By Sunday Holm

In a perfect world, the relationship between a yarn store’s staff and the knitters who shop there is always warm and fuzzy. But any yarn lover who’s dealt with a way-too-demanding customer or been dissed by stressed-out sales clerk knows that real life works out a little differently. I’ve been a knitter for more than twenty years and a worked and taught in a shop for ten of them. I loved my job, but had days when my customers drove me completely crazy. On the flip side, while most of the stores offered a great retail experience, there were a few where the service was less than stellar. My experiences (both good and bad) on both sides of the register have taught me that with a little understanding, good communication and a lot of honesty, the interactions between store and shopper needn’t become a tangle. In an effort to soothe feelings and tempers here’s my list of ten potentially combustible situations and how to diffuse them.

By Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne

Another batch of good questions and good solutions from the Problem Ladies!