk to about their projects, never work later than 8:30, earlier on saturdays and sundays

Cons

when i went in to apply for the job the manager looked at my application for like 2 minutes and then said your hired, she didn't ask me any questions or tell me anything about what the job would be like or anything, i wasn't even sure if i really wanted the job but i took it, i got hardly any information, this job is ok but a lot of mean ladies come in that think they are god's gift to sewing and that you're stupid. the hours are totally inconsistent, 8 hours 1 week, 22 hours the next week, even though were not supposed to have more than 20, nobody wants to buy the products we push and it just makes customers unhappy when we try to sell them, there is no groove or anything on the cutting table so you just have to hope that your a really straight cutter and everyone wants you to cut their fabric again because they don't think you cut it straight, i'm quitting this job soon because it is not worth my trouble, oh and i forgot the uniform is really ugly and its hot the smallest size polo is way too big for me, and i weigh like 140

Advice to Senior Management

more training, more info to employees at first, get rid of the sales quotas on the as seen on tv items

Pros

You learn a lot about fabrics, okay discount and fun clients/shoppers.

Cons

You're not paid for your knowledge of sewing and pattern and the expectations of helping and guiding shoppers.

Advice to Senior Management

pay your workers a lot more then minim wage.

Pros

You get to meet a lot of people, great place to see a variety of products. The company is changing what they have seasonal and keeping up with popular fabrics. Fellow employees are fun, understanding and knowledgeable.

Cons

Not enough pay for the heavy items you are required to move from place to place. Physically demanding work NOT proactive on back support or floor mats when standing long hours.

The items you have to lift in the store can go up to 35 lbs or so if it is a full bolt of 20 mil plastic you have to cut for the customers.

Advice to Senior Management

The company as a whole needs to look at the job the employees are doing, they work work very hard and lift heavy items everyday. We give out our hard earned knowledge to our customers and our fellow employees.

Please stop taking most of the cash we would earn if/when we TEACH others our hard earned knowledge in a classroom setting. We might get you more classes and as a result the persons being there to learn will BUY more items. I would tech a class if it was worth my while but now it isn't worth it to spend the time to get the cash verses time away from my family.

I enjoy the challenge of helping a customer find what they need to get the project done.The pay needs to be raised big time, I am at work on time, on all days scheduled, and work even when in a great deal of pain.

 We do have a lot of good products in the store and they need to be shown what can be done with them. Go back to having finished products on display, less MADE clothing, SHOES(???) give them a showing of items that CAN be made. The stores are not showcasing new patterns, products or ideas.

Think about it if this company SHOWED what can be done you will have more sales, more interest in sewing and less disappointed , bewildered customers. The company has many very talented employees who given the time, incentive and cooperation from employer could help make this company a winner again.

Pros

Good people. Lots of work to keep you busy.

Cons

Pay could be better. Long hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire enough people so no one has to pull 12 hours shifts on their feet. Increase pay.

Pros

The employees were all nice to each other and I didn't have a problem with anyone. My store manager was actually very nice. I enjoyed my job to an extent.

Cons

Shortage of hours given to workers. When I worked there It was basically 3 people (including a manager) running the store on weekends and lunch hours. All other times it was just 2. Very long lines, very frustrated and angry customers. Very stressful for the employee. They wouldn't schedule you for more than 20 hrs a week. I worked for almost a year and I didn't get any pay raises ( even though I was doing work a manager was supposed to do half the time.) And they hire you at min wage so don't expect any kind of money flowing in. You'd be luck to bring in $120 weekly. I've recently visited the store and the manager told me that they had to cut more hours. Regular employees are barely getting 12 hours a week with shifts that are 5 hours and less to prevent having to assign lunch breaks.

Advice to Senior Management

It is a disgrace to see hours being cut and pay raises disappearing. You can't run a business without happy employees. All the good employees will quit to look for better jobs.

Pros

A paycheck was the only positive thing about this company

Cons

Everything besides the tiny paycheck

Advice to Senior Management

Try harder

Pros

I love working with the public and helping them with their projects while getting ideas for my own creations. Shorter hours on the weekends. Knowing when what I need is on sale and the products that are available.

Cons

When I first started working there, it was much better. We were allowed to wear normal clothes that showed off our CREATIVE sides. After all, isn't that what were are there to help customers do, show off their creative sides? Instead they require uniforms, black polo shirts. I doubt if that is going to spark anyone's imagination. Management treats their employees like garbage and don't pay them hardly anything. I know of a manager that has been with the company for almost 20 years and she makes less than $10/hr! We would never heard the things that we were doing well, even if sales were up quite a bit, it was always 'sell, sell, sell more!!' They feature products that no body is interested in or are available at other stores for much less than Hancock's sales price. Customers don't want to hear about them. They know that the company probably bought them for next to nothing and just has to get them out of the door. And if they don't go out the door, management complains then proceeds to tell us how store # blah blah blah has sold 10 times more than our store. What they fail to mention is that store # blah blah blah has 10 times as much foot traffic, a renovated/redecorated location and much more staff working at any given time. Management doesn't realize that it is hard to make customers happy when they have been standing in line for 10 minutes to get something cut and then have to wait in line for another 10 minutes just to get checked out. I would never recommend working at Hancock to anyone that I actually like. Ever since I quit, my life has been much less stressful and much more satisfying. I know make more than that manager that has devoted her life to Hancock and I have been there for less than six months and I don't have to be treated horribly.

Advice to Senior Management

Like I said in my comment, they have to realize that not every store is equal in ANY way. My impression from anyone in higher management with Hancock is that they have never worked as a sales clerk in a fabric store. Maybe they should, then they would realize that nobody wants the products that they push, how busy the employees are and how important it is to have more staff working at a time. But I guess they would just rather drive the customers away with bad service. I know of a lot of people in my community that will never shop there again and I don't blame them. I am sure that Hancock is just like almost any other chain store as far as management goes, but I shop at them instead of Hancock. At least at them, I am not treated badly because I left the company to actually be satisfied in my career.

Pros

I love the people I work with. We all help each other out. I love talking quilting, sewing and decorating. I love fabric and know when I can get the best price.

Cons

Hancock's "America's Fabric store" Ha-Ha. Try "America's shoe store" or America's "as seen on TV" store." It looks like Odd-Lots. We're as cookie-cutter as any corporate store. They tell us what-to-do, when to do it, how long it will take (maybe without customers) and then cut our hours. We had a 10 cent raise a year and a half ago. I wish the DM would get off the computer and help us. The corporate people need to walk a week in our shoes.

Advice to Senior Management

Do you even look at the fabric you sell? People who sew want stylish, quality fabric. I have to send customers to other stores several times a day because we don't have that anymore. Managers should have more input on what sells in our particular store.
People who don't sew want advice from knowledgeable associates, but we are not graded on that. We're graded on how much we can sell. We are not a craft store so why do we have to push laminators?