Michaels

I bought a floral wreath here for my mom for Mother’s Day. She didn’t like it, so I had to return it.
I had wanted to get a store credit so that I could have them design a wreath more to her taste. The one I returned was too large and had too many yellow flowers. Unfortunately, most of the wreaths there were either red or yellow, so I didn’t have much of a choice of colors. In addition, they were either large or extra-​large. I wanted small to medium and not yellow.
When I took it back, I handed the cashier my receipt and explained that I had bought it as a gift. She asked where the price tag was. I didn’t have the tag, I explained, because I had intended for it to be a gift and had removed it. She said that she would have to call «Gary.» I remembered then that the name Gary was on the tag, and told her so. She said, «Well, he does all our custom florals.» I explained that it was not custom, that I had bought it off the wall — in fact, the space had not been filled since I bought it a couple of weeks before.
I always thought custom meant made-​to-​order. Apparently, at Michael’s, it means «made.»
Gary came up and said that he couldn’t take it back because it didn’t have a tag on it. At that point, I was so exasperated. I took the tag off because it was a GIFT! You’re not supposed to leave the tags on! Finally, he said he would take it back, «but just this one time.»
I told him I appreciated getting the money back, but I didn’t appreciate his tone. I reminded him that I am not a child to be scolded but a customer who was just trying to buy a Mother’s Day gift. He became very sarcastic with me, and the cashier took over.
As she gave me my money back, she said, «Gary just gets upset because people keep buying his floral designs and returning them.» I suggested that if he did a better job, people wouldn’t be returning them in droves. She sniffed, «He does a very good job.»
I won’t ever know if he can design anything better than what I saw around the store. I took my money down the street to Joann Fabrics and bought just what I needed.

Do not go to Michael’s! I don’t know if this is indicative of every Michael’s, but I went into this Michael’s to find art supplies for my niece for Christmas. There I found that they were selling $ 40 sets of Prismacolor pencils for $ 70! A cursory examination showed that everything I looked at was similarly marked up around 40%! It was downright offensive, and I walked right the hell out of the store and waited for Monday when the Hobby Lobby down the street would be open.
Don’t believe me? If you are reading this then chances are that you have a smart phone. Download RedLaser, or some similar bar code reader and price compare. Then walk out in disgust and head to Hobby Lobby! Hell, order online if it suits you. Just don’t waste your money at this dump! I can’t be more emphatic about my distaste.